[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 94 (Friday, May 15, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28003-28007]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-11792]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Natural Resources Revenue

[Docket No. ONRR-2011-0020; DS63610000 DR2PS0000.CH7000 156D0102R2]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Royalty and Production 
Reporting--OMB Control Number 1012-0004; Comment Request

AGENCY: Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of extension.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), ONRR 
is inviting comments on a collection of information request that we 
will submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and 
approval of the paperwork requirements in the regulations under title 
30, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), parts 1210 and 1212. There are 
three forms associated with this information collection.

DATES: Submit written comments on or before July 14, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this ICR to ONRR by using one of 
the following three methods (please reference ``ICR 1012-0004'' in your 
comments):
    1. Electronically go to http://www.regulations.gov. In the entry 
titled ``Enter Keyword or ID,'' enter ``ONRR-2011-0020'' and then click 
``Search.'' Follow the instructions to submit public comments. ONRR 
will post all comments.
    2. Mail comments to Mr. Luis Aguilar, Regulatory Specialist, ONRR, 
P.O. Box 25165, MS 61030A, Denver, Colorado 80225-0165.
    3. Hand-carry or mail comments, using an overnight courier service, 
to ONRR. Our courier address is Building 85, Room A-614, Denver Federal 
Center, West 6th Ave. and Kipling St., Denver, Colorado 80225.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions on technical issues, 
contact Lee-Ann Martin, Reporting and Solid Minerals Services, ONRR, 
telephone (303) 231-3313, or email [email protected]. For other 
questions, contact Mr. Luis Aguilar, telephone (303) 231-3418, or email 
[email protected]. You may also contact Mr. Aguilar to obtain 
copies, at no cost, of (1) the ICR, (2) any associated form, and (3) 
the regulations that require us to collect the information.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior is 
responsible for collecting royalties from lessees who produce minerals 
from leased Federal and Indian lands and the Outer-Continental Shelf 
(OCS). The Secretary's responsibility, under various laws, is to manage 
mineral resource production from Federal and Indian lands and the OCS, 
collect the royalties and other mineral revenues due, and distribute 
the funds collected under those laws. ONRR performs the royalty 
management functions for the Secretary.
    We have posted those laws pertaining to mineral leases on Federal 
and Indian lands and the OCS at http://www.onrr.gov/Laws_R_D/PubLaws/default.htm.
    The Secretary also has a trust responsibility to manage Indian 
lands and seek advice and information from Indian beneficiaries. ONRR 
performs the minerals revenue management functions and assists the 
Secretary in carrying out the Department's trust responsibility for 
Indian lands. 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 in an amount or value of production from the leased lands. The 
lessee, or his designee, is required to report various kinds of 
information to the lessor relative to the disposition of the leased 
minerals.
    The ONRR financial accounting system is an integrated computer 
system that includes royalty, rental, bonus, and other payments; sales 
volumes and values; and royalty values as submitted by reporters. In 
the system, ONRR compares production volumes with royalty volumes to 
verify that reporters reported and paid proper royalties for the 
minerals produced. Additionally, we share the data electronically with 
the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Bureau of Land 
Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Tribal and State governments 
so they can perform their lease management responsibilities.
    We use the information collected in this ICR to ensure that royalty 
is appropriately paid, based on accurate

[[Page 28004]]

production accounting on oil, gas, and geothermal resources produced 
from Federal and Indian leases. The requirement to report accurately 
and timely is mandatory. Please refer to the chart for all reporting 
requirements and associated burden hours.

Royalty Reporting

    The regulations require payors (reporters) to report and to remit 
royalties on oil, gas, and geothermal resources produced from leases on 
Federal and Indian lands. The following form is used for royalty 
reporting:
    Form ONRR-2014, Report of Sales and Royalty Remittance. Reporters 
submit this form monthly to report royalties on oil, gas, and 
geothermal leases, certain rents, and other lease-related transactions, 
such as transportation and processing allowances, lease adjustments, 
and quality and location differentials.

