BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A North Dakota agency is trying to collect millions of dollars in oil and gas royalties that it says is owed to the state.

The dispute began after the North Dakota Department of Trust Lands discovered during a recent audit that some oil companies allegedly took improper deductions for transportation, processing and other costs out of royalties owed to the state, The Bismarck Tribune reported http://bit.ly/2t83hRY .

The North Dakota Petroleum Council, which is an industry group, disagrees with the department's evaluation of the leases, which date to 1979. It contends that...