[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 142 (Thursday, July 24, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43743-43746]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-18893]


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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 1010-0139).

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SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 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 216, Production 
Accounting, subparts A and B; and part 210, Forms and Reports. 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 216, Production Accounting, Subparts A and B; and Part 
210, Forms and Reports.''

DATES: Submit written comments on or before August 25, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments by either fax (202) 395-5806 or 
email ([email protected]) directly to the Office of Information 
and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for the Department 
of the Interior (OMB Control Number 1010-0139). Mail or hand-carry a 
copy of your 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 that 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) 231-3781, email [email protected]. You may 
also contact Sharron Gebhardt to obtain a copy at no cost of the forms 
and regulations that require the subject collection of information.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: 30 CFR Part 216, Production Accounting, Subparts A and B; 
Part 210, Forms and Reports.
    OMB Control Number: 1010-0139.
    Bureau Form Number: Forms MMS-4054 and MMS-4058.

[[Page 43744]]

    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 (Secretary) under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 1923) and 
the OCS Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1353) 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.
    The Secretary has an Indian trust responsibility to manage Indian 
lands and seek advice and information from Indian beneficiaries. MMS 
performs the royalty management functions and assists the Secretary in 
carrying out DOI's Indian trust responsibility.
    The financial accounting system is an integrated computer system 
that includes production reports submitted by lease/agreement operators 
and is designed to track minerals produced from Federal and Indian 
lands from the point of production to the point of disposition, or 
royalty determination, and/or point of sale. The financial accounting 
system also includes payment and sales volumes and values as reported 
by payors. The production and royalty volumes are compared to verify 
that proper royalties are received for the minerals produced.
    The production reports provide MMS with ongoing information on 
lease, unit, or communitization agreement (lease/agreement) and 
facility production, sales volumes, and inventories. The reports 
summarize all operations on a lease/agreement or facility during a 
reporting period. They identify production by the American Petroleum 
Institute well number and sales by product. Data collected are used as 
a method of cross-checking reported production with reported sales. 
Failure to collect this information will prevent MMS from ensuring that 
all royalties owed on lease production are paid. Additionally, the data 
is shared electronically with the Bureau of Land Management, MMS's 
Offshore Minerals Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and tribal and 
state governments so they can perform their lease management 
responsibilities.
    Form MMS-4054, Oil and Gas Operations Report (OGOR), is a three-
part form that identifies all oil and gas lease production and 
dispositions. The form is used for all production reporting on the OCS 
and for onshore Federal and Indian lands. Monthly production 
information is compared with monthly sales and royalty data submitted 
on Form MMS-2014, Report of Sales and Royalty Remittance (OMB Control 
Number 1010-0140) to ensure proper royalties are paid on the oil and 
gas production reported to MMS. MMS uses the information from parts A, 
B, and C of the OGOR to track all oil and gas from the point of 
production to the point of first sale or other disposition. To 
streamline preparation of modified reports, the operator has the option 
of modifying the reporting line (delete/add by detail line) or 
replacing (overlaying) the previous report.
    OGOR, Part A, Well Production: All operators submit part A, Well 
Production, for each lease or agreement with active wells until such 
wells are abandoned and inventories are disposed. Each line identifies 
a well/producing interval combination showing well status; days on 
production; volumes of oil, gas, and water produced; and any volumes 
injected during the report month.
    OGOR, Part B, Product Disposition: For any month with production 
volumes, operators submit part B, Product Disposition, to identify the 
sales, transfers, and lease use of production reported on part A. A 
separate line for each disposition shows: (1) The volume of oil, gas, 
or water; (2) the sales meter or other meter identifier; (3) the gas 
plant for instances where gas was processed prior to royalty 
determination; and (4) the quality of production sold.
    OGOR, Part C, Product Sales from Facility: The lease operators who 
store their production before selling it must submit part C, Product 
Sales from Facility. Separate lines for each product identify the 
storage facility, sales meter if applicable, quality of production 
sold, beginning and ending storage inventory, volume of sales, and 
volumes of other gains and losses to inventory.
    Form MMS-4058, Production Allocation Schedule Report (PASR), is 
submitted monthly by operators of the facilities and measurement points 
where production from an offshore lease or metering point is commingled 
with production from other sources before it is measured for royalty 
determination. MMS uses the data to determine whether sales reported by 
the lessee are reasonable. Each line identifies a lease or metering 
point and allocated sales or transfer volumes. Delivered production 
volumes are no longer reported. Space has been provided on each detail 
line for the operator's property name (area/block), and a column has 
been added for indicating whether the operator is injecting oil, gas, 
or both into the pipeline system. Beginning and ending inventory are no 
longer reported. To streamline preparation of modified reports, the 
operator has the option of modifying (delete/add by detail line) or 
replacing (overlaying) the previous report.
    No proprietary information will be submitted to MMS under this 
collection. No items of a sensitive nature are collected. The 
requirement to respond is mandatory.
    We have also changed the title of this ICR from ``Production 
Accounting and Auditing System Oil and Gas Reports (Forms MMS-4054, 
MMS-4055, MMS-4056, and MMS-4058)'' to ``30 CFR Part 216, Production 
Accounting, Subparts A and B; Part 210, Forms and Reports (Forms MMS 
4054 and MMS 4058)'' to clarify the regulatory language we are covering 
under 30 CFR parts 216 and 210.
    Frequency: Monthly and as required.
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: 2,500 industry 
operators.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: 
76,630 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.

