BP PLC and Shell Oil Co. are among 10 companies that the government is in negotiations with to rework improperly prepared oil and gas leases that didn't include clauses requiring royalty payments for oil selling above $36 a barrel.
Head of Interior's Minerals Management Service, R.M Burton said that BP and Shell "are thinking about it."
Both the companies seem willing to make changes in the leases.
Besides these 2 companies, the Interior department has spoken with 20 of the 55 energy companies that have interest in the leases and has developed "proposed terms".
The leases were made at a time when the price of oil was between $10 to $20 a barrel and the idea was to encourage companied to drill in deep water by waiving the usual 12 percent royalty as long as prices remained low.
But some companies aren't paying royalties since the clause was omitted in their lease agreements.
The government says it is near agreement with the two giants to recover some of neary $10 billion in lost royalty.
Republicans and Democrats shared their outrage over the loss of billions of dollars in lost royalty over what Interior officials have called a "mistake" in lease agreements.
The House Government Reform Committee is not satisfied with the department's explanations.
Burton said that she wants to know if the error was intentional or not. While Republican Darrell Issa said that the error shows the "culture of irresponsibility, unaccountability that pervades the entire department", some Democrats called for criminal investigations saying there was an obvious element of fraud.
Rep. Edward Markey stated “We will have a solution to the Middle East before you have an agreement from Shell and BP for a $36-a-barrel threshold."
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