NOIA Responds to Secretary Zinke’s Announcement on Royalty Rates

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, April 17, 2018
Contact:  Justin Williams, (202) 465-8464, jwilliams@nullnoia.org

NOIA Responds to Secretary Zinke’s Announcement on Royalty Rates

Washington, D.C. – NOIA Vice President of Communications and Industry Affairs Nicolette Nye issued the following statement regarding Secretary Zinke’s announcement on royalty rates:  

“NOIA appreciates Secretary Zinke’s announcement that he will continue to review and study recent recommendations from the Royalty Policy Committee (RPC).  Frankly, the study cited in the RPC’s recommendations to the Secretary was based on data that is several years old, and some factors may have changed, such as increased competition from other offshore basins, including our neighbors to the North and South (Canada, Mexico and Brazil).  NOIA has little doubt that increased study will show that continued competition and a challenging economic environment may further reinforce the notion that the U.S. needs to re-visit the royalty issue in the months and years to come.

“The results of recent sales on the Mexican side of the Gulf of Mexico are a significant indicator that the U.S. cannot continue to offer the same acreage at the same terms on the U.S. side of the Gulf and expect the offshore industry to find the acreage appealing enough to be the automatic revenue generator it has historically been.  NOIA continues to believe that adjusting royalty rates, including for the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, can encourage new investment in the exploration and development of offshore oil and natural gas resources.”

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ABOUT NOIA

NOIA is the only national trade association representing all segments of the offshore industry with an interest in the exploration and production of both traditional and renewable energy resources on the nation’s outer continental shelf.  NOIA’s mission is to secure reliable access and a fair regulatory and economic environment for the companies that develop the nation’s valuable offshore energy resources in an environmentally responsible manner. The NOIA membership comprises about 250 companies engaged in business activities ranging from producing to drilling, engineering to marine and air transport, offshore construction to equipment manufacture and supply, telecommunications to finance and insurance, and renewable energy.