An official website of the U.S. government
How it works
Who owns natural resources in the U.S.?
Natural resources can be owned by citizens and corporations, the federal government, state and local governments, or Indian tribes and individuals.
-
Abandoned mine land fee
A fee for current day coal production that funds reclamation of mines abandoned before 1977.
-
Acquisition fee
A fee for securing an uncompetitive lease in place of a bonus.
-
Annual fee
A yearly maintenance fee for maintaining a claim.
-
Acquired lands
Acquired lands are public lands that were obtained by the federal government through purchase, condemnation, gift, or exchange.
-
Barrel
In the U.S., an oil barrel is defined as 42 US gallons, and abbreviated as bbl.
-
bbl
Abbreviation for a unit of measurement of oil. One bbl, or oil barrel, is defined as 42 US gallons.
-
Biomass
Organic nonfossil matter used as fuel. Sources of biomass include wood, wood waste products, biofuel, and many plant-based materials.
-
BLM
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, and manages exploration, development, and production of natural resources on federal lands.
-
BOEM
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, and is responsible for managing the development of energy and mineral resources on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.
-
Bonus
The amount the highest bidder paid for a natural resource lease.
-
BSEE
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, and is charged with promoting safety, protecting the environment, and conserving resources offshore through regulatory oversight and enforcement.
-
Claim-staking fee
A fee that covers the government’s administrative costs in the claim-staking process for mining on federal lands.
-
Civil society
People and organizations not associated with industry or government, such as trade unions, issue-based coalitions, faith-based organizations, indigenous-peoples movements, the media, think tanks, and foundations.
-
Crude oil
Oil is that is not treated or refined.
-
Direct use
Geothermal energy (hot water near the surface of the earth) can be used directly for heating buildings, drying crops, heating water, and other industrial processes.
-
Dry natural gas
Natural gas that remains after removing the liquefiable hydrocarbon portion from the gas stream (i.e., gas after lease, field, or plant separation) and after removing any quantities of nonhydrocarbon gases that render the gas unmarketable.
-
DOI
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) is a Cabinet-level agency responsible for managing America’s natural and cultural resources.
-
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
A document intended to provide decision makers and the public with information about the potential impacts of major federal actions and alternatives to them. Federal agencies prepare an EIS if a proposed federal action is determined to significantly affect the quality of the human environment, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
-
EITI Standard
The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Standard is an international standard for openness around the management of revenue from natural resources. Governments disclose how much they receive from extractive companies operating in their country and these companies disclose how much they pay. Governments sign up to implement the EITI Standard and must meet seven requirements.
-
Extractive industry
Oil, gas, and mining industries that extract natural resources.
-
Fair market value
The estimated price for a natural resource lease, based on the government’s analysis and the geological resources on the lands or waters.
-
Federal land
Lands and waters owned by the federal government, including public domain lands, acquired lands, and the Outer Continental Shelf.
-
Fiscal year (FY)
Revenue data is often reported by fiscal year. For example, the federal government’s FY 2013 includes October 1, 2012 through September 30, 2013.
-
Fossil fuel
An energy source formed in the Earth’s crust from decayed organic material. Common fossil fuels include oil, gas, and coal.
-
Gross domestic product (GDP)
A measure of the total value of goods and services produced in a specific area. The Bureau of Economic Analysis measures GDP by adding up the “real value added” for each industry that contributes to the U.S. economy.
-
Hydraulic fracturing
A well development process that involves injecting water under high pressure into a bedrock formation through the well, to increase the size and extent of existing bedrock fractures.
-
Independent Administrator (IA)
The EITI International Board requires participating countries to appoint an Independent Administrator to help apply the international standards. The USEITI Independent Administrator is Deloitte & Touche LLP.
-
Indian lands
Lands owned by Native Americans, including tribal lands held in trust by the federal government for a tribe’s use, Indian allotments held in trust by the federal government for individual use, and lands held by Alaska Native corporations.
