# 2026-08280: New Fees for Drilling on Federal Lands Take Effect Soon

2026-08280, Revisions to Regulations Regarding Oil and Gas Leasing; Fees, Rentals, and Royalties, is a Federal Register rule from Interior Department, Land Management Bureau published 2026-04-29, effective 2026-06-29; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-06-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-08280
- As of: 2026-06-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Document number: 2026-08280
- Title: Revisions to Regulations Regarding Oil and Gas Leasing; Fees, Rentals, and Royalties
- Type: Rule
- Agencies: Interior Department; Land Management Bureau
- Citation: 91 FR 23017
- Published: 2026-04-29
- Effective: 2026-06-29
- Comments close: not stated
- Significant: no
- Touches household money: yes
- Regulation identifier numbers: 1004-AF41
- Last updated: 2026-06-11

## In one line

New Fees for Drilling on Federal Lands Take Effect Soon

## Summary

Starting June 29, 2026, new rules will update how fees, rentals, and royalties work for oil and gas companies leasing federal land. These changes follow a big law passed in 2025 and mainly affect companies drilling on public lands, possibly changing how much they pay. If anyone has strong objections, they can speak up by May 29, 2026, before the rules kick in.

## Abstract

This direct final rule (DFR) revises existing regulations pertaining to royalty on production to effectuate changes required by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) enacted on July 4, 2025.

## Effects PRIA read

- New Leases: Minimum 12.5% Royalty: benefit, medium. For production from Federal oil and gas leases issued after the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the royalty rate will be not less than 12.5 percent (replacing the 16.67 percent rate set by the Inflation Reduction Act). This rule takes effect June 29, 2026 unless significant adverse comments are receive…
- Subpart 3109 & Noncompetitive Leases: benefit, medium. The rule establishes a minimum royalty rate of 12.5 percent for leases issued under subpart 3109 and specifies a 12.5 percent royalty rate for all non-competitive leases.
- Reinstated Leases: Higher Formula: cost, medium. For reinstated leases, royalty equals the rate used for new leases at the time of reinstatement plus 4 percentage points, plus an additional 2 percentage points for each succeeding reinstatement; in no case will the royalty on a reinstated lease be less than 16.67 percent.
- Existing Leases Left Unchanged: cost, low. The rule does not amend existing oil and gas leases that already have royalty rates higher than 12.5 percent; those existing lease royalty terms remain in place.
- Comment Deadline and Effective Date: mixed, low. The direct final rule is effective on June 29, 2026 unless significant adverse comments are received by May 29, 2026; significant adverse comments could lead the agency to withdraw or revise the rule before that date. Comments may be submitted at regulations.gov under docket BLM-2025-0138.
- Potential Increase in Federal Production: mixed, low. The preamble states that economic theory suggests the quantity of Federal oil or gas produced may increase under the OBBB provisions (which lower production costs) compared to the IRA provisions (which raised costs).

## Related documents

- [2026-18261](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-18261): National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska Production Site Development, 2026-09-08
- [2026-12738](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-12738): Royalty for Oil and Gas Lost From Onshore Federal and Indian Leases, 2026-06-24
- [2026-12734](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-12734): Oil and Gas Leasing, 2026-06-24
- [2026-09387](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-09387): Revision of Regulations for Grazing Administration, Exclusive of Alaska, 2026-05-12
- [2026-09386](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-09386): Rescission of Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, 2026-05-12
- [2026-20020](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20020): Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Resource Management Pl…, 2026-09-30

## Sources
- [2026-08280 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/04/29/2026-08280/revisions-to-regulations-regarding-oil-and-gas-leasing-fees-rentals-and-royalties)
- [2026-08280 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-04-29/pdf/2026-08280.pdf)

## Related
- [Previous: 2026-08264, Five-Year Review of the Oil Pipeline Index](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-08264)
- [Next: 2026-08298, Regulatory Capital Rule: Community Bank Leverage Ratio Framework](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-08298)
- [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-08280 (as of 2026-06-11).