ONRR Needs To Consistently Enforce Compliance and Timely Revenue Collection

Title Full

We found that ONRR did not appropriately identify, assess, issue, and collect penalties related to mineral and energy leases.

Date Issued

Wednesday, January 21, 2026

Submitting OIG

Department of the Interior OIG

Agencies Reviewed/Investigated

Department of the Interior

Components

Office of Natural Resources Revenue

Report Number

2024-CR-008

Report Description

We found that ONRR did not appropriately identify, assess, issue, and collect penalties related to mineral and energy leases.

Report Type

Audit

Agency Wide

Yes

Number of Recommendations

Questioned Costs

Funds for Better Use

Report updated under NDAA 5274

External Link

Open Recommendations

This report has 3 open recommendations.

Recommendation Number	Significant Recommendation	Recommended Questioned Costs	Recommended Funds for Better Use
2024-CR-008-01	No	$0	$0
We recommend that ONRR update its policies and procedures to establish conditions that warrant or require a referral to ONRR Enforcement, such as the maximum number of informal compliance attempts or maximum number of days since an effort to obtain compliance was initiated, to provide sufficient time to resolve the case before expiration of the statute of limitations.
2024-CR-008-02	No	$0	$0
We recommend that ONRR establish a process to periodically evaluate identified cases of noncompliance that have not been referred to enforcement to determine whether open cases may require additional actions, such as an enforcement referral or escalation.
2024-CR-008-03	No	$0	$0
We recommend that ONRR update its policies and procedures to prioritize referring cases related to unpaid royalties to the Office of Enforcement based on defined conditions, to include dollar thresholds, material significance, or when companies are repeat offenders.