-
Kilowatt hour (kWh)
A measure of electrical energy equivalent to a power consumption of 1,000 watts for 1 hour; abbreviated as kWh.
-
kWh
Abbreviation for “kilowatt hour,” a measure of electrical energy equivalent to a power consumption of 1,000 watts for 1 hour.
-
Lease
A contract that allows a company to be the exclusive entity that can apply to explore for and extract natural resources within a specific tract of federal lands or waters.
-
Lease condensate
Light liquid hydrocarbons recovered from oil and natural gas wells during production.
-
Locatable minerals
Locatable minerals are minerals that may be “located” and obtained by filing a mining claim. Locatable minerals include gold, silver, copper, lead, and many other metallic and nonmetallic minerals.
-
Margin of variance
The percentage difference that the USEITI Multi-Stakeholder Group defined as significant for each revenue type as part of the reconciliation process.
-
Material variance
A discrepancy between government-reported and company-reported revenue payments that is considered significant by the Independent Administrator. Margins of variance vary by revenue type, and were approved by the Multi-Stakeholder Group as part of the USEITI process.
-
Mcf
1000 cubic feet, a unit of measure for natural gas.
-
Megawatt Capacity (MC) fee
A revenue payment for the calculated value of electricity generated on federal lands.
-
Megawatt hours
One megawatt is equivalent to one million watts. One megawatt hour (abbreviated as Mwh) is equivalent to 1,000 Kilowatt hours.
-
Metric ton
One metric ton is equal to 2240 pounds. To convert metric tons to tons, multiply by 1.1023. To convert tons to metric tons, multiply by 0.9072.
-
Millage tax
A millage tax is a property tax based on the assessed value of a property. Millage tax rates are quantified in terms of mills: One mill is worth 1/1000 of a dollar, or $0.001.
-
Mill levy
A mill levy is calculated by determining how much revenue each taxing jurisdiction will need for the upcoming year, then dividing that projection by the total value of the property within the area.
-
Mill rate
A mill rate is the amount of tax payable per dollar on the assessed value of a property. Each mill is worth one-tenth of a cent, or $0.001.
-
Mineral acres
Sometimes the land’s surface owner is different from the owner of the minerals in the ground below. For instance, a state might retain mineral rights when it sells or swaps land.
-
Mineral resource potential
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, mineral resource potential is the likelihood for the occurrence of undiscovered mineral resources in a defined area.
-
Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG)
A cross-sector body comprised of members and alternates from government, industry, and civil society organizations commissioned by the Secretary of the Interior to guide and monitor EITI implementation.
-
North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
The standard used by federal agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. economy.
-
ONRR
The Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, and is responsible for collecting, disbursing, and verifying federal and Indian energy and other natural resource revenue.
-
Operating fee
A fee for a percentage of the anticipated value of wind energy produced on federal waters.
-
Outer Continental Shelf
The part of the continental shelf under federal jurisdiction, seaward of the line that marks state ownership, often three miles off a state’s coastline.
-
OSMRE
The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, and is responsible for regulating surface coal mining in the United States, as well as funding the restoration of abandoned coal mines.
-
OST
The Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) is part of the Department of the Interior and is responsible for stewardship of assets held in trust on behalf of American Indians.
-
Paying quantities
Quantities of oil or gas that are sufficient to yield a profit to the lease holder over operating expenses, even though the drilling costs or equipping costs are never recovered, and even if the undertaking as a whole may result in a loss to the lease holder.
-
Petroleum products
Products come from processing crude oil (including lease condensate), natural gas, and other hydrocarbon compounds. These include unfinished oils, liquefied petroleum gases, pentanes plus, aviation gasoline, motor gasoline, naphtha-type jet fuel, kerosene-type jet fuel, kerosene, distillate fuel oil, residual fuel oil, petrochemical feedstocks, special naphthas, lubricants, waxes, petroleum coke, asphalt, road oil, still gas, and miscellaneous products.
