[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 170 (Friday, August 31, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44662-44669]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-18927]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Natural Resources Revenue

[Docket No. ONRR-2011-0020; DS63644000 DR2000000.CH7000 189D0102R2; OMB 
Control Number 1012-0004]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Royalty and Production 
Reporting

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Office of Natural Resources Revenue, 
Interior.

ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we, 
the Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR), are proposing to renew 
an information collection.

DATES: You must submit your written comments on or before October 30, 
2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this ICR to ONRR by using one of 
the following three methods (please reference ``ICR 1012-0004'' in the 
subject line of 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. Armand Southall, Regulatory Specialist, 
ONRR, P.O. Box 25165, MS 64400B, Denver, Colorado 80225-0165.
    3. Hand-carry or mail comments, using an overnight courier service, 
to ONRR. Our courier address is Building 85, Entrance N-1, Denver 
Federal Center, West 6th Ave. and Kipling St., Denver, Colorado 80225.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions on technical issues, 
contact Ms. Lee-Ann Martin, Program Manager, Reference and Reporting 
Management, ONRR, telephone (303) 231-3313, or email 
[email protected]. For other questions, contact Mr. Armand 
Southall, Regulatory Specialist, ONRR, telephone (303) 231-3221, or 
email to [email protected]. You may also contact Mr. Southall to 
obtain copies (free of charge) of (1) the ICR, (2) any associated 
forms, and (3) the regulations that require us to collect the 
information.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, we provide the general public and other Federal agencies 
with an opportunity to comment on new, proposed, revised, and 
continuing collections of information. This helps us assess the impact 
of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's 
reporting burden. It also helps the public understand our information 
collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired 
format.
    We are soliciting comments on the proposed ICR that is described 
below. We are especially interested in public comment addressing the 
following issues mentioned in the OMB regulations at 5 CFR 
1320.8(d)(1): (1) Is the collection necessary to the proper functions 
of ONRR; (2) will this information be processed and used in a timely 
manner; (3) is the estimate of burden accurate; (4) how might ONRR 
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be 
collected; and (5) how might ONRR minimize the burden of this 
collection on the respondents, including through the use of information 
technology.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. ONRR will post all comments, including names and 
addresses of respondents at http://www.regulations.gov. We will include 
or summarize each comment in our request to the Office of Management 
and

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Budget (OMB) to approve this ICR. Before including your Personally 
Identifiable Information (PII), such as your address, phone number, 
email address, or other personal identifying 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 can ask 
us, in your comment, to withhold your PII from public view, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so. We also will post the ICR at 
https://www.onrr.gov/Laws_R_D/FRNotices/ICR0139.htm.
    Abstract: The Secretary of the United States Department of the 
Interior is responsible for mineral resource development on Federal and 
Indian lands and the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Under various laws, 
the Secretary's responsibility is to manage mineral resources 
production on Federal and Indian lands and the OCS, collect royalties 
due, and distribute the funds collected. The Secretary also has trust 
responsibility to manage Indian lands and seek advice and information 
from Indian beneficiaries. ONRR performs the minerals revenue 
management functions for the Secretary and assists the Secretary in 
carrying out the Department's trust responsibility for Indian lands. 
Public laws pertaining to mineral leases on Federal and Indian lands 
are available at http://www.onrr.gov/Laws_R_D/PubLaws/index.htm.
    Information collections that we cover in this ICR are found at 
title 30 CFR part 1210, subparts B, C, and D, which pertain to 
reporting oil, gas, and geothermal resources royalties and oil and gas 
production; and part 1212, subpart B, which pertains to recordkeeping.
    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 its 
designee, must report various kinds of information to the lessor 
relative to the disposition of the leased minerals. Such information is 
available within the records of the lessee or others involved in 
developing, transporting, processing, purchasing, or selling such 
minerals. The information that ONRR collects includes data necessary to 
ensure that the lessee accurately values and appropriately pays all 
royalties and other mineral revenues due.
    Reporters submit information into the ONRR financial accounting 
system that includes royalty, rental, bonus, and other payment 
information; sales volumes and values; and other royalty values. ONRR 
uses the accounting system to compare production volumes with royalty 
volumes to verify that companies 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 
Ocean Energy Management, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian 
Affairs, and Tribal and State governments so that they can perform 
their land and lease management responsibilities.
    We use the information collected in this ICR to ensure that 
companies properly pay royalties based on accurate production 
accounting on oil, gas, and geothermal resources that they produce from 
Federal and Indian leases. Production data is also used to determine 
whether a lease is producing in paying quantities and therefore has not 
expired, and to track total production from Federal and Indian lands by 
lease, communitization agreement, unit, field or area, State, 
reservation, and nationally. The requirement to report accurately and 
timely is mandatory. Please refer to the chart for all reporting 
requirements and associated burden hours.

Royalty Reporting

    Payors (Reporters) must report, according to various regulations, 
and remit royalties on oil, gas, and geothermal resources that they 
produced from leases on Federal and Indian lands. The reporters use the 
following form 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. On a royalty report, reporters submit a line of data 
for each type of product produced from each Federal or Indian property. 
A royalty report is also used to report certain rents. Each line 
contains the royalty owed and the basic elements necessary to calculate 
the royalty. For example, each line of a royalty report will include 
the volume produced from the lease, the value of that production, and 
any allowances claimed by the reporter which reduced the royalty owed.

Production Reporting

    Operators (Reporters) must submit, according to various 
regulations, production reports if they operate a Federal or Indian 
onshore or offshore oil and gas lease or federally approved unit or 
communitization agreement. We use the ONRR financial accounting system 
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 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. On part A of the OGOR 
production report, reporters submit a line of data indicating the 
volumes produced from each Federal or Indian well. On part B, reporters 
submit a line of data for each commodity, indicating the disposition of 
the volumes. On part C, reporters submit a line of data for each 
Federal or Indian property indicating any change in the volume of the 
inventory remaining on the property. ONRR compares the production 
information with sales and royalty data that reporters submit on form 
ONRR-2014 to ensure that the reporters paid and reported the proper 
royalties on the oil and gas production reported 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 to provide allocation information 
for Federal offshore production. This reporting is required when a 
facility operator manages a measurement point where they commingle the 
production from an offshore Federal lease or metering point with 
production from other sources (i.e., State lease production) before the 
production is measured for a royalty determination. On each PASR, the 
reporter submits a line of data containing the volume of commingled oil 
or gas. ONRR uses the data to determine if the payors reported accurate 
sales volumes on the OGOR. Reporters also use the PASR to corroborate 
data reflected on the OGOR that the OCS lease operators submit.

OMB Approval

    We are requesting OMB's approval to continue to collect this 
information. Not collecting this information would limit the 
Secretary's ability to discharge fiduciary duties and may also result 
in the loss of royalty payments. ONRR protects the proprietary 
information that it receives, and does not collect items of a sensitive 
nature. It is mandatory that the reporters submit forms ONRR-2014, 
ONRR-4054, and ONRR-4058.

[[Page 44664]]

II. Data

    Title of Collection: Royalty and Production Reporting, 30 CFR parts 
1210 and 1212.
    OMB Control Number: 1012-0004.
    Form Numbers: ONRR-2014, ONRR-4054, and ONRR-4058.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Businesses.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 3,870 oil, gas, and 
geothermal reporters.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 12,873,046 lines of 
data.
    Estimated Completion Time per Response: Varies between 1 and 7 
minutes per line, depending on the activity. The average completion 
time is 1.96 minutes per line. The average completion time is 
calculated by first multiplying the estimated annual burden hours from 
the table below (420,241) by 60 to obtain the total annual burden 
minutes. Then the total annual burden minutes (25,214,460) is divided 
by the estimated annual number of lines submitted from the table below 
(12,873,046).
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 420,241 hours.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Frequency of Collection: Monthly.
    Total Estimated Annual Non-Hour Burden Cost: We have identified no 
``non-hour cost'' burden associated with this collection of 
information.
    We have not included in our estimates certain requirements that 
companies perform in the normal course of business that ONRR considers 
usual and customary. We display the estimated annual burden hours by 
CFR section and paragraph in the following chart.
BILLING CODE 4335-30-P
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    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.

    Authority: Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et 
seq.).

Gregory J. Gould,
Director for Office of Natural Resources Revenue.
[FR Doc. 2018-18927 Filed 8-30-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4335-30-C