[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 46 (Thursday, March 8, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13960-13962]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-5673]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of revision of a currently approved information 
collection (OMB Control Number 1010-0067).

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SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), we 
are inviting comments on a collection of information that we will 
submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and 
approval. The information collection request (ICR) is titled ``30 CFR 
250, Subpart E, Oil and Gas Well-Completion Operations.''

DATES: Submit written comments by May 7, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Mail or hand-carry comments to the Department of the 
Interior; Minerals Management Service; Attention: Rules Processing 
Team; Mail Stop 4024; 381 Elden Street; Herndon, Virginia 20170-4817. 
If you wish to e-mail comments, the e-mail address is: 
[email protected]. Reference ``Information Collection 1010-0067'' 
in your e-mail subject line. Include your name and return address in 
your e-mail message and mark your message for return receipt.
    Our practice is to make comments, including names and home 
addresses of

[[Page 13961]]

respondents, available for public review during regular business hours. 
Individual respondents may request that we withhold their home address 
from the record, which we will honor to the extent allowable by law. 
There may be circumstances in which we would withhold from the record a 
respondent's identity, as allowable by the law. If you wish us to 
withhold your name and/or address, you must state this prominently at 
the beginning of your comment. However, we will not consider anonymous 
comments. We will make all submissions from organizations or 
businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as 
representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, available 
for public inspection in their entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alexis London, Rules Processing Team, 
telephone (703) 787-1600. You may also contact Alexis London to obtain 
a copy at no cost of the regulations and Notices to Lessees and 
Operators (NTL) that require the subject collection of information.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: 30 CFR 250, Subpart E, Oil and Gas Well-Completion 
Operations
    OMB Control Number: 1010-0067.
    Abstract: The Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 
1331 et seq., requires the Secretary of the Interior to preserve, 
protect, and develop oil and gas resources in the OCS; make such 
resources available to meet the Nation's energy needs as rapidly as 
possible; balance orderly energy resources development with protection 
of the human, marine, and coastal environment; ensure the public a fair 
and equitable return on resources offshore; and preserve and maintain 
free enterprise competition. Section 1332(6) of the OCS Lands Act (43 
U.S.C. 1332) requires that ``operations in the [O]uter Continental 
Shelf should be conducted in a safe manner by well-trained personnel 
using technology, precautions, and techniques sufficient to prevent or 
minimize the likelihood of blowouts, loss of well control, fires, 
spillages, physical obstruction to other users of the waters or subsoil 
and seabed, or other occurrences which may cause damage to the 
environment or to property, or endanger life or health.'' This 
authority and responsibility are among those delegated to MMS. To carry 
out these responsibilities, MMS issues regulations governing oil and 
gas and sulphur operations in the OCS. This collection of information 
addresses 30 CFR part 250, subpart E, Oil and Gas Well-Completion 
Operations.
    Last year we submitted a routine ICR to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) to renew the information collection requirements of 
the subpart E regulations. That approved information collection covered 
the paperwork burdens specifically required in Sec. 250.517 (tubing and 
wellhead equipment and their requirements). This included the 
requirement under Sec. 250.517(c) to notify the District Supervisor if 
sustained casing pressure (SCP) is observed on a well. This situation 
represents an ongoing safety hazard and can cause serious or immediate 
harm or damage to human life, the marine and coastal environment, and 
property.
    After receiving notification, the Region directs the lessee/
operator on the procedures and requirements necessary to monitor and 
report SCP conditions, and the process for obtaining a departure to 
produce wells with SCP. Because the Gulf of Mexico Region (GOMR) now 
has over 8,000 wells affected by SCP, the GOMR plans to issue an NTL 
detailing the policy and procedures on SCP. The NTL will include 
additional reporting and recordkeeping requirements, which we will 
include in our ICR to OMB on subpart E regulations.
    The MMS District Supervisors analyze and evaluate the information 
and data collected under subpart E to ensure that planned well-
completion operations will protect personnel safety and natural 
resources. They use the analysis and evaluation results in the decision 
to approve, disapprove, or require modification to the proposed well-
completion operations. Specifically, MMS uses the information to 
ensure: (a) compliance with personnel safety training requirements; (b) 
crown block safety device is operating and can be expected to function 
to avoid accidents; (c) proposed operation of the annular preventer is 
technically correct and provides adequate protection for personnel, 
property, and natural resources; (d) well-completion operations are 
conducted on well casings that are structurally competent; and (e) 
sustained casing pressures are within acceptable limits. The MMS 
district and regional offices will use paperwork requirements in the 
new GOMR NTL to determine that production from wells with SCP continues 
to afford the greatest possible degree of safety under these 
conditions.
    Responses are mandatory. No items of a sensitive nature are 
collected. Proprietary information respondents submit is protected 
according to the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) and its 
implementing regulations (43 CFR 2), 30 CFR 250.196 (Data and 
information to be made available to the public), and 30 CFR part 252 
(OCS Oil and Gas Information Program).
    Frequency: The frequency of reporting varies by section, but is 
mostly ``on occasion'' or annual.
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: Approximately 130 
Federal OCS oil and gas or sulphur lessees.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: The 
currently approved burden for this information collection is 5,672 
hours (505 reporting and 5,167 recordkeeping hours). The paperwork 
requirements of the GOMR NTL will increase this burden by 3,743 hours. 
The following chart details the individual components of the burden and 
estimated burden per response or record. In calculating the burdens, we 
assumed that respondents perform certain requirements in the normal 
course of their activities. We consider these to be usual and customary 
and took that into account in estimating the burden.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      Reporting &
 Citation 30 CFR 250 Subpart E       recordkeeping       Hour burden per
          & NTL Sec.                  requirement        response/record
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                         Reporting Requirements
------------------------------------------------------------------------
502...........................  Request approval not    1 hour.
                                 to shut-in well
                                 during equipment
                                 movement.
502 (MMS condition of           Notify MMS of well-     6 minutes.
 approval).                      completion rig
                                 movement on or off
                                 platform or from well
                                 to well on same
                                 platform.
505; 513; 515(a); 516(g), (j);  Submit forms MMS-123,   Burden covered
 NTL I.C, III.B.                 MMS-124, MMS-125 for    under 1010-
                                 various approvals,      0044, 1010-
                                 including remediation   0045, 1010-
                                 procedure for SCP.      0046.
512...........................  Request field well-     1 hour.
                                 completion rules be
                                 established and
                                 canceled (on
                                 occasion, however,
                                 there have been no
                                 requests in many
                                 years).
515(a)........................  Submit well-control     1 hour.
                                 procedure.

