Free explainer

Why is there a negative amount on my royalty statement?

A minus line is usually a correction, not a penalty. The payor takes back a month it paid before and, most of the time, pays it again with new figures. Here is a worked example, read by the same rules that read your statements.

The example

Five checks from one lease, with four corrections in them

The circled figures are the corrections our rules found. Tap a note to see its mark. The owner and the company are made up; the arithmetic is real.

EXAMPLE OIL CO.Made-up statements for this page

OWNER STATEMENTS5 checks, oldest first

Owner no.EXAMPLE

PropertyExample lease

Sale monthsJan 2025 to Mar 2026

Paid	Sale mo.	Bbl	Price	Net $
03/01/26	01/26	200	50.00	100.00
04/01/26	01/26	−200	50.00	−100.00
04/01/26	01/26	240	60.00	120.00
05/01/26	02/26	−400	50.00	−200.00
05/01/26	02/26	420	50.00	210.00
06/01/26	01/25	160	50.00	80.00
06/01/26	03/26	−100	50.00	−50.00

NET OF THE CORRECTIONS+$60.00

MESSAGEEvery minus line above undoes a line paid on an earlier check. The circled figures are the corrections.

A made-up owner. The rules that read it are the ones that read your statements.

What each mark means

Net of 4 corrections+$60.00

See each one

Three kinds of line

What a reversal, a rebill and a late line look like

Reversal
A minus line
03/01 paid
+$100.00
04/01 taken back
−$100.00
It cancels a line paid on an earlier check, figure for figure. On its own it means that payment was taken back.
Rebill
Taken back and paid again
04/01 taken back
−$100.00
04/01 paid again
+$120.00
A reversal and a new plus line for the same month on the same check. The difference between the two is the real change.
Late line
An old month paid now
Month sold
01/25
Paid on
06/01/26
A plus line for a month that ended more than 180 days before the check. Often a correction, or money released from a hold.

Slip by slip

Each correction, before and after

What was first paid, what was taken back, what came in its place, and the difference. Net, the four came to +$60.00 for the owner.

Rebill · January 2026 · Oil

January 2026 oil was taken back and paid again with a different price and volume.

First paidPaid Mar 1, 2026: +$100.00
Taken backPaid Apr 1, 2026: −$100.00
Paid againPaid Apr 1, 2026: +$120.00
Net change: +$20.00$20.00 more than first paid

What changed

Price$50.00 a barrel to $60.00 a barrel
Volume sold200 bbl to 240 bbl
Your share before costs$100.00 to $120.00

The question to ask

Why was January 2026 oil corrected? Please send the original and corrected volume, price and decimal.

Rebill · February 2026 · Oil

February 2026 oil was taken back and paid again with a different volume.

First paidOn an earlier check: Not shown
Taken backPaid May 1, 2026: −$200.00
Paid againPaid May 1, 2026: +$210.00
Net change: +$10.00$10.00 more than first paid

What changed

Volume sold400 bbl to 420 bbl
Your share before costs$200.00 to $210.00

The check that first paid this month is not in the example, so the figures taken back stand in for it.

The question to ask

Why was February 2026 oil corrected? Please send the original and corrected volume, price and decimal.

Late line · January 2025 · Oil

January 2025 oil was paid 486 days after the month ended.

Paid on this linePaid Jun 1, 2026: +$80.00

The question to ask

Why was January 2025 oil paid on this check, and does the payment include interest for the time it was held?

Reversal · March 2026 · Oil

March 2026 oil was taken back and nothing was paid in its place on this check.

First paidOn an earlier check: Not shown
Taken backPaid Jun 1, 2026: −$50.00
Net change: −$50.00$50.00 less than first paid

The check that first paid this month is not in the example, so the figures taken back stand in for it.

The question to ask

March 2026 oil was reversed on my statement. Will it be paid again, and on which check?

Your own statements

See the corrections on your statement

Upload a statement or two. The free check says how many corrections they carry, what they add up to, and shows the first one in full.

Upload the earlier check too, so we can find the first payment.

Check my statement

Corrections are ordinary bookkeeping

Oil and gas is often sold before every figure is final. A purchaser restates a volume, a price index is revised, a decimal is fixed after a title review, a deduction is recalculated. The payor then corrects the months it already paid. On paper that shows up as a minus line followed, usually, by a new plus line.

In the example above, 3 of the 4 corrections raised what the owner was paid and 1 lowered it. Net, they came to +$60.00. Your statements can go either way.

When a correction is worth a question

The decimal changed. Ask for the division order behind the new one before you sign anything.
A month was taken back and nothing replaced it. Ask whether it will be paid again, and when.
An old month was paid now. Ask why it was held, and whether interest is included. Our late payment calculator shows the deadline and the interest.
The figures on the new line differ a lot from the old one and the statement does not say why.

What to send

Write to the payor’s owner relations department with your owner number, the property name and number, the sale month and the date of the check that carried the correction. Ask for the reason and for the original and corrected volume, price and decimal. Keep a copy of the statement and of your letter.