Report Says Oil Royalties Go Unpaid

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WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 — An eight-month investigation by the Interior Department’s chief watchdog has found pervasive problems in the government’s program for ensuring that companies pay the royalties they owe on billions of dollars of oil and gas pumped on federal land and in coastal waters.
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These are among the inspector general’s findings:

¶ Since 2000, the number of audits has declined by 22 percent and the number of auditors has been reduced by 15 percent, even though soaring energy prices have doubled the total amount of money at stake, to about $10 billion a year.

¶ Though the Interior Department says it has “reviewed” about 72 percent of all revenues from federal leases, it actually examined only 9 percent of all properties and 20 percent of all companies.

¶ The department’s “compliance review” system, a computerized form of fact-checking that has increasingly replaced audits, essentially relies on the word of the oil companies being monitored. Officials conducting such reviews do not ask companies for their actual records.

¶ Government data are incomplete and often inaccurate, making it almost impossible for enforcement officials to develop strategies for selecting companies for special scrutiny.
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It also said the agency’s statistics about recovering money were incomplete, inaccurate and sometimes misleading. The investigators said they could not even determine how many audits the government completed each year or whether the government recovered as much it had identified in underpayments.
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The new panel will be led by a man with close ties to the oil industry, David T. Deal, a former assistant general counsel for the American Petroleum Institute.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/07/washington/07royalty.html

It will never happen during the bushes regime.

to govern themselves....and the nation. How many of us saw the coming rape and plunder of our resources and the Treasury when Bush/Cheney were selected for office? Of course there couldn't be an exact head-count but there were very few of us that DID NOT see this coming. Yet this little fact seemed to escape the Corporate Media's attention completely. Odd, that. :eyes:

It's time to stop the Corporate/Governmental thievery so rampant in our country today. I'm not a praying man but I'm hoping against hope that the new Democratic majority can put an end to this energy industry malfeasance and hold them accountable for their past transgressions. Not a slap on the wrist, unless it's handcuffs that are being slapped on those wrists. Getting a look at the Cheney "energy taskforce" notes would be a great start. Make the bastards PAY! :grr:

... for the bribes they pay to ensure that the royalties are never
called in ... in their minds they are legitimate business expenses
with an excellent return on investment ...

It is sickening how much corruption there is throughout the world.

Not even for oil exploration!

Bush could actually care less, he is a failure at every adventure he has been involved in.

Just not to the Treasury.

nothing for the welfare mothers,but billions for the rich welfare crooks.

A pipe dream for sure.