Related Federal Cases
Devon Energy’s $6.15M Royalty Scam Exposed
Denver, CO – Devon Energy Corporation, an Oklahoma-based oil and natural gas exploration and production company, and its affiliates, Devon Energy Corp. (Oklahoma) and Devon Energy Production Company, LP, have been caught in a $6.15 million royalty scam, Grimy Times has learned.
According to allegations, Devon Energy underpaid and underreported royalties for natural gas from federal lands in Wyoming and New Mexico, netting the company a tidy profit at the expense of U.S. taxpayers.
“The United States allows companies to remove gas from federal lands, which belong to all of us, in exchange for the payment of appropriate royalties,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Civil Division. “This settlement demonstrates that the government will hold accountable those who take improper advantage of public resources.”
Devon Energy’s scheme involved deducting payments to third-parties for gas transportation and processing that included costs to place the gas in marketable condition, thereby knowingly underreporting and underpaying royalties to the Department of the Interior.
“We hold our public lands very dear in Colorado,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Matt Kirsch for the District of Colorado. “We will not allow companies extracting natural resources from those lands to avoid paying what they rightfully owe.”
The resolution in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado, with the assistance of the Department of the Interior’s Office of the Inspector General-Energy Investigations Unit, Department of the Interior’s Office of the Solicitor, and Department of the Interior’s Office of Natural Resources Revenue.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability. The $6.15 million settlement is a stark reminder that companies exploiting public resources will be held accountable for their actions.
Key Facts
- State: Colorado
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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