Source Rock Blog
Interior Returns $3.6B to Western Communities
December 9, 2025
Thanks to the hard work of Alliance members, the U.S. Department of the Interior recently announced $3.6 billion has been disbursed back to states within our region for important local services.
Driving the news: Touting its year-end accomplishments, Interior announced it received a total of $14.61 billion from federal and tribal oil and natural gas revenues, both from onshore and offshore production. This year’s revenues are the fifth largest on record. Of that, nearly $7.5 billion was from onshore production.
Behind the numbers: Nearly half of the revenues from onshore production are shared with the states where the funds were generated, as mandated by the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act. Additional funds are also directed toward conservation under the Great American Outdoors Act, reclamation, and energy-producing tribes. The revenue sharing programs are part of the balance that’s achieved in utilizing the natural resources the public owns, and why our industry is vital for more than simply providing energy.
New Mexico led the states across our region, receiving an incredible $2.76 billion. Other states received:
- Wyoming – $544.87 million
- North Dakota – $114.95 million
- Colorado – $90.77 million
- Utah – $81.72 million
- Montana – $27.02 million
Zoom in: Federal energy revenues are an important funding stream for community services. States send those funds down to the local level to pay for education, health services, first responders, infrastructure and more.
- Each state determines how to allocate these funds. Colorado, for example, allocates significant portions of the funds to five Mineral Leasing Districts where oil and natural gas are mostly produced on public lands. Those include Garfield, Huerfano, Mesa, Moffat, and Weld Counties.
- Listen to how these funds make a human difference through the eyes of Lt. Louis Cordova of the Lower Valley Fire Department in Mesa County.
Yes, but: Interior notes that revenues were down from last year, however, because commodity prices are down. Lower prices have, of course, been a political priority for the administration.
Bottom line: In wonky policy circles it’s easy to focus on macroeconomic indicators like jobs, or perhaps the end user when we talk about the price at the pump. Yet, it’s refreshing to refocus and consider the importance of our work at the community level. Our industry funds basic services that are making a difference in people’s lives in many important ways.
Author
Aaron Johnson
Vice President of Public and Legislative Affairs