SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Audits of oil and natural gas royalty collections turned up an additional $2.3 million for New Mexico in 2020, officials with the State Land Office said.
The agency said that marked a nearly 48% increase over the previous year and a 120% increase over what was recouped in 2018..
About 85% of all royalty revenue collected by the land management agency is audited every five years, with analysts looking for mistakes and errors in reporting.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, all of the audits initiated after March 2020 were done remotely rather than traveling to company offices out in the field.
Money generated by business on state trust land is deposited into the Land Grant Permanent Fund, which is then invested by the State Investment Council. The funds help to support public schools and other beneficiaries.
