Outer Continental Shelf Land Act: Deep Water Royalty Relief Act

摘要

An oil and gas company brings an action against the Department of the Interior seeking declaratory relief and an injunction challenging a decision by the agency to subject several mandatory royalty relief leases to require royalty payments if certain price thresholds were met regardless of whether the leases produced the minimum amount of royalty-free production. The district court rejects the agency's argument that royalty relief leases under the Outer Continental Shelf Land Act and the Deep Water Royalty Relief Act, 43 U.S.C. § 1337, are subject to price threshold exceptions before the minimum amount of royalty free-production is obtained, finding that the agency failed to meet step one of the Chevron deference test because its interpretation contradicted the plain, unambiguous language of the statute. Summary judgment is granted in favor of the lessee. The United States appeals. Held: affirmed. Summary judgment is here upheld based on an unambiguous reading of the statute as required by the first prong of the Chevron deference test.