Fraud Allegations Involving Tribal Mineral Royalties in Oklahoma Unfounded

OIG initiated an investigation after receiving allegations that an oil and gas company failed to properly report and pay mineral royalties owed to a Tribe located in Oklahoma.

We confirmed the company initially failed to pay the proper amount of royalties owed under its mineral leases with the Tribe, but we did not find evidence that the company intentionally minimized its royalty obligation to the Tribe as suspected. The company’s failure to properly report and pay royalties was attributed to internal software errors, and the company had been working with officials from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to resolve the reporting and payment issues.