[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 110 (Thursday, June 7, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30749-30751]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-14295]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Submitted for Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) Review; Comment Request

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of extension of a currently approved information 
collection (OMB Control Number 1010-0051).

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SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), we 
are submitting to OMB for review and approval an information collection 
request (ICR), titled ``30 CFR 250, Subpart L, Oil and Gas Production 
Measurement, Surface Commingling, and Security.'' We are also 
soliciting comments from the public on this ICR.

DATES: Submit written comments by July 9, 2001.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments directly to the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for 
the Department of the Interior (1010-0051), 725 17th Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20503. Mail or hand carry a copy of your 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-
0051'' 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

[[Page 30750]]

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 
at no cost a copy of our submission to OMB, which includes the 
regulations that require this information to be collected.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: 30 CFR 250, Subpart L, Oil and Gas Production Measurement, 
Surface Commingling, and Security.
    OMB Control Number: 1010-0051.
    Abstract: The Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 
1331 et seq., gives the Secretary (Secretary) of the Department of the 
Interior (DOI) the responsibility to preserve, protect, and develop oil 
and gas resources in the OCS. This must be in a manner that is 
consistent with the need to 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 OCS 
resources; and preserve and maintain free enterprise competition. The 
Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1701, et 
seq.) at section 1712(b)(2) prescribes that an operator will ``develop 
and comply with such minimum site security measures as the Secretary 
deems appropriate, to protect oil or gas produced or stored on a lease 
site or on the Outer Continental Shelf from theft.'' These authorities 
and responsibilities are among those delegated to MMS under which we 
issue regulations governing oil and gas and sulphur operations in the 
OCS. This information collection request addresses the regulations at 
30 CFR part 250, subpart L, Oil and Gas Production Measurement, Surface 
Commingling, and Security, and the associated supplementary notices to 
lessees and operators intended to provide clarification, description, 
or explanation of these regulations.
    MMS uses the information collected under subpart L to ensure that 
the volumes of hydrocarbons produced are measured accurately, and 
royalties are paid on the proper volumes. Specifically, MMS needs the 
information to:
     Determine if measurement equipment is properly installed, 
provides accurate measurement of production on which royalty is due, 
and is operating properly;
     Obtain rates of production data in allocating the volumes 
of production measured at royalty sales meters, which can be examined 
during field inspections;
     Ascertain if all removals of oil and condensate from the 
lease are reported;
     Determine the amount of oil that was shipped when 
measurements are taken by gauging the tanks rather than being measured 
by a meter;
     Ensure that the sales location is secure and production 
cannot be removed without the volumes being recorded; and
     Review proving reports to verify that data on run tickets 
are calculated and reported accurately.
    Responses are mandatory. No questions of a ``sensitive'' nature are 
asked. MMS will protect proprietary information according to 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 varies by section, but is primarily 
monthly or ``on occasion.''
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: Approximately 130 
Federal OCS oil and gas or sulphur lessees.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: The 
following chart details the components of the estimated hour burden for 
the information collection requirements in subpart L--6,548 total 
burden hours. In estimating the burden, 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.

