Oklahoma-Based Devon Energy Agrees to $6.15M Settlement

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Oklahoma City-based Devon Energy Corporation has agreed to a $6.15 million settlement agreement with the federal government over allegations it underpaid royalties on federal leases, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday.

The settlement resolves allegations that Devon underpaid and underreported royalties from federal natural gas leases in Wyoming and New Mexico, the department said in a press release.

"The United States allows companies to remove gas from federal lands, which belong to all of us, in exchange for the payment of appropriate royalties," Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton of the Justice Department's Civil Division said in a statement. "This settlement demonstrates that the government will hold accountable those who take improper advantage of public resources."

Devon disputed the federal allegations and did not admit liability as part of the agreement. A company spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a message left by The Associated Press seeking comment about the settlement.