District Court, W.D. Louisiana November 10, 1986, Civ. A. 84-1967-LC (Mesa Petroleum Co. v. U.S. Department of Interior)

OPINION

VERON, District Judge.

The plaintiff, Mesa Petroleum Company (“Mesa”), has leased certain offshore lands from the United States. In this declaratory judgment action Mesa challenges the authority of the defendant, the United States Department of the Interior (“DOI”), to require Mesa to pay royalties on monies Mesa receives from Tennessee Pipeline Company (“Tennessee”) as “take-or-pay”