(a) The royalty suspension volume for your RS lease will continue through the end of the month in which cumulative production from your lease reaches the applicable royalty suspension volume or the lease period ends.

(b)

(1) Notwithstanding any royalty suspension volume under this subpart, you must pay royalty at the lease stipulated rate on:

(i) Any oil produced for any period stipulated in the lease during which the arithmetic average of the daily closing price on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) for light sweet crude oil exceeds the applicable threshold price of $36.39 per barrel, adjusted annually after calendar year 2007 for inflation unless the lease terms prescribe a different price threshold.

(ii) Any natural gas produced for any period stipulated in the lease during which the arithmetic average of the daily closing price on the NYMEX for natural gas exceeds the applicable threshold price of $4.55 per MMBtu, adjusted annually after calendar year 2007 for inflation unless the lease terms prescribe a different price threshold.

(iii) Determine the threshold price for any calendar year after 2007 by adjusting the threshold price in the previous year by the percentage that the implicit price deflator for the gross domestic product, as published by the Department of Commerce, changed during the calendar year.

(2) You must pay any royalty due under this paragraph, plus late payment interest under 30 CFR 1218.54, no later than 90 days after the end of the period for which royalty is owed.

(3) Any production on which you must pay royalty under this paragraph will count toward the production volume determined under §§560.120 through 560.124.

(c) If you must pay royalty on any product (either oil or natural gas) for any period under paragraph (b) of this section, you must continue to pay royalty on that product during the next succeeding period of the same length until the arithmetic average of the daily closing NYMEX prices for that product for that period can be determined. If the arithmetic average of the daily closing prices for that product for that period is less than the threshold price stipulated in the lease, you are entitled to a credit or refund of royalties paid for that period with interest under applicable law.

[76 FR 64623, Oct. 18, 2011. Redesignated at 81 FR 18175, Mar. 30, 2016]