Production Reporting

    The regulations require operators (reporters) to submit production 
reports if they operate a Federal or Indian onshore or offshore oil and 
gas lease, or Federally approved unit or communitization agreement. The 
ONRR financial accounting system tracks 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 
reporters use the following forms for production accounting and 
reporting:
    Form ONRR-4054, Oil and Gas Operations Report (OGOR). Reporters 
submit this form monthly for all production reporting for Outer 
Continental Shelf, Federal, and Indian leases. ONRR compares the 
production information with sales and royalty data that reporters 
submit on Form ONRR-2014 to ensure that the latter reported and paid 
the proper royalties on the oil and gas production to ONRR. ONRR uses 
the information from OGOR parts A, B, and C to track all oil and gas 
from the point of production to the point of first sale, or other 
disposition.
    Form ONRR-4058, Production Allocation Schedule Report (PASR). 
Reporters submit this form monthly. The facility operators manage the 
facilities and measurement points where they commingle the production 
from an offshore Federal lease or metering point with production from 
other sources before they measure it for royalty determination. ONRR 
uses the data to determine if the operators reported the correct 
royalty-bearing volumes on the OGOR.

OMB Approval

    We will request OMB approval to continue to collect this 
information. If ONRR does not collect this information, this would 
limit the Secretary's ability to discharge fiduciary duties and may 
also result in loss of royalty payments. We protect the proprietary 
information that we receive and do not collect items of a sensitive 
nature. It is mandatory that the reporters submit Forms ONRR-2014, 
ONRR-4054, and ONRR-4058.

II. Data

    Title: 30 CFR parts 1210 and 1212, Royalty and Production 
Reporting.
    OMB Control Number: 1012-0004.
    Bureau Form Number: Forms ONRR-2014, ONRR-4054, and ONRR-4058.
    Frequency: Monthly.
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: 3,870 oil, gas, 
and geothermal reporters.
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: 
337,933 hours.
    We have changed our estimates of the number of respondents due to 
updated data.
    We have not included in our estimates certain requirements 
performed in the normal course of business, considered as usual and 
customary. We display the estimated annual burden hours by CFR section 
and paragraph in the following chart.

                                                       Respondents' Estimated Annual Burden Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                        Average  number
            30 CFR Part 1210                  Reporting and recordkeeping requirement              Hour burden             of annual      Annual burden
                                                                                                                           responses          hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             30 CFR 1210--FORMS AND REPORTS
                                             Subpart B--Royalty Reports--Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1210.52(a) and (b)......................  1210.52 What royalty reports must I submit?                             Form ONRR-2014
                                                                                         ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                          You must submit a completed Form ONRR-2014,                 Electronic * (approximately 99 percent)
                                           Report of Sales and Royalty Remittance, to
                                           ONRR with:
                                                                                         ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                          (a) All royalty payments; and                   3 min.......................        4,688,216          234,411
                                                                                         ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                          (b) Rents on nonproducing leases, where                       Manual * (approximately 1 percent)
                                           specified in the lease.
                                                                                         ---------------------------------------------------------------
1210.53(a), (b), and (c)................  1210.53 When are my royalty reports and         7 min.......................           47,356            5,525
                                           payments due?
                                          (a) Completed Forms ONRR-2014 for royalty
                                           payments and the associated payments are due
                                           by the end of the month following the
                                           production month (see also Sec.   1218.50).
                                          (b) Completed Forms ONRR-2014 for rental
                                           payments, where applicable, and the
                                           associated payments are due as specified by
                                           the lease terms (see also Sec.   1218.50).
                                          (c) You may submit reports and payments early.
1210.54(a), (b), and (c)................  1210.54 Must I submit this royalty report
                                           electronically?
                                          (a) You must submit Form ONRR-2014
                                           electronically unless you qualify for an
                                           exception under Sec.   1210.55(a).
                                          (b) You must use one of the following
                                           electronic media types, unless ONRR instructs
                                           you differently * * *

[[Page 28005]]

