I am an acknowledged expert on a wide variety of federal royalty issues: oil and gas valuation, royalty relief and royalty-in-kind. My experience spans three decades and involves key advocacy, policy development and advisory roles for industry and government. I am very familiar with the oil industry and its trade associations, and other stakeholder interests. I am also very familiar with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (previously the Minerals Management Service) Program, and the experienced government professionals who make the program work.

Advisory Bodies. In the mid-1980's I served two terms on the Secretary of the Interior's Royalty Management Advisory Committee, which offered recommendations on implementation of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act.In late 2006 I was appointed to the Secretary of the Interior’s Royalty Policy Committee (RPC), elected as RPC vice chair and named as vice chair of its new Subcommittee on Royalty Management. The new Subcommittee undertook a thorough assessment of the overall MMS royalty management Program and its 110-recommendation December 2007 report was adopted as the backbone of an MMS action plan and the subject of a House of Representatives hearing in March 2008. The Subcommittee Report also led to rejuvenation of the existing RPC Oil and Gas Valuation Committee, which I chair, and which will examine two issues of great interest in the gas valuation domain: cost bundling and the use of indexing in lieu of benchmarks.

Consensus Building. For over 20 years I managed the American Petroleum Institute's Subcommittee on Exploration and Production Law, developing consensus on key rulemaking, legislation and litigation issues affecting industry.

Litigation. Since early 2008 I have served as an expert witness in three challenging royalty management cases in federal court:

• Wright v. Chevron, No. 5:03-cv-264 (E.D. Tex.)(False Claims Act; compression costs for gas processing plant).
• Anderson v. Merit Energy Company, No. 07-cv-00916 (W.D. Co.)(private class action case; percent-of-proceeds contracts and post-production costs for processed gas).
• Little v. Eni Petroleum Co., No. CIV-06-120 (W.D. Ok.) (False Claims Act case; transportation costs for oil royalty in kind).

Sole association counsel for all industry rulemaking litigation involving current federal oil and gas valuation rules. Actively managed API participation as amicus curiae in landmark royalty litigation cases: Diamond Shamrock v. Hodel (gas take-or-pay), IPAA v. Dewitt (gas valuation), Fina Oil & Chemical Company v. Norton (affiliate gas sales) and IPAA v. Baca (oil valuation).

In 2002-2003 I led the inter-association team that negotiated a settlement of oil valuation litigation, paving the way for the 2004 Oil Valuation Rule. In 2003 I received an MMS Corporate Leadership Award for several years of royalty advocacy "demonstrating commitment to resolving differences, reducing litigation and developing simplified royalty processes."

On behalf of individual producer clients I have crafted reasonable settlements in litigation involving multi-million dollar oil and gas valuation-related MMS audits.

Legislation. Centrally involved in all major federal royalty legislation since 1980: Federal Oil & Gas Royalty Management Act of 1983, NTL-5 Gas Royalty Act of 1986, Deepwater Royalty Relief Act of 1995; Federal Royalty Simplification Act of 1996.

Rulemaking. Centrally involved in all federal royalty management rulemaking since 1980. Principal author of all American Petroleum Institute written comments on federal royalty rulemaking 1986-2004; principal author of all inter-association oil industry comments 1996-2004. Regular industry spokesman at agency hearings and workshops.

Investigatory Commissions. Lead draftsman of American Petroleum Institute testimony before the 1982 Linowes Commission, which led directly to the Federal Oil & Gas Royalty Management Act of 1983; solely responsible for API's participation in the 1988-89 Senate Indian probe.

Policy Studies. Centrally involved in providing industry input on various agency (e.g., MMS, GAO) studies of royalty issues and pilot projects.

Pre-Audit Guidance. Familiar with MMS processes for securing pre-audit royalty guidance for onshore and offshore leases: simple Minerals Management Service guidance, a fuller Royalty Valuation Determination, or a full blown Future Valuation Agreement. Such guidance offers a producer reasonable certainty, which can cut administrative costs, minimize the time and cost of disputes, and avert False Claims Act liability.

Briefing & Training. As a managing attorney, then director of the American Petroleum Institute Office of General Counsel, routinely conducted royalty briefings for senior association management, senior association member committees and congressional staff. As senior counsel with Fulbright & Jaworski, also briefed oil company royalty compliance staffs and association groups on important legal and policy developments.

Publications. Author of several authoritative articles on royalty management; frequent presenter at Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation institutes and other events; conducted training and briefings for individual companies.

Royalty Developments & Media Contact. Have stayed abreast of royalty developments in Congress, at the agency and in the courts, including False Claims Act litigation. Have served as a key industry spokesman for electronic and print media, convening reporter roundtables. For example, appeared with Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton and others on CNBC's January 23, 2006, edition of Closing Bell, "Oil Company Royalties," to offer expert commentary on the New York Times unfounded and misleading allegation of gross gas royalty underpayments.

Royalty Management Library. Maintain a comprehensive library of legislative, rulemaking and litigation materials that span the modern era of federal royalty management that can facilitate compliance, agency appeals and litigation. See, e.g., “Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Chronology 1980-2010: Valuation, Royalty Relief & Royalty in Kind” under Sample Training Materials.