natural gas, natural gas liquids and oil and condensate, offset in part by decreases in operating expenses for natural gas for Hilcorp in the quarter ended March 31, 2024 as compared to the quarter ended March 31, 2023.
The Trust’s Interest income for the quarters ended March 31, 2024 and 2023 was $24,228 and $20,087, respectively. In accordance with the Trust Indenture and as explained below, interest on cash on hand was paid at a rate equivalent to a 7.00% annualized return from January 1, 2024 through March 31, 2024.
General and Administrative Expense. General and administrative expense was $46,192 and $66,074 for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The Trustee’s fees are included in general and administrative expense.
For the quarter ended March 31, 2024, the Trustee was due $118,750 for its services. The Trust paid $108,288 of this amount to the Trustee, and $10,462 was allocated to offset against interest due to the Trust under the Trust Indenture. The Trust Indenture requires that cash being held by the Trustee earn interest at 1.5% below the prime rate, which would have yielded the Trust a 7.00% annualized return from January 1, 2024 through March 31, 2024. However, due to the current interest rate environment, the Trustee was unable to obtain an account in which such an interest rate was available. In the event such an interest rate is unavailable in the future, the Trustee intends to allocate certain of its fees due to the Trust to meet the minimum interest rate payable under the Trust Indenture. In future periods the Trustee will continue to allocate a portion of the fees earned for its services to the Trust until all remaining interest due to the Trust is fully offset.
Unreimbursed Expenses and the Contingent Reserve. The Working Interest Owners partially reimburse the Trust each quarter for amounts paid in connection with the Trustee’s services. For the quarter ended March 31, 2024, the Trustee’s fees were $108,288 and the Working Interest Owners reimbursed a sum of $95,897 to the Trustee, which was the same amount reimbursed for the quarter ended March 31, 2023. As of each of the quarters ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, there were $0 of unreimbursed expenses.
The terms of the Trust Indenture provide, among other things, that the Trustee may establish cash reserves and borrow funds to pay liabilities of the Trust, and may pledge assets of the Trust to secure payment of the borrowings in accordance with the Trust Indenture. At any given time, the amount reserved for such future unknown contingent liabilities and expenses (such cumulative withholding being the “Contingent Reserve”) is included in cash and short-term investments. The Trustee utilizes the Contingent Reserve in its discretion in accordance with the Conveyance, and adjusts the balance of the Contingent Reserve as necessary when funds are added or removed. The net effects of such adjustments for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023 resulted in the balance of the Contingent Reserve being equal to $1,407,705 as of March 31, 2023 and equal to $1,762,256 as of March 31, 2024. The Trustee intends to increase the Contingent Reserve to a total of $2.0 million.
Distributable Income Available for Distribution. The portion of the Trust’s distributable income available for distribution each period includes the Royalty income received from the Working Interest Owners during such period, plus interest income earned to the date of distribution (if any) and increases or withdrawals from the Contingent Reserve (if any). Distributable income available for distribution for the quarter ended March 31, 2024 was $114,987, representing $0.0617 per unit, as compared to $688,892,