 
                                          (c) Refer to our electronic reporting
                                           guidelines in the ONRR Minerals Revenue
                                           Reporter Handbook, for the most current
                                           reporting options, instructions, and security
                                           measures. The handbook may be found on our
                                           Internet Web site or you may call your ONRR
                                           customer service representative * * *
                                          * * * * *
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Subtotal for Royalty Reporting....................................................................................        4,735,572          239,936
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       Subpart C--Production Reports--Oil and Gas
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1210.102(a)(1)(i) and (ii)..............  1210.102 What production reports must I         Burden hours covered under 1210.104(a) and (b).
                                           submit?
                                          (a) Form ONRR-4054, Oil and Gas Operations
                                           Report. If you operate a Federal or Indian
                                           onshore or OCS oil and gas lease or federally
                                           approved unit or communitization agreement
                                           that contains one or more wells that are not
                                           permanently plugged or abandoned, you must
                                           submit Form ONRR-4054 to ONRR:
                                          (1) You must submit Form ONRR-4054 for each
                                           well for each calendar month, beginning with
                                           the month in which you complete drilling,
                                           unless:.
                                          (i) You have only test production from a
                                           drilling well; or.
                                          (ii) The ONRR tells you in writing to report
                                           differently..
1210.102(a)(2)(i) and (ii)..............  (2) You must continue reporting until:
                                          (i) The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) or
                                           [Bureau of Safety and Environmental
                                           Enforcement] approves all wells as
                                           permanently plugged or abandoned or the lease
                                           or unit or communitization agreement is
                                           terminated; and.
                                          (ii) You dispose of all inventory.............
                                                                                         ---------------------------------------------------------------
1210.102(b)(1)..........................  (b) Form ONRR-4058, Production Allocation       Burden hours covered under 1210.104(a) and (b).
                                           Schedule Report. If you operate an offshore
                                           facility measurement point (FMP) handling
                                           production from a Federal oil and gas lease
                                           or federally approved unit agreement that is
                                           commingled (with approval) with production
                                           from any other source prior to measurement
                                           for royalty determination, you must file Form
                                           ONRR-4058.
                                          (1) You must submit Form ONRR-4058 for each
                                           calendar month beginning with the month in
                                           which you first handle production covered by
                                           this section.
1210.102(b)(2)(i)-(vi)..................  (2) Form ONRR-4058 is not required whenever
                                           all of the following conditions are met:
                                          (i) All leases involved are Federal leases;...
                                          (ii) All leases have the same fixed royalty
                                           rate;.
                                          (iii) All leases are operated by the same
                                           operator;.
                                          (iv) The facility measurement device is
                                           operated by the same person as the leases/
                                           agreements;.
                                          (v) Production has not been previously
                                           measured for royalty determination; and.
                                          (vi) The production is not subsequently
                                           commingled and measured for royalty
                                           determination at an FMP for which Form ONRR-
                                           4058 is required under this part..
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1210.103(a) and (b).....................  1210.103 When are my production reports due?    Burden hours covered under 1210.104(a) and (b).
                                          (a) The ONRR must receive your completed Forms
                                           ONRR-4054 and ONRR-4058 by the 15th day of
                                           the second month following the month for
                                           which you are reporting..
                                          (b) A report is considered received when it is
                                           delivered to ONRR by 4 p.m. mountain time at
                                           the addresses specified in Sec.   1210.105.
                                           Reports received after 4 p.m. mountain time
                                           are considered received the following
                                           business day..
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1210.104(a), (b), and (c)...............  1210.104 Must I submit these production                              Form ONRR-4054 (OGOR)
                                           reports electronically?
                                                                                         ---------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 28006]]

