ELR Citation: 53 ELR 20140
No(s). 21-8076 (10th Cir. Aug 25, 2023)

The Tenth Circuit affirmed denial of a preliminary injunction in a challenge to the Office of Natural Resources Revenue's (ONRR's) 2016 rule changing how royalties were calculated for oil and natural gas produced on federal land. A trade group argued the rule was arbitrary and capricious, in violation of the APA. A district court declined to preliminarily enjoin the rule's oil and gas provisions and upheld it on summary judgment, finding no APA violation. On appeal, the group challenged the provisions ending allowance-cap exemptions for gross-proceeds valuation, adopting an index pricing valuation method, and adopting a default valuation method. The appellate court found ONRR examined relevant data and adequately explained why it adopted each disputed feature of the three valuation methods in the rule, and thus did not act arbitrarily or capriciously.