[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 49 (Tuesday, March 13, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Page 14595]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-6131]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service


Wyoming Oil Royalty-In-Kind Pilot Report

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability For Review and Comment of the Wyoming 
Oil Royalty-In-Kind Pilot Report--Evaluation of the Pilot's First 18 
Months (October 1998--March 2000).

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SUMMARY: Minerals Management Service (MMS) will post on MMS's Internet 
Home Page the Wyoming Oil Royalty-In-Kind Pilot Report--18 Months and 
Counting. Comments will be accepted electronically or in hard copy.

DATES: Please submit comments on or before April 27, 2001.

ADDRESSES: The Report may also be obtained by contacting Mr. Martin C. 
Grieshaber, Minerals Management Service, MS 9200, PO Box 25165, Denver, 
CO 80225-0165.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Martin C. Grieshaber, telephone 
number (303) 275-7118; fax (303) 275-7124; e-mail 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Report will be posted at http://www.mrm.mms.gov under the icons ``What's New'' and ``Royalty in Kind.'' 
The Wyoming Oil Royalty-In-Kind Pilot was a result of a feasibility 
study published by MMS in 1997. That study concluded that, under the 
right circumstances, royalty in kind could be workable, revenue neutral 
or positive, and administratively more efficient for MMS and industry. 
The study recommended a set of royalty-in-kind pilot projects to test 
these conclusions. MMS, in partnership with the State of Wyoming, began 
taking in kind and offering for sale oil from leases in the Big Horn 
and Powder River Basins in October 1998. The Report summarizes and 
analyzes the results of the first three 6-month sales. The Wyoming Oil 
Royalty-in-Kind Program is currently in its sixth sale period.
    MMS and the State of Wyoming have been in continuous contact with 
affected parties. The Royalty-in-Kind Program is under constant 
improvement. Many of these improvements are a direct result of the 
lessons learned during the pilot period and subsequent sales. MMS's 
intent in making the Report available for comment prior to finalization 
is to continue these iterative improvements by receiving comments from 
individuals and groups with expertise in the Wyoming oil market. 
General comments concerning the analysis of the Wyoming Oil Royalty-in-
Kind Pilot will assist MMS in future reviews of its gas Royalty-in-Kind 
Pilots in the Gulf of Mexico.

    Dated: March 7, 2001.
Walter Cruickshank,
Associate Director for Policy and Management Improvement.
[FR Doc. 01-6131 Filed 3-12-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-W