The term for payments to mineral owners for reservoir depletion is called what?

• A. Tax
• B. Royalty
• C. Bonus
• D. Rent

Answer: (B)

In petroleum leasing, the payment to mineral owners for pulling hydrocarbons from a reservoir is called a royalty. It represents a share of the production (often a percentage of the gross value) that goes to the owner of the mineral rights as compensation for yielding the resource. The operator pays this ongoing share out of the production revenue as long as extraction continues, reflecting the owner's ongoing ownership of the resource.

This differs from a one-time upfront payment (bonus) used to secure a lease, and from periodic payments tied to land use in some leases (rent). Taxes are government charges on income or profits, not payments made to the mineral owner under the lease.