1.This Act may be cited as the
Royalty Relief for American Consumers
Act of 2010
.
2.Price thresholds
for royalty suspension provisionsThe Secretary of the Interior shall agree to
a request by any lessee to amend any lease issued for any Central and Western
Gulf of Mexico tract during the period of January 1, 1998, through December 31,
1999, to incorporate price thresholds applicable to royalty suspension
provisions, that are equal to or less than the price thresholds described in
clauses (v) through (vii) of section 8(a)(3)(C) of the Outer Continental Shelf
Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(a)(3)(C)). Any amended lease shall impose the new or
revised price thresholds effective October 1, 2010. Existing lease provisions
shall prevail through September 30, 2010.
3.Eligibility for
new leases and the transfer of leases; conservation of resources fees
(a)
(1)The Secretary shall not issue any new lease that
authorizes the production of oil or natural gas in the Gulf of Mexico under the
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) to a person
described in paragraph (2) unless—
(A)the person has
renegotiated each covered lease with respect to which the person is a lessee,
to modify the payment responsibilities of the person to include price
thresholds that are equal to or less than the price thresholds described in
clauses (v) through (vii) of section 8(a)(3)(C) of the Outer Continental Shelf
Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(a)(3)(C)); or
(B)the person
has—
(i)paid
all fees established by the Secretary under subsection (b) that are due with
respect to each covered lease for which the person is a lessee; or
(ii)entered into an
agreement with the Secretary under which the person is obligated to pay such
fees.
(2)A person referred to in paragraph (1) is a person
that—
(A)is a lessee
that—
(i)holds a covered
lease on the date on which the Secretary considers the issuance of the new
lease; or
(ii)was
issued a covered lease before the date of enactment of this Act, but
transferred the covered lease to another person or entity (including a
subsidiary or affiliate of the lessee) after the date of enactment of this Act;
or
(B)any other person
or entity who has any direct or indirect interest in, or who derives any
benefit from, a covered lease.
(3)
(A)For purposes of paragraph (1), if there are multiple
lessees that own a share of a covered lease, the Secretary may implement
separate agreements with any lessee with a share of the covered lease that
modifies the payment responsibilities with respect to the share of the lessee
to include price thresholds that are equal to or less than the price thresholds
described in clauses (v) through (vii) of section 8(a)(3)(C) of the Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(a)(3)(C)).
(B)Treatment of
share as covered leaseBeginning on the effective date of an
agreement under subparagraph (A), any share subject to the agreement shall not
constitute a covered lease with respect to any lessees that entered into the
agreement.
(b)Conservation of
Resources Fees
(1)Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of the Interior by regulation shall establish—
(A)a conservation of
resources fee for producing Federal oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico;
and
(B)a conservation of
resources fee for nonproducing Federal oil and gas leases in the Gulf of
Mexico.
(2)Producing lease
fee termsThe fee under paragraph (1)(A)—
(A)subject to
subparagraph (C), shall apply to covered leases that are producing
leases;
(B)shall be set at $9
per barrel for oil and $1.25 per million Btu for gas, respectively, in 2005
dollars; and
(C)shall apply only
to production of oil or gas occurring—
(i)in
any calendar year in which the arithmetic average of the daily closing prices
for light sweet crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) exceeds
$34.73 per barrel for oil and $4.34 per million Btu for gas in 2005 dollars;
and
(ii)on
or after October 1, 2010.
(3)Nonproducing
lease fee termsThe fee under paragraph (1)(B)—
(A)subject to
subparagraph (C), shall apply to leases that are nonproducing leases;
(B)shall be set at
$3.75 per acre per year in 2005 dollars; and
(C)shall apply on and
after October 1, 2010.
(4)Amounts received by the United States as fees under this
subsection shall be treated as offsetting receipts.
(c)A
lessee or any other person who has any direct or indirect interest in, or who
derives a benefit from, a lease shall not be eligible to obtain by sale or
other transfer (including through a swap, spinoff, servicing, or other
agreement) any covered lease, the economic benefit of any covered lease, or any
other lease for the production of oil or natural gas in the Gulf of Mexico
under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.),
unless—
(1)the lessee or
other person has—
(A)renegotiated all
covered leases of the lessee or other person; and
(B)entered into an
agreement with the Secretary to modify the terms of all covered leases of the
lessee or other person to include limitations on royalty relief based on market
prices that are equal to or less than the price thresholds described in clauses
(v) through (vii) of section 8(a)(3)(C) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands
Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(a)(3)(C)); or
(2)the lessee or
other person has—
(A)paid all fees
established by the Secretary under subsection (b) that are due with respect to
each covered lease for which the person is a lessee; or
(B)entered into an
agreement with the Secretary under which the person is obligated to pay such
fees.
(d)In
this section—
(1)The term covered lease means a lease for oil
or gas production in the Gulf of Mexico that is—
(A)in existence on
the date of enactment of this Act;
(B)issued by the
Department of the Interior under section 304 of the Outer Continental Shelf
Deep Water Royalty Relief Act (43 U.S.C. 1337 note; Public Law 104–58);
and
(C)not subject to
limitations on royalty relief based on market price that are equal to or less
than the price thresholds described in clauses (v) through (vii) of section
8(a)(3)(C) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C.
1337(a)(3)(C)).
(2)The
term lessee includes any person or other entity that controls, is
controlled by, or is in or under common control with, a lessee.
(3)The
term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior.