[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 60 (Thursday, March 28, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14968-14969]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-7383]


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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 extension of a currently approved information 
collection (OMB Control Number 1010-0068).

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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) concerns the 
paperwork requirements in the regulations under 30 CFR part 250, 
subpart M, Unitization.

DATES: Submit written comments by May 28, 2002.

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.

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 that require the subject 
collection of information.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: 30 CFR 250, Subpart M, Unitization.
    OMB Control Number: 1010-0068.
    Abstract: The Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act, as amended 
(43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq. and 43 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), gives the 
Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) the responsibility to preserve, 
protect, and develop oil and gas resources in the OCS in a manner 
consistent with the need to make such resources available to meet the 
Nation's energy needs as rapidly as possible; balance orderly energy 
resource development with protection of human, marine, and coastal 
environments; ensure the public a fair and equitable return on the 
resources of the OCS; and preserve and maintain free enterprise 
competition. Section 1334(a) of the OCS Lands Act specifies that the 
Secretary prescribe rules and regulations ``to provide for the 
prevention of waste and conservation of the natural resources of the 
[O]uter Continental Shelf, and the protection of correlative rights 
therein'' and include provisions ``for unitization, pooling, and 
drilling agreements.'' To carry out these responsibilities, the 
Secretary has authorized MMS to issue orders and regulations governing 
offshore oil and gas lease operations.
    This notice concerns the reporting and recordkeeping elements of 30 
CFR part 250, subpart M, Unitization, and related Notices to Lessees 
and Operators that clarify and provide additional guidance on some 
aspects of the regulations. Responses are mandatory or are required to 
obtain or retain a benefit. 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). MMS OCS Regions use the information to determine 
whether to approve a proposal to enter into an agreement to unitize 
operations under two or more leases or to approve modifications when 
circumstances change. The information is necessary to ensure that 
operations will result in preventing waste, conserving natural 
resources, and protecting correlative rights, including the 
Government's interests. We also use information submitted to determine 
competitiveness of a reservoir or to decide that compelling unitization 
will achieve these results.
    Frequency: The frequency of reporting is 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 
currently approved ``hour'' burden for this information collection is a 
total of 2,742 hours. The following chart details the individual 
reporting components and respective hour burden estimates of this ICR. 
There are no recordkeeping requirements under 30 CFR 250, subpart M. 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.

                                                Burden Breakdown
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                      Burden per
           Citation 30 CFR 250 subpart M                         Reporting requirement               requirement
                                                                                                       (hours)
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1301..............................................  General description of requirements--burden
                                                     included in following sections.
1301(f)(3), (g)(1)................................  Request suspension of production or operations--
                                                     burden covered under 1010-0114.
1302(b)...........................................  Request preliminary determination on                      24
                                                     competitive reservoir.
1302(b)...........................................  Submit concurrence or objection on                        24
                                                     competitiveness with supporting evidence.
1302(c), (d)......................................  Submit joint plan of operations or separate               24
                                                     plan if agreement cannot be reached.
1303..............................................  Apply for voluntary unitization, including               144
                                                     submitting unit agreement, unit operating
                                                     agreement, joint plan of operation, and
                                                     supporting data; request for variance from
                                                     model agreement.

[[Page 14969]]

 
1304(b)...........................................  Request compulsory unitization, including                144
                                                     submitting unit agreement, unit operating
                                                     agreement, initial plan of operation, and
                                                     supporting data; serving nonconsenting lessees
                                                     with documents.
1304(d)...........................................  Request hearing on required unitization........            1
1304(e)...........................................  Submit statement at hearing on compulsory                  4
                                                     unitization.
130(e)............................................  Submit three copies of verbatim transcript of              1
                                                     hearing.
1304(f)...........................................  Appeal final order of compulsory unitization--
                                                     burden covered under 1010-0121.
1300-1304.........................................  General departure and alternative compliance               2
                                                     requests not specifically covered elsewhere in
                                                     subpart M regulations.
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    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' 
Burden: Section 250.1304(d) provides an opportunity for parties 
notified of compulsory unitization to request a hearing. Section 
250.1304(e) requires the party seeking the compulsory unitization to 
pay for the court reporter and three copies of the verbatim transcript 
of the hearing. It should be noted there have been no such hearings in 
the recent past, and none are expected in the near future. We estimate 
that the burden would be less than $100 to reproduce the copies.
    Public Disclosure Statement: The PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) 
provides that an agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of 
information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. 
Until OMB approves a collection of information, you are not obligated 
to respond.
    Comments: 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.
    Agencies must also estimate the ``non-hour cost'' burdens to 
respondents or recordkeepers resulting from the collection of 
information. Except as noted above for costs associated with 
Sec. 250.1304(d), we have identified no other non-hour cost burdens. 
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.
    We will summarize written responses to this notice and address them 
in our submission for OMB approval. As a result of your comments, we 
will make any necessary adjustments to the burden in our submission to 
OMB.
    Public Comment Policy: 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.
    MMS Information Collection Clearance Officer: Jo Ann Lauterbach, 
(202) 208-7744.

    Dated: February 12, 2002.
William S. Hauser,
Acting Chief, Engineering and Operations Division.
[FR Doc. 02-7383 Filed 3-27-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P