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U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resources Revenue Data wordmark with oil platform rig pulling up a dollar sign

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Disbursements by Month

Revenue collected from extraction of natural resources on federal and Native American lands is distributed to various legislated funds, local governments, and federal agencies. This process is called disbursement. We have disbursements data by month from October 2018 through the most recently available month.

Download disbursement by month data:

Scope

This dataset includes natural resource disbursements for U.S. federal lands, federal offshore areas, and Native American lands. It does not include privately owned lands or U.S. state lands. The dataset is tracked and managed by the Department of the Interior’s Office of Natural Resources Revenue. Disbursements of revenue from extractive activities on U.S. federal lands occur bi-weekly. The data contains disbursement payments by month to state and local governments, designated funds, and the U.S. Treasury from October 2018 through the most recently available month.

Data publication

We publish the monthly file when we receive the data for the most recently available month, which is usually 1–2 months prior to the current month.

Data dictionary

Fields and definitions

Laws treat revenues from offshore natural resources and onshore natural resources differently. There are set percentages and amounts from each that go to specific funds, local governments, or government agencies. All revenue collected from Native American lands is disbursed back to Native American tribes, nations, or individuals.

Month The month the disbursement occurred

Calendar Year The period between January 1 and December 31 for a given year.

Fund Type The type of recipient receiving the disbursement

  • BLM-Nat Petrol Reserve-2 Funds from oil and gas leases directed to the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.
  • Bureau of Land Management Certain funds are directed back to the federal agencies that administer these lands and waters to help cover the agencies’ operational costs.
  • Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Certain funds are directed back to the federal agencies that administer these lands and waters to help cover the agencies’ operational costs.
  • Bureau of Safety & Environmental Enforcement Certain funds are directed back to the federal agencies that administer these lands and waters to help cover the agencies’ operational costs.
  • Fish & Wildlife Certain funds are directed back to the federal agencies that administer these lands and waters to help cover the agencies’ operational costs.
  • Forest Service Certain funds are directed back to the federal agencies that administer these lands and waters to help cover the agencies’ operational costs.
  • Land & Water Conservation Fund This fund provides matching grants to states and local governments to buy and develop public outdoor recreation areas across the 50 states. The Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA) of 2006 specifies that 12.5% of revenues from certain gulf leases be directed to the LWCF stateside program. States can receive up to $125 million a year in funding. This portion of LWCF funds is not subject to the congressional appropriation process, but are otherwise treated similarly to regular LWCF funds.
  • Lease Process Improvement (BLM) This fund was established to support the coordination and processing of oil and gas leases on federal onshore land.
  • Native American Tribes & Allottees ONRR disburses 100% of revenue collected from resource extraction on Native American lands back to Native American tribes, nations, and individual Indian landowners.
  • Reclamation Fund Established by Congress in 1902, funds the development of irrigation projects on arid and semiarid lands of the 17 western states.
  • State Fund Funds disbursed to states fall under the jurisdiction of each state, and each state determines how the funds will be used.
  • U.S Treasury Funds disbursed to the Treasury go to the General Fund, which is the federal government’s basic operating fund. The General Fund pays for roughly two-thirds of all federal expenditures, including the U.S. military, national parks, and schools.
  • U.S. TreasuryAI Funds disbursed to Native American deposit accounts within the U.S. Treasury Deposit accounts are funds that are collected by the U.S. Treasury but do not belong to the federal government.

Land Category Whether the origin of the revenue being disbursed is offshore or onshore

Disbursement Type Disbursement types are guided by revenue-sharing legislation and agreements. For example, GOMESA and 8(g) direct portions of offshore revenue to states, local governments, and designated funds. Disbursements from the production of geothermal energy is also shared with county governments.

State The state that received the disbursement in accordance with revenue-sharing legislation

County The county, parish, or borough that received the disbursement in accordance with revenue-sharing legislation

Commodity The commodity that generated the revenue. For oil and gas, the commodity listed depends on the phase of production. Since it's unknown whether a lease will produce oil, gas, or both, the two commodities are combined in the bonus and rent phases and listed as "Oil & Gas."

  • Clay 
  • Coal
  • Copper
  • Gas
  • Geothermal
  • Gilsonite
  • Gold
  • Hardrock
  • Lead/Zinc
  • Limestone
  • Oil
  • Oil & Gas
  • Oil Shale
  • Phosphate
  • Potassium
  • Quartz
  • Sodium
  • Wind

Category (dollar) Includes the phases of lease payments.

  • Bonuses The amount paid by the highest bidder for a natural resource lease.
  • Rents The annual payment for leasing lands or waters before production starts.
  • Royalties Payments for extracted natural resources, determined by a percentage of the resources’ production value.
  • Other Distributions Revenues from fees and civil penalties.
  • Sequestration represents statutory spending limits which are withheld from certain government programs. Some program funds are returned in following fiscal year.

Disbursement (dollar) The amount disbursed.

Contact us

Do you have questions about the data or need data that isn't here? Contact our data specialists at onrrdatarequests@onrr.gov.