FOR RELEASE:  December 10, 1993              CONTACT: John Barclay
                                                     (202) 208-3983

DOI SOLICITOR SAYS TAX CREDITS NOT SUBJECT TO ROYALTY (#30057)

     The Solicitor's Office of the U.S. Department of the Interior
has ruled that tax credits for production of unconventional fuels
from Federal and Indian lands are not subject to royalty as part of
the lessee's gross proceeds.

     An audit report of the Interior Department's Inspector
General's office had previously asserted that such revenues were
subject to royalty, and faulted the Minerals Management Service for
failing to collect more than $70 million in royalty payments for
nonconventional fuels.

                              -MMS-
Subject: PR-12/10/93 Tax Credits/DOI Solicitor Says Tax Credits Not
Subject to Royalty (#30057)