U.S. Government Accountability Office Recommends that Interior Take Steps to Ensure a Fair Return on Federal Oil and Gas Resources

摘要

This month the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a study entitled Oil and Gas Resources: Action Needed for Interior to Better Ensure a Fair Return. GAO found that the Interior Department has taken some steps to help ensure a fair return on federal oil and gas resources but does not have documented procedures for periodically conducting assessments of the fiscal system. Although Interior recently contracted for such an assessment, it was the first one in over 25 years. Without fixed procedures, Interior will not have reasonable assurance that it will consistently conduct such assessments in the future, and, without periodically conducting such assessments "Interior cannot know whether there is a proper balance between the attractiveness of federal leases for investment and appropriate returns for federal oil and gas resources, limiting Interiors ability to ensure a fair return." Further, Interior does not have documented procedures for determining whether and how to make changes to new offshore lease terms. Without procedures for determining whether and how to make changes, Interiors rationale, according to GAO, is not transparent and may result in inconsistent decisions. Such inconsistencies would undermine Interiors credibility and ability to better ensure a fair return on federal oil and gas resources.