Joint Interest Billing (JIB)
The monthly invoice an operator sends non-operating working-interest owners for their proportionate share of drilling and operating costs.
Joint interest billing, or JIB, is the monthly invoice an operator sends to each non-operating working interest owner for its proportionate share of the costs to drill and operate a well. Where a royalty owner only receives money, a working-interest owner gets billed — JIB is the statement that says how much you owe this month and for what: drilling, completion, lease operating expense, workovers, and overhead.
The amount is your working-interest percentage applied to the costs in the joint account, under the accounting procedure attached to the joint operating agreement. Those costs trace back to the budget you approved on the AFE. When a well is profitable, your revenue check should exceed the JIB; early in a well's life or during a workover, the JIB can be the larger number.
JIBs are why working interest carries risk that cost-free royalty does not. Buyers weighing working interest should review recent JIBs alongside the production history. See lease operating expense.