[[Page 43745]]



                                                           Respondent Annual Burden Hour Chart
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                                                                                             Burden hours   Annual  number   Annual burden
     30 CFR Part 216  Subparts A and B                   Reporting requirement               per response    of  responses       hours
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216.11; 216.16(a); 216.21; 216.40(d);        You must submit your Oil and Gas Operations               .25         294,000          73,500
 216.53(a), (b), and (c); 210.20(a);          Report, Form MMS-4054, in accordance with       (Electronic)  ..............  ..............
 210.21(c)(1); and 210.50.                    electronic reporting requirements * * * All              .25           6,000           1,500
                                              reporting forms * * * should be mailed to           (Manual)
                                              the Minerals Management Service, Minerals
                                              Revenue Management, * * * The reporter shall
                                              submit accurately, completely, and timely, *
                                              * * all information forms and other
                                              information required by MMS * * * The
                                              reporter shall have the burden of proving
                                              that a reporting problem was unavoidable.
                                              You must file an Oil and Gas Operations
                                              Report, Form MMS-4054, * * * You must submit
                                              a Form MMS-4054 for each well for each
                                              calendar month * * * MMS must receive your
                                              completed Form MMS-4054 * * * Electronically
                                              * * * Other than electronically * * * You
                                              must submit Form MMS-4054 to MMS
                                              electronically * * * Before you may begin
                                              reporting electronically, you must submit an
                                              electronic sample of your report for MMS
                                              approval using the MMS-supplied electronic
                                              reporting guidelines * * * Records may be
                                              maintained in microfilm, microfiche, or
                                              other recorded media..
216.56(a), (b), and (c)....................  Any operator of an offshore Facility                    .1167           7,280             850
                                              Measurement Point * * * must file a             (Electronic)  ..............  ..............
                                              Production Allocation Schedule Report (Form              .25           3,120             780
                                              MMS-4058). You must submit a Production             (Manual)
                                              Allocation Schedule Report, Form MMS-4058,
                                              for each calendar month * * * MMS must
                                              receive your Form MMS-4058 * * *
                                              Electronically * * * Other than
                                              electronically * * *.
216.57.....................................  Operators who have been granted a reduced       Burden covered under OMB Control Number 1010-
                                              royalty rate(s) by BLM must submit a                               0090.
                                              Stripper Royalty Rate Reduction Notification
                                              (Form MMS-4377) to MMS: * * *.
                                                                                           -----------------
    Total..................................  .............................................  ..............         310,400          76,630
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    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-hour'' Cost 
Burden: Reporters require access to the internet through a subscription 
to an internet provider service. The annual subscription is estimated 
at $240 per reporter.
    Public Disclosure Statement: 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.
    Comments: Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA 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, we published a 
notice in the Federal Register on April 21, 2003 (68 FR 19575), 
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 this 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 August 25, 2003.
    Public Comment Policy: We will post all comments in response to 
this notice on our Web site at http://www.mrm.mms.gov/Laws_R_D/InfoColl/InfoColCom.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 that 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.


[[Page 43746]]


    Dated: July 15, 2003.
Lucy Querques Denett,
Associate Director for Minerals Revenue Management.
[FR Doc. 03-18893 Filed 7-23-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P