[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 149 (Wednesday, August 4, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42410-42411]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-19956]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for Office 
of Management and Budget Review; Comment Request; Extension

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of extension of a currently approved information 
collection.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), we are notifying you that MMS is planning to 
submit an information collection request to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) to request an extension of a currently approved 
collection. Under the PRA, Federal agencies are required to publish 
notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of 
information, including each proposed extension of an existing 
collection of information and to allow 60 days for public comment in 
response to the notice. This notice solicits comments on requirements 
relating to Bids and Financial Statements for Sale of Royalty Oil and 
Gas (RIK Pilots), (OMB Control Number 1010-0129).

DATES: Submit written comments on the collection of information by 
October 4, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments on the collection of information to 
the Minerals Management Service, Royalty Management Program, Rules and 
Publications Staff, P.O. Box 25165, MS-3021, Denver, Colorado 80225-
0165; courier address is Building 85, Room A613, Denver Federal Center, 
Denver, Colorado 80225; e:mail address is RMP.[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions concerning this 
collection of information, please contact Anne Ewell, Royalty-in-Kind 
(RIK) Study Team, telephone (703) 787-1584. You may also obtain copies 
of this collection of information by contacting MMS's Information 
Collection Clearance Officer at (202) 208-7744.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA, Federal agencies must obtain 
approval from OMB for each collection of information they conduct or 
sponsor. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA requires Federal agencies to 
provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning each 
proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension 
of an existing collection of information, before submitting the 
collection to OMB for approval. To

[[Page 42411]]

comply with this requirement, MMS is publishing notice of the proposed 
collection of information listed below.
    With respect to the following collection of information, MMS 
invites comments on: (1) Whether the proposed collection of information 
is necessary for the proper performance of MMS's functions, including 
whether the information will have practical utility; (2) the accuracy 
of MMS's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of 
information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions 
used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques, when appropriate, and other forms of 
information technology.
    In addition, the PRA requires agencies to estimate the total annual 
reporting and recordkeeping ``cost'' burden to respondents or 
recordkeepers resulting from the collection of information. We need to 
know if you have costs associated with the collection of this 
information for either total capital and startup cost components or 
annual operation, maintenance, and purchase of service components. Your 
estimates should consider the costs to generate, maintain, and disclose 
or provide the information. You should describe the methods you use to 
estimate major cost factors, including system and technology 
acquisition, expected useful life of capital equipment, discount 
rate(s), and the period over which you incur costs. Capital and startup 
costs include, among other items, computers and software you purchase 
to prepare for collecting information; monitoring, sampling, drilling, 
and testing equipment; and record storage facilities. Generally, your 
estimates should not include equipment or services purchased: (i) 
before October 1, 1995; (ii) to comply with requirements not associated 
with the information collection; (iii) for reasons other than to 
provide information or keep records for the Government; or (iv) as part 
of customary and usual business or private practices.
    Title: Bids and Financial Statements for Sale of Royalty Oil and 
Gas (RIK Pilot Study)--Extension.
    OMB Control Number: 1010-0129.
    Abstract: The Secretary of the Interior, under the Mineral Leasing 
Act (30 U.S.C. 192) and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 
U.S.C. 1353), is responsible for the management of royalties on 
minerals produced from leased Federal lands. MMS carries out these 
responsibilities for the Secretary. Most royalties are now paid in 
value--when a company or individual enters into a contract to develop, 
produce, and dispose of minerals from Federal lands, that company or 
individual agrees to pay the United States a share (royalty) of the 
full value received for the minerals taken from leased lands. MMS has 
undertaken several pilot programs to study the feasibility of taking 
the Government's royalty in the form of production, that is, as RIK. 
MMS is also evaluating the feasibility and efficiency of providing 
royalty production to other Federal agencies for consumption.
    Submission of bids and financial statements is part of the process 
MMS has established to comply with statutory requirements that, when 
RIK is offered for sale to the public, the sale must be competitive. On 
May 24, 1999, OMB granted emergency approval for MMS to accept 
financial statements and bids from individuals wishing to purchase 
Federal RIK production.
    The information collected in the bids and financial statements are 
essential to assure that a fair and competitive return to the Federal 
Treasury is likely to result from a competitive sale. Further, 
submission of such bids and financial statements is a routine aspect of 
doing business in the oil and gas markets, in which privately-owned oil 
and gas production is often sold competitively and qualifications of 
the potential purchaser are evaluated, as well as their bid. MMS 
releases winning bidders' names, but not the amounts or terms of 
winning bids. Any proprietary information submitted to MMS under this 
collection will be securely stored and access to them limited as 
required by applicable regulations of the Department (43 CFR part 2). 
No items of a sensitive nature are collected. A response is required to 
obtain a benefit.
    The PRA provides that an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a 
person is not required to respond to, a collection of information 
unless it displays a currently valid OMB Control Number.
    Burden Statement: The reporting burden is estimated to average 1 
hour per response--(1 hour to prepare, review and submit a bid and 1 
hour to prepare update and submit a financial statement). This includes 
the time for reviewing the instructions and gathering and maintaining 
supporting data.
    In calculating the burden, we assume that respondents perform many 
of the requirements and maintain records in the normal course of their 
activities. We consider these usual and customary and take that into 
account in estimating the burden.
    Respondents/Affected Entities: Potential purchasers of RIK 
production from Federal oil or gas leases participating in RIK pilot 
programs.
    Frequency of Collection: Occasional.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 37 in Year 1; 37 in Year 2; and 37 
in Year 3.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 142 hours in Year 1; 
532 in Year 2; and 757 in Year 3.
    MMS Information Collection Clearance Officer: Jo Ann Lauterbach 
(202) 208-7744.

    Dated: July 29, 1999.
Lucy Querques Denett,
Associate Director for Royalty Management.
[FR Doc. 99-19956 Filed 8-3-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P