 
                                          (a) You must submit Forms ONRR-4054 and ONRR-               Electronic * (approximately 99 percent)
                                           4058 electronically unless you qualify for an
                                           exception under Sec.   1210.105
                                                                                         ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                          (b) You must use one of the following           1 min.......................        5,688,962           94,816
                                           electronic media types, unless ONRR instructs
                                           you differently * * *
                                                                                         ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                          (c) Refer to our electronic reporting                         Manual * (approximately 1 percent)
                                           guidelines in the ONRR Minerals Production
                                           Reporter Handbook, for the most current
                                           reporting options, instructions, and security
                                           measures. The handbook may be found on our
                                           Internet Web site or you may call your ONRR
                                           customer service representative * * *
                                          * * * * *.....................................
                                                                                         ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                          3 min.......................           57,464            2,873
                                                                                         ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                          Total OGOR                          5,746,426           97,689
                                                                                         ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                               Form ONRR-4058 (PASR)
                                                                                         ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                      Electronic * (approximately 99 percent)
                                                                                         ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                          1 min.......................           17,820              298
                                                                                         ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                        Manual * (approximately 1 percent)
                                                                                         ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                          3 min.......................              180                9
                                                                                         ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                          Total PASR..................           18,000              306
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     Subpart D--Special-Purpose Forms and Reports--
                                                           Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1210.155................................  1210.155 What reports must I submit for               Burden covered under OMB Control Number 1012-0005.
                                           Federal onshore stripper oil properties?
                                          (a) General. Operators who have been granted a
                                           reduced royalty rate by the Bureau of Land
                                           Management (BLM) under 43 CFR 3103.4-2 must
                                           submit Form ONRR-4377, Stripper Royalty Rate
                                           Reduction Notification, under 43 CFR 3103.4-
                                           2(b)(3).
                                          * * * * *
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Subtotal for Production Reporting.................................................................................        5,764,426           97,996
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        PART 1212--RECORDS AND FILES MAINTENANCE
                                                      Subpart B--Oil, Gas and OCS Sulphur--General
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1212.50.................................  1212.50 Required recordkeeping and reports....  Burden hours covered under 1210.54(a), (b), and (c); and
                                          All records pertaining to offshore and onshore   1210.104(a) and (b).
                                           Federal and Indian oil and gas leases shall
                                           be maintained by a lessee, operator, revenue
                                           payor, or other person for 6 years after the
                                           records are generated unless the record
                                           holder is notified, in writing, that records
                                           must be maintained for a longer period * * *.
                                          [In accordance with 30 U.S.C. 1724(f), Federal
                                           oil and gas records must be maintained for 7
                                           years from the date the obligation became
                                           due.]
1212.51(a) and (b)......................  (a) Records. Each lessee, operator, revenue     Burden hours covered under 1210.54(a), (b), and (c); and
                                           payor, or other person shall make and retain    1210.104(a) and (b).
                                           accurate and complete records necessary to
                                           demonstrate that payments of rentals,
                                           royalties, net profit shares, and other
                                           payments related to offshore and onshore
                                           Federal and Indian oil and gas leases are in
                                           compliance with lease terms, regulations, and
                                           orders * * *

[[Page 28007]]

 
                                          (b) Period for keeping records. Lessees,
                                           operators, revenue payors, or other persons
                                           required to keep records under this section
                                           shall maintain and preserve them for 6 years
                                           from the day on which the relevant
                                           transaction recorded occurred unless the
                                           Secretary notifies the record holder of an
                                           audit or investigation involving the records
                                           and that they must be maintained for a longer
                                           period * * *
                                          [In accordance with 30 U.S.C. 1724(f), Federal
                                           oil and gas records must be maintained for 7
                                           years from the date the obligation became
                                           due.]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total for Royalty and Production Reporting........................................................................       10,499,998          337,933
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Note: ONRR consider each line of data as one response/report.

    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-hour'' Cost 
Burden: We have not identified a ``non-hour'' cost burden associated 
with the collection of information.

III. Request for Comments

    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 current and valid OMB control number.
    Comments: Before submitting an ICR to OMB, PRA Section 
3506(c)(2)(A) requires each agency to ``* * * provide 60-day notice in 
the Federal Register * * * 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 
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 that you use to estimate (1) major cost factors, 
including system and technology acquisition, (2) expected useful life 
of capital equipment, (3) discount rate(s), and (4) the period over 
which you incur costs. Capital and startup costs include, among other 
items, computers and software that you purchase to prepare for 
collecting information and 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 Federal Government; or (iv) as part of customary and 
usual business, or private practices.
    Public Comment Policy: ONRR will post all comments, including names 
and addresses of respondents at http://www.regulations.gov. Before 
including Personally Identifiable Information (PII), such as your 
address, phone number, email address, or other personal information in 
your comment(s), you should be aware that your entire comment 
(including PII) may be made available to the public at any time. While 
you may ask us, in your comment, to withhold PII from public view, we 
cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

    Dated: May 11, 2015.
Gregory J. Gould,
Director, Office of Natural Resources Revenue.
[FR Doc. 2015-11792 Filed 5-14-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4335-30-P