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                                                                                                                                       Requirement hour
       Citation 30 CFR 250 subpart L                                 Reporting or recordkeeping requirement                                 burden
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                                                                 Reporting Requirements
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1202(a)(1), (b)(1)........................  Submit liquid hydrocarbon measurement procedures application and/or changes............  8 hours.
1202(a)(4)................................  Copy & send pipeline (retrograde) condensate volumes upon request......................  \3/4\ hour.
1202(c)(4)*...............................  Copy & send all liquid hydrocarbon run tickets monthly.................................  1 minute.
1202(d)(4)................................  Request approval for proving on a schedule other than monthly..........................  1 hour.
1202(d)(5)*...............................  Copy & submit liquid hydrocarbon royalty meter proving reports monthly & request waiver  1 minute.
                                             as needed.
1202(f)(2)*...............................  Copy & submit mechanical-displacement prover & tank prover calibration reports.........  10 minutes.
1202(l)(2)*...............................  Copy & submit royalty tank calibration charts before using for royalty measurement.....  10 minutes.
1202(l)(3)*...............................  Copy & submit inventory tank calibration charts upon request...........................  \1/4\ hour.
1203(b)(1)................................  Submit gas measurement procedures application and/or changes...........................  8 hours.
1203(b)(6), (8), (9)*.....................  Copy & submit gas quality and volume statements upon request (80% of these will be       80% @ 5 mins. 20% @
                                             routine; 20% will take longer).                                                          30 mins.
1203(c)(4)*...............................  Copy & submit gas meter calibration reports upon request...............................  5 minutes.
1203(e)(1)*...............................  Copy & submit gas processing plant records upon request................................  \1/2\ hour.
1203(f)(5)................................  Copy & submit measuring records of gas lost or used on lease upon request..............  5 minutes.
1204(a)(1)................................  Submit commingling application and/or changes..........................................  8 hours.
1204(a)(2)................................  Provide state production volumetric and/or fractional analysis data upon request.......  1 hour.
1205(a)(4)................................  Report security problems (telephone)...................................................  \1/4\ hour.

[[Page 30751]]

 
                                                               Recordkeeping Requirements
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1202(c)(1), (2)...........................  Record observed data, correction factors & net standard volume on royalty meter and      Respondents record
1202(e)...................................   tank run tickets.                                                                        these items as
1202(h)(1), (2), (3), (4).................  Record master meter calibration runs...................................................   part of normal
1202(i)(1)(iv), (2)(iii)..................  Record mechanical-displacement prover, master meter, or tank prover proof runs.........   business records &
1202(j)...................................  Record liquid hydrocarbon royalty meter malfunction and repair or adjustment on proving   practices to
                                             report; record unregistered production on run ticket.                                    verify accuracy of
                                            List Cpl and Ctl factors on run tickets................................................   production
                                                                                                                                      measured for sale
                                                                                                                                      purposes.
1202(e)(6)................................  Retain master meter calibration reports for 2 years....................................  1 minute.
1202(k)(5)................................  Retain liquid hydrocarbon allocation meter proving reports for 2 years.................  1 minute.
1202(l)(3)................................  Retain liquid hydrocarbon inventory tank calibration charts for as long as tanks are in  5 minutes.
                                             use.
1203(c)(4)................................  Retain calibration reports for 2 years.................................................  1 minute.
1203(f)(4)................................  Document & retain measurement records on gas lost or used on lease for 2 years.........  1 minute.
1204(b)(3)................................  Retain well test data for 2 years......................................................  2 minutes.
1205(a)(2)................................  Post signs at royalty or inventory tank used in royalty determination process..........  1 hour.
1205(b)(3), (4)...........................  Retain seal number lists for 2 years...................................................  2 minutes.
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 * Respondents gather this information as part of their normal business practices. MMS only requires copies of readily available documents. This is no
  burden for testing, meter reading, document preparation, etc.

    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' 
Burden: We have identified no ``non-hour'' costs burdens.
    Comments: Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et 
seq.) 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.
    To comply with the public consultation process, on February 20, 
2001, we published a Federal Register notice (66 FR 10900) announcing 
that we would submit this ICR to OMB for approval. The notice provided 
the required 60-day comment period. In addition, Sec. 250.199 displays 
the OMB control number, specifies that the public may comment at 
anytime on the collection of information required in the 30 CFR part 
250 regulations and forms, and provides the address to which they 
should send comments. We have received no comments in response to these 
efforts. We also consulted with several respondents and adjusted some 
of the information collection burdens as a result of those 
consultations.
    If you wish to comment in response to this notice, send your 
comments directly to the offices listed under the ADDRESSES section of 
this notice. The OMB has up to 60 days to approve or disapprove the 
information collection but may respond after 30 days. Therefore, to 
ensure maximum consideration, OMB should receive public comments by 
July 9, 2001. 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.
    MMS Information Collection Clearance Officer: Jo Ann Lauterbach, 
(202) 208-7744.

    Dated: April 26, 2001.
John V. Mirabella,
Acting Chief, Engineering and Operations Division.
[FR Doc. 01-14295 Filed 6-6-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P