Native American Indians Will Receive Gas Royalties Settlement

According to the Associated Press, Marathon Oil Co. and Dominion Oklahoma Texas Exploration and Production Inc. will pay $6.9 million to resolve claims the two energy companies separately underpaid natural gas royalties to the government and Native Americans, the Department of Justice said. Most of the $2.2 million paid by Dominion Oklahoma Texas and $4.7 million by Marathon will be distributed to federal, state and American Indian accounts affected by the underpayments, the department said in an announcement. More than $1.8 million will go to heirs of a whistleblower who filed a lawsuit more than a decade ago in Texas. Companies are required to report to the Interior Department each month the value of natural gas produced from their federal and Indian leases. A percentage of that value is paid as royalties. The government contended the companies made improper deductions from royalty values and violated the False Claims Act by underpaying the royalties.