Today, Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce and Resources Committees, released the following statement in reaction to a response from Chevron regarding their unpaid royalties and ongoing negotiations with the Department of Interior to pay back those royalties to the American taxpayer:

“Chevron has repeatedly indicated some willingness, as they do again in this letter, to voluntarily renegotiate faulty leases from 1998 and 1999 that allow them and other big oil companies to drill for free on public land. However, Chevron’s opportunity to fix this problem on its own has passed. Chevron and the other big oil companies had been attempting to run out the clock on the 109th Congress in the hopes that the Markey-Hinchey amendment, which provides a strong incentive for these companies to renegotiate, would not become law.

“The Bush Administration’s Interior Department has made woefully little progress in recovering the tens of billions of dollars that taxpayers stand to lose as a result of these leases. According to Interior Department officials, of the 56 oil companies holding these leases that do not suspend royalty relief, only 20 have even bothered to respond to a written request from Interior, only 10 have agreed to a meeting and only 2 have expressed any willingness at all to renegotiate. Of course, none of the companies have completed a renegotiation of these old contracts. Chevron and Big Oil’s attempt to stop the U.S. Congress from compelling them to renegotiate these old leases has failed. In January, the newly-elected Democratic Congress will ensure that these companies stop fleecing the American people and pay their fair share to drill on public land.”

The original Chevron response can be found here: Chevron Response on 98_99 Leases_December 12 2006.pdf