The Department of the Interior’s Office on Natural Resources Revenue – or ONRR – is fining Pure Petroleum more than $300,000 for not filing monthly production reports.
Reports detailing production on public lands are used to check the accuracy of royalty payments to the government. According to ONRR spokesman, Patrick Etchart, Pure Petroleum has not filed production reports on 16 leases since 2006.
“ONRR issues civil penalties when companies fail to comply with or not knowingly violate applicable lease terms, orders, regulations, or laws and these penalties are authorized by the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982,” says Etchart.
It took ONRR several attempts to deliver a notice of noncompliance to Pure. The notice was issued in December. Pure Petroleum may request a hearing on the fine. The monetary penalty will continue to grow until ONRR receives the missing production reports.
