BP America Inc. has been hit with a $5.2 million civil penalty for submitting “false, inaccurate, or misleading” reports for energy production that occurred on Southern Ute Indian tribal lands in southwestern Colorado.
“It is simply unacceptable for companies to repeatedly misreport production,” Michael Bromwich, director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, said in a statement.
The bureau was formerly the Minerals Management Service, which is responsible for collecting energy royalties on all public lands.
“We are committed to collecting every dollar due from energy production that occurs on Federal and American Indian lands, and accurate reporting is crucial to that effort,” Bromwich said.
The problem was first discovered in 2007 by Southern Ute tribal auditors, who work in conjunction with the bureau’s Minerals Revenue Management program.
The tribal auditors brought the issue to BP’s attention.
In filing monthly royalty reports, a company must provide production, market prices and the location of the producing wells.
BP America consistently had problems accurately filing this information, according to bureau officials.
“I appreciate the MRM’s recognition of its trust responsibility to the tribe by assessing civil penalties when other means have failed to attain correct and accurate reporting,” Southern Ute Tribal Chairman Matthew J. Box said in a statement.
BP America did not immediately return a telephone request for comment.
BP was the second largest natural gas producer in Colorado in 2008, the last year with complete data. Williams Companies Inc. was the biggest producer.
Mark Jaffe: 303-954-1912 or MJaffe@denverpost.com
