[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 32 (Tuesday, February 18, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7803-7805]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-3788]


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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 an extension of a currently approved information 
collection (OMB Control Number 1010-0136).

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SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, we 
are notifying the public that we have submitted to OMB an information 
collection request (ICR) to renew approval of the paperwork 
requirements in the regulations under 30 CFR part 206, subpart C, 
Federal Oil. This notice also provides the public a second opportunity 
to comment on the paperwork burden of these regulatory requirements. 
The ICR is titled: ``30 CFR Part 206, Subpart C, Federal Oil.''

DATES: Submit written comments on or before March 20, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to Sharron L. Gebhardt, Regulatory 
Specialist, Minerals Management Service, Minerals Revenue Management, 
P.O. Box 25165, MS 320B2, Denver, Colorado 80225. If you use an 
overnight courier service, our courier address is Building 85, Room A-
614, Denver Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225. You may also email 
your comments to us at [email protected]. Include the title of the 
information collection and the OMB control number in the ``Attention'' 
line of your comment. Also include your name and return address. Submit 
electronic comments as an ASCII file avoiding the use of special 
characters and any form of encryption. If you do not receive a 
confirmation we have received your email, contact Ms. Gebhardt at (303) 
231-3211.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sharron L. Gebhardt, telephone (303) 
231-3211, FAX (303) 231-3385 or email [email protected]. You may 
also contact Sharron Gebhardt to obtain a copy at no cost of the 
regulations that require the subject collection of information.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: 30 CFR Part 206, Subpart C, Federal Oil.
    OMB Control Number: 1010-0136.
    Abstract: The Department of the Interior (DOI) is responsible for 
matters relevant to mineral resource development on Federal and Indian 
lands and the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The Secretary of the 
Interior is responsible for managing the production of minerals from 
Federal and Indian lands and the OCS, collecting royalties from lessees 
who produce minerals, and distributing the funds collected in 
accordance with applicable laws. MMS assists the Secretary in 
performing the royalty management functions.
    Section 101(a) of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 
1982 (FOGRMA), as amended, requires that the Secretary ``establish a 
comprehensive inspection, collection, and fiscal and production 
accounting and auditing system to provide the capability to accurately 
determine oil and gas royalties, interest, fines, penalties, fees, 
deposits, and other payments owed, and collect and account for such 
amounts in a timely manner.'' In order to accomplish these tasks, MMS 
developed valuation regulations for Federal leases at 30 CFR part 206, 
subpart C. These regulations were published as a final rule in the 
Federal Register on March 15, 2000 (65 FR 14022). Market value is a 
basic principle underlying royalty valuation. Consequently, these 
regulations include methods to capture the true market value of crude 
oil produced from Federal leases, both onshore and offshore.
    When a company or an individual enters into a lease to explore, 
develop, produce, and dispose of minerals from Federal or Indian lands, 
that company or individual agrees to pay the lessor a share (royalty) 
of the value received from production from the leased lands. The lease 
creates a business relationship between the lessor and the lessee. The 
lessee is required to report various kinds of information to the lessor 
relative to the disposition of the leased minerals. Such information is 
similar to data reported to private and public mineral interest owners 
and is generally available within the records of the lessee or others 
involved in developing, transporting, processing, purchasing, or 
selling of such minerals. The information collected includes data 
necessary to assure that the royalties are paid appropriately. The 
valuation regulations at 30 CFR part 206, subpart C, require companies 
to collect and/or submit information used to value their Federal oil.
    MMS is requesting OMB's approval to continue to collect this 
information. Not collecting the information would limit the Secretary's 
ability to discharge his/her duties and may also result in loss of 
royalty payments. Proprietary information submitted is protected, and 
there are no questions of a sensitive

[[Page 7804]]

nature included in this information collection.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: 69 Federal 
lessees.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: 
12,431 hours.
    The following chart details the individual components and estimated 
hour burdens. In calculating the burdens, we assumed that respondents 
perform certain requirements in the normal course of their activities. 
Therefore, we consider these to be usual and customary and took that 
into account in estimating the burden.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                              Annual     Annual
          30 CFR 206 section            Reporting requirements   Burden hours per response  number of    burden
                                                                                            responses    hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
206.103 (a), (b), (c), and (e).......  Calculate value of oil      Category 1 = 222.50 \1\         13      2,892
                                        not sold at arm's-         Category 2 = 116.00 \2\          4        464
                                        length.                     Category 3 = 31.25 \3\         28        875
                                       Obtain MMS approval for                         400          2        800
                                        tendering program.
                                       Obtain MMS approval for                         400          2        800
                                        alternative valuation
                                        methodology.
                                       Obtain MMS approval to                          330          1        330
                                        use value determined at
                                        refinery.
 
