[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 214 (Monday, November 6, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64978-64979]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-18665]


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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 an extension of a currently approved information 
collection (OMB Control Number 1010-0090).

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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 216, 
subpart B. The title of this ICR is 30 CFR 216.57 Stripper Royalty Rate 
Reduction Notification. The form associated with this ICR is Form MMS-
4377, Stripper Royalty Rate Reduction Notification.

DATES: Submit written comments on or before January 5, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to Sharron L. Gebhardt, Lead 
Regulatory Specialist, Minerals Management Service, Minerals Revenue 
Management, P.O. Box 25165, MS 302B2, Denver, Colorado 80225. If you 
use an overnight courier service or wish to hand-carry your comments, 
our courier address is Building 85, Room A-614, Denver Federal Center, 
West 6th Ave. and Kipling Blvd., Denver, Colorado 80225. You may also 
e-mail 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. If you do not receive a confirmation that we have received 
your e-mail, contact Ms. Gebhardt at (303) 231-3211.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sharron L. Gebhardt, telephone (303) 
231-3211, FAX (303) 231-3781, or e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: 30 CFR 216.57 Stripper Royalty Rate Reduction Notification.
    OMB Control Number: 1010-0090.
    Bureau Form Number: Form MMS-4377, Stripper Royalty Rate Reduction 
Notification.
    Abstract: The Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior is 
responsible for collecting royalties from lessees who produce minerals 
from leased Federal and Indian lands. The Secretary is required by 
various laws to manage mineral resources production on Federal and 
Indian lands, collect the royalties due, and distribute the funds in 
accordance with those laws.
    The Secretary also has a trust responsibility to manage Indian 
lands and seek advice and information from Indian beneficiaries. The 
MMS performs the royalty management functions and assists the Secretary 
in carrying out the Department's trust responsibility for Indian lands.
    The Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act (FOGRMA) of 1982, 30 
U.S.C. 1701 et seq., states in Section 101(a) that the Secretary ``* * 
* shall 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.'' The persons or entities 
described at 30 U.S.C. 1713 are required to make reports and provide 
reasonable information as defined by the Secretary. Applicable public 
laws pertaining to mineral leases on Federal and Indian lands are 
located on our Web site at http://www.mrm.mms.gov/Laws_R_D/PublicLawsAMR.htm.
    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 ensure that the royalties are paid appropriately.
    The Bureau of Land Management, the surface management agency for 
Federal onshore leases, granted royalty rate reductions to operators of 
stripper oil properties producing an average of less than 15 barrels of 
oil per eligible well per well-day for applicable sales periods from 
October 1, 1992 through January 31, 2006. See 43 CFR 3103.4-2. The 
purpose of these royalty rate reductions was to encourage continued 
production, provide an incentive for enhanced oil recovery projects, 
discourage abandonment of properties producing an average of less than 
15 barrels of oil per eligible well per well-day, and reduce the 
operator's expenses. The royalty rate for a stripper oil property was 
lower than the royalty rate reflected in the lease and thus reduced the 
amount of revenues paid to the Federal Government.
    Reporters used the Form MMS-4377 to notify MMS of royalty rate 
changes for production through January 31, 2006. Operators submitted an 
initial Form MMS-4377 when a new property qualified as a stripper oil 
property. Reporters submitted Form MMS-4377 to notify MMS of a royalty 
rate reduction that was lower than the initial royalty rate reduction 
on an existing stripper oil property (out-year notification). The 
decision to request an initial royalty rate reduction was voluntary; 
however, failure to timely submit the out-year notification resulted in 
the royalty rate change being denied. Although the benefits under 43 
CFR 3103.4-2 terminated effective February 1, 2006, MMS continues to 
verify submitted notifications and sometimes requires the operator to 
submit an amended notification.
    Proprietary information submitted to MMS under this collection is 
protected, and no items of a sensitive nature are collected. The 
requirement to respond is

[[Page 64979]]

required to obtain the benefit of a royalty rate reduction.
    Frequency: As requested by MMS.
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: 150 operators of 
stripper oil properties producing an average of less than 15 barrels of 
oil per eligible well per well-day.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: 180 
hours.
    We have not included in our estimates certain requirements 
performed in the normal course of business and considered usual and 
customary. The following chart shows the estimated burden hours by CFR 
section and paragraph:

                                   Respondents' Estimated Annual Burden Hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      Reporting and
      30 CFR 216 Subpart B            recordkeeping         Hour burden     Average number of    Annual burden
                                       requirement                          annual  responses        hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
216.57.........................  Stripper royalty rate                 1.2                150                180
                                  reduction
                                  notification.
                                 In accordance with its
                                  regulations at 43 CFR
                                  3103.4-1, titled
                                  ``Waiver, suspension,
                                  or reduction of
                                  rental, royalty, or
                                  minimum royalty,''
                                  the Bureau of Land
                                  Management (BLM) may
                                  grant reduced royalty
                                  rates to operators of
                                  low producing oil
                                  leases to encourage
                                  continued production.
                                  Operators who have
                                  been granted a
                                  reduced royalty
                                  rate(s) by BLM must
                                  submit a Stripper
                                  Royalty Rate
                                  Reduction
                                  Notification (Form
                                  MMS-4377) to MMS for
                                  each 12-month
                                  qualifying period
                                  that a reduced
                                  royalty rate(s) is
                                  granted.
                                 [58 FR 64903, Dec. 10,
                                  1993].
                                 Please note the BLM
                                  citation and title
                                  changed to 43 CFR
                                  3103.4-2 Stripper
                                  well royalty
                                  reductions.
                                --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total Burden...............  ......................  .................                150                180
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-hour Cost'' 
Burden: We have identified no ``non-hour cost'' burden associated with 
the collection of information.
    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: 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.
    The PRA also requires agencies to estimate the total annual 
reporting ``non-hour cost'' burden to respondents or recordkeepers 
resulting from the collection of information. 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, sampling, and testing equipment; 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 ICR submission for OMB approval, including appropriate 
adjustments to the estimated burden. We will provide a copy of the ICR 
to you without charge upon request. The ICR also will be posted on our 
Web site at http://www.mrm.mms.gov/Laws_R_D/FRNotices/FRInfColl.htm.
    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/FRNotices/FRInfColl.htm. We also will 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. Upon request, we will withhold an individual respondent's 
home address from the public record, as allowable by law. There also 
may be circumstances in which we would withhold a respondent's 
identity, as allowable by law. If you request that we withhold your 
name and/or address, state your request 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: Arlene Bajusz (202) 
208-7744.

    Dated: October 24, 2006.
Lucy Querques Denett,
Associate Director for Minerals Revenue Management.
[FR Doc. E6-18665 Filed 11-3-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P