[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 67 (Friday, April 6, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18294-18295]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-8461]


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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 two currently approved information 
collections (OMB Control Numbers 1010-0018 and 1010-0039).

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SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), we 
are inviting comments on two collections of information that we will 
submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and 
approval. The information collection requests (ICR) are titled ``Form 
MMS-126, Well Potential Test Report (WPT)''; and ``Form MMS-127, 
Sensitive Reservoir Information Report (SRI).'' The submissions to OMB 
will request approval of revisions (to both forms) that clarify the 
submittal requirements and eliminate certain data elements. The current 
title (Request for Reservoir Maximum Efficient Rate) of Form MMS-127 is 
renamed.

DATES: Submit written comments by June 5, 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 Form MMS-
126'' or ``Form MMS-127'' as appropriate 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 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 revised forms MMS-126 and MMS-127.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Please note that on March 8, 2001, MMS 
published a Notice (66 FR 13955) announcing our intention to routinely 
renew, without change, OMB approval of form MMS-127, titled ``Request 
for Reservoir Maximum Efficient Rate (MER)''. Subsequent to publishing 
that notice, MMS decided to officially revise this form to reflect 
current reporting practices in the MMS Gulf of Mexico Region. The MMS 
Alaska and Pacific OCS Regions concurred with this decision. You should 
disregard the March 8, 2001, notice. If you wish to comment, comment on 
this Notice instead.
    Titles and OMB Control Numbers:
     Form MMS-126, Well Potential Test Report (WPT), 1010-0039.
     Form MMS-127, Sensitive Reservoir Information Report 
(SRI), 1010-0018.
    Abstract: The Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 
1331 et seq.), as amended, requires the Secretary of the Interior 
(Secretary) to preserve, protect, and develop sulphur resources on 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 environments; ensure the 
public a fair and equitable return on the resources offshore; preserve 
and maintain free-enterprise competition; and ensure that the extent of 
oil and natural gas resources of the OCS is assessed at the earliest 
practicable time. Section 5(a) of the OCS Lands Act requires the 
Secretary to prescribe rules and regulations ``to provide for the 
prevention of waste, and conservation of the natural resources of the 
Outer Continental Shelf, and the protection of correlative rights 
therein'' and to include provisions ``for the prompt and efficient 
exploration and development of a lease area.''
    To carry out these responsibilities, MMS has issued regulations to 
ensure that operations in the OCS will meet statutory requirements; 
provide for safety and protect the environment; and result in diligent 
exploration, development, and production of OCS leases. Various 
sections of 30 CFR part 250, subpart K, require respondents to submit 
forms MMS-126 and MMS-127.
    For several years, the MMS Gulf of Mexico Region (GOMR) has issued 
instructions to lessees and operators that when they submit these 
forms, they do not need to request a maximum production rate (MPR) or a 
maximum efficient rate (MER), nor complete data elements 110 through 
114 on cumulative well production during

[[Page 18295]]

approved testing periods. The GOMR does, however, retain the authority 
to set MPRs for individual well completions, and to set MERs for 
individual reservoirs, if necessary to ensure natural resources 
conservation and to maximize ultimate recovery.
    The MMS Alaska and Pacific OCS Regions agree with the determination 
that MMS no longer needs to collect the information reported in data 
elements 110 through 114 on both forms. They will still require lessees 
and operators in those regions to complete data element 91(Requested 
MPR) on form MMS-126 and data elements 119 and 120 (Present and 
Requested MER) on form MMS-127. We are revising the forms to reflect 
these decisions. When we next revise the 30 CFR 250, subpart K, 
regulations, we anticipate proposing to officially incorporate these 
changes in regulation.
    MMS District and Regional Supervisors use the information on form 
MMS-126 for various environmental, reservoir, reserves, and 
conservation analyses, including the determination of MPRs when 
necessary for certain oil and gas completions. The form contains 
information concerning the conditions and results of a well potential 
test. This requirement implements the conservation provisions of the 
OCS Lands Act and 30 CFR 250. The information obtained from the well 
potential test is essential to determine if an MPR is necessary for a 
well and to establish the appropriate rate. It is not possible to 
specify an MPR in the absence of information about the production rate 
capability (potential) of the well.
    MMS District and Regional Supervisors use the information submitted 
on form MMS-127 to determine whether a rate-sensitive reservoir is 
being prudently developed. This represents an essential control 
mechanism that MMS uses to regulate production rates from each 
sensitive reservoir being actively produced. Occasionally, the 
information available on a reservoir early in its producing life may 
indicate it to be non-sensitive, while later and more complete 
information would establish the reservoir as being sensitive. 
Production from a well completed in the gas cap of a sensitive 
reservoir requires approval from the Regional Supervisor. The 
information submitted on form MMS-127 provides reservoir parameters 
that are revised at least annually or sooner if reservoir development 
results in a change in reservoir interpretation. The engineers and 
geologists use the information for rate control and reservoir studies.
    Responses are mandatory. No questions of a ``sensitive'' nature are 
asked. MMS will protect proprietary information 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). Proprietary information concerning geological and 
geophysical data will be protected according to 43 U.S.C. 1352.
    Frequency: The frequency is ``on occasion,'' but not less than 
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 ``hour'' burden for both forms is 1 hour.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' 
Burden: We have identified no ``non-hour cost'' burden associated with 
either form MMS-126 or MMS-127.
    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 forms MMS-126 or MMS-127. 
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 27, 2001.
John V. Mirabella,
Acting Chief, Engineering and Operations Division.
[FR Doc. 01-8461 Filed 4-5-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-U