[[Page 13962]]

 
517(b)........................  Pressure test,          4 hours.
                                 caliper, or otherwise
                                 evaluate tubing &
                                 wellhead equipment
                                 casing; submit
                                 results (every 30
                                 days during prolonged
                                 operations).
517(c); NTL I, III.B..........  Notify MMS if           \1/4\ hour.
                                 sustained casing
                                 pressure is observed
                                 on a well.
NTL I.A, I.E, I.G, I.H, II,     Submit results of       2 hours.
 III Appendix.                   diagnostic tests,
                                 departure requests
                                 and supporting
                                 information,
                                 including plan of
                                 action for non-
                                 producing wells.
NTL I.C.......................  Notify MMS when         1 hour.
                                 remediation procedure
                                 is complete.
NTL I.D.......................  Appeal departure        Burden covered
                                 request denial.         under 30 CFR
                                                         part 290, 1010-
                                                         0121.
NTL Appendix..................  Request approval to     10 hours.
                                 lube and bleed
                                 remediation attempts.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       Recordkeeping Requirements
------------------------------------------------------------------------
506...........................  Instruct crew members   10 minutes.
                                 in safety
                                 requirements of
                                 operations to be
                                 performed; document
                                 meeting (weekly for 2
                                 crews x 2 weeks per
                                 completion = 4).
511...........................  Perform operational     6 minutes.
                                 check of traveling-
                                 block safety device;
                                 document results
                                 (weekly  x  2 weeks
                                 per completion = 2).
516 tests; 516(i).............  Perform BOP pressure    6 hours.
                                 tests, actuations &
                                 inspections; record
                                 results; retain
                                 records 2 years
                                 following completion
                                 of well (when
                                 installed; minimum
                                 every 14 days; as
                                 stated for component).
516(d)(5) test; 516(i)........  Function test annulars  .16 hour.
                                 and rams; document
                                 results (every 7 days
                                 between BOP tests--
                                 biweekly; note: part
                                 of BOP test when
                                 conducted).
516(e)........................  Record reason for       6 minutes.
                                 postponing BOP system
                                 tests (on occasion).
516(f)........................  Perform crew drills;    \1/2\ hour.
                                 record results
                                 (weekly for 2 crews
                                 x  2 weeks per
                                 completion = 4).
NTL I.F.......................  Retain complete record  \1/4\ hour.
                                 of well's casing
                                 pressure and
                                 diagnostic tests for
                                 2 years.
NTL & Appendix................  Perform diagnostic      4 hours
                                 tests and record
                                 results; perform
                                 follow-up tests at
                                 least annually to
                                 determine departure
                                 status.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' 
Burden: We have identified no ``non-hour cost'' burdens.
    Comments: The PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) 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. Before submitting an ICR to OMB, PRA section 
3506(c)(2)(A) requires each agency ``* * * to provide notice * * * and 
otherwise consult with members of the public and affected agencies 
concerning each proposed collection of information * * *''. Agencies 
must specifically solicit comments to: (a) evaluate whether the 
proposed collection of information is necessary for the agency to 
perform its duties, including whether the information is useful; (b) 
evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information; (c) enhance the quality, 
usefulness, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) 
minimize the burden on the respondents, including the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology. We will 
summarize written responses to this notice and address them in our 
submission for OMB approval, including any appropriate adjustments to 
the estimated burden.
    Agencies must estimate both the ``hour'' and ``non-hour cost'' 
burdens to respondents or recordkeepers resulting from the collection 
of information. We have not identified any non-hour cost burdens for 
the information collection aspects of 30 CFR 250, subpart E. Therefore, 
if you have costs to generate, maintain, and disclose this information, 
you should comment and provide your total capital and startup cost 
components or annual operation, maintenance, and purchase of service 
components. 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, 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.
    MMS Information Collection Clearance Officer: Jo Ann Lauterbach, 
(202) 208-7744.

    Dated: March 2, 2001.
E. P. Danenberger,
Chief, Engineering and Operations Division.
[FR Doc. 01-5673 Filed 3-7-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P