Hilcorp San Juan to pay $35M for royalty payment false claims
By 
Kyle Brasseur2024-01-22T16:00:00
Oil and gas company Hilcorp San Juan agreed to pay $34.6 million as part of a settlement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) addressing allegations of False Claims Act violations regarding underpaid royalties on oil and natural gas produced from federal lands.
The settlement, announced Friday, resulted from a U.S. investigation into certain of Hilcorp’s leases in the San Juan Basin in northwest New Mexico and southwest Colorado and their associated royalty payments.
From August 2017 through December 2018, Hilcorp paid federal royalties on oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids for its leases based on estimated volumes and prices instead of actual volumes and prices, the DOJ alleged. When estimated payments are made, the law requires actual payments be made the following month.
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