Oil and gas companies must pay more to drill on public lands under new Biden administration rule

Oil and gas companies will have to pay more to drill on public lands and satisfy stronger requirements to clean up old or abandoned wells under a final rule from the Biden administration. The Interior Department rule finalized Friday raises royalty rates for oil drilling by more than one-third, to 16.67%, in accordance with the sweeping 2002 climate law approved by Congress. The previous rate of 12.5% paid by oil and gas companies for federal drilling rights had remained unchanged for a century. The federal rate was significantly lower than what many states and private landowners charge for drilling leases on state or private lands.