-
Play
A group of oil and gas fields in the same region formed by the same geological processes.
-
Private lands
Lands owned by citizens or corporations.
-
Production
We use the term “production” as a catch-all term for mining, drilling, energy generation, and other forms of natural resource extraction. There is no distinction between “extraction” and “production” in ONRR or EIA datasets.
-
Proved reserves
Quantities of natural resources that, by analysis of geological and engineering data, can be estimated with reasonable certainty to be commercially recoverable from known reservoirs and under current economic conditions, operating methods, and government regulations.
-
Public domain lands
Public domain lands are lands that have belonged to the federal government since they were obtained from the 13 original colonies, from Native American tribes, or through purchases from other countries, and have not been dedicated to a specific use.
-
Reclamation
The process of restoring the surface environment to acceptable pre-existing conditions, including surface contouring, equipment removal, well plugging, and revegetation.
-
Rent
An annual payment for leasing lands or waters before production starts.
-
Renewable energy
Energy resources that are virtually inexhaustible in duration but limited in the amount of energy that is available per unit of time. These include biomass, hydropower, geothermal, solar, wind, ocean thermal, wave action, and tidal action energy.
-
Resource advisory council (RAC)
A group of 12 to 15 members with diverse interests in local communities, such as ranchers, environmental groups, tribes, state and local government officials, academics, and other public land users.
-
Royalty
A payment for extracted natural resources, determined by a percentage of the resources’ production value.
-
Standard Occupation Classification
A system used by federal statistical agencies to classify workers into occupational categories for the purpose of collecting, calculating, or disseminating data.
-
State or local lands
Lands owned by state or local governments.
-
Split estate
A land parcel that has surface rights and subsurface rights (such as the rights to develop minerals) owned by different parties.
-
Subsurface rights
A lease holder’s right to use as much of the land beneath the surface as necessary to operate under the lease.
-
Subsurface mining
Underground mining, which has different and more labor intensive techniques than surface mining.
-
Surface rights
A leaseholder’s right to use as much of the surface of the land as necessary to operate under the lease.
-
Tax expenditures
Revenue lossess attributed to provisions of federal tax laws that allow a special exclusion, exemption, or deduction from gross income, or which provide a special credit, a preferential rate of tax, or a deferral of tax liability.
-
Ton
In the U.S., one ton is 2,000 pounds. In some countries this is referred to as a short ton.
-
Unorganized land
In Alaska, over half of land is not contained in any of its 19 organized boroughs. This land (collectively called the Unorganized Borough) is divided into 10 census areas for statistical purposes.
-
Variance floor
During the reconciliation process, only variances between reported numbers that exceed a minimum dollar amount are investigated by the Independent Administrator.
-
Wet gas
Natural gas that hasn’t been treated to remove liquid hydrocarbons or other nonhydrocarbons that make the gas unmarketable.
-
Withheld
Data may be withheld for several reasons. In some cases, usually where only one company is extracting a resource in a county, the specific amount produced in that state or county is withheld to protect trade secrets.
This site provides open data about natural resource management on federal lands and waters in the United States, including oil, gas, coal, and other extractive industries
Explore the data
The U.S. ranks first in the world for production of oil and natural gas, and second in the world for production of coal and renewable energy.
Explore data
Where does the money go?
Revenue from natural resources goes to state governments, as well as several federal funds that support projects at the local and national levels.
Case studies
How do extractive industries affect communities?
Learn about 12 communities that led the U.S. in production of iron, copper, gold, coal, oil, and natural gas over the last decade.
How it works
What natural resources are extracted?
The U.S. is a top producer of oil, gas, and coal, as well as nonenergy minerals like gold, iron, and copper.
How it works
How does resource extraction result in federal revenue?
Companies that extract resources on federal land may pay bonuses, rents, royalties, fees, taxes, or other revenues to the federal government.
About
Download the 2016 Executive Summary
This document includes an overview of contextual information and 2016 updates to this site.