                                                                ------------------------------------------------
206.109(c)(2)........................  Request to exceed          Burden covered under OMB Control Number 1010-
                                        regulatory limit--Form                        0095.
                                        MMS-4393.
                                                                ------------------------------------------------
206.110(b), (c), and (e).............  Propose transportation                          330          1        330
                                        cost allocation method
                                        to MMS when
                                        transporting more than
                                        one liquid product
                                        under an arm's-length
                                        contract.
                                       Propose transportation                          330          1        330
                                        cost allocation method
                                        to MMS when
                                        transporting gaseous
                                        and liquid products
                                        under an arm's-length
                                        contract.
                                       You must obtain MMS                             330          1        330
                                        approval before
                                        claiming a
                                        transportation factor
                                        in excess of 50 percent
                                        of the base price of
                                        the product.
                                                                ------------------------------------------------
206.110(c)(1) and 206.111(1)(2)......  Amend your Form MMS-2014   Burden covered under OMB Control Number 1010-
                                        if MMS rejects your                           0140.
                                        cost allocation.
                                                                ------------------------------------------------
206.111(g), (k), and (l).............  Propose change of                               330          1        330
                                        depreciation method for
                                        non-arm's-length
                                        transportation
                                        allowances to MMS.
                                       Propose transportation                          330          1        330
                                        cost allocation method
                                        to MMS when
                                        transporting more than
                                        one liquid product
                                        under a non-arm's-
                                        length contract.
 
                                       Propose transportation                          330          1        330
                                        cost allocation method
                                        to MMS when
                                        transporting gaseous
                                        and liquid product
                                        under a non-arm's-
                                        length contract.
--------------------------------------
                                       Request MMS for location/                       330          4      1,320
                                        quality adjustment when
                                        information is not
                                        available.
                                                                ------------------------------------------------
206.114 and 115(a)...................  Report a separate entry    Burden covered under OMB Control Number 1010-
                                        for transportation                            0140.
                                        allowances--Form MMS-
                                        2014.
                                                                ------------------------------------------------
    Total............................  ........................  .........................         69    12,431
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Category 1 lessees are companies with over 30 million barrels of annual domestic production.
\2\ Category 2 lessees are companies with between 10 and 30 million barrels of annual domestic production.
\3\ Category 3 lessees are companies with less than 10 million barrels of annual domestic production.

    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-hour Cost'' 
Burden: We have identified no ``non-hour'' cost burdens.
    Public Disclosure Statement: The PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) 
provides 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.
    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.

[[Page 7805]]

    To comply with the public consultation process, we published a 
Federal Register notice (67 FR 62985) on October 9, 2002, announcing 
that we would submit this ICR to OMB for approval. The notice provided 
the required 60-day comment period. We received no comments in response 
to the notice.
    If you wish to comment in response to this notice, you may send 
your comments to the offices listed under the ADDRESSES section of this 
notice. 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 March 20, 2003.
    Public Comment Policy: We will post all comments in response to 
this notice on our web site at www.mrm.mms.gov/Laws_R_D/FRNotices/FRInfColl.htm. We will also make copies of the comments available for 
public review, including names and addresses of respondents, during 
regular business hours at our offices in Lakewood, Colorado. Individual 
respondents may request we withhold their home address from the public 
record, which we will honor to the extent allowable by law. There also 
may be circumstances in which we would withhold from the rulemaking 
record a respondent's identity, as allowable by law. If you request 
that we withhold your name and/or address, 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 6, 2003.
Lucy Querques Denett,
Associate Director for Minerals Revenue Management.
[FR Doc. 03-3788 Filed 2-14-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P