"Here's an idea: agree to restore the royalties, retroactively, or we double them going forward, or when it comes time for renewal, whichever is earlier."
Oh yeah, raise the taxes on those EEVIL oil companies that way your gas prices will be so much cheaper! Give me a break.
Where did I suggest that we raise taxes on oil companies? Or that they are evil? Windfall profits taxes are counterproductive.
What I do suggest is that a party deriving income from natural resources on another's land should pay a royalty to the landowner. It seems that was the intent here, however, someone's screwup let the royalty agreement expire. The landowner, in this case the government, ought to get paid the royalties that were intended, and if they can't legally demand them retroactively, they should change the terms going forward in order to make up for this mistake. Why should private parties be able to take the resources that belong to all of us without adequate compensation?