Federal Oil Valuation: Efforts to Revise Regulations and an Analysis of Royalties in Kind

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the valuation of federal oil, focusing on: (1) the information the Minerals Management Service (MMS) used to justify the need for revising its regulations; (2) how MMS addressed concerns expressed by the oil industry and the states in developing these regulations; and (3) the feasibility of the government's taking its oil and gas royalties in kind, instead of in cash.