[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 221 (Thursday, November 15, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57505-57506]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-24877]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Natural Resources Revenue

[Docket No. ONRR-2011-0025; DS63644200 DRT000000.CH7000 190D1113RT, OMB 
Control Number 1012-0001]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Accounts 
Receivable Confirmations 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 (PRA) of 1995, 
the Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR), is proposing to renew 
the Accounts Receivable Confirmations Reporting information collection. 
Every year, under the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990, mineral 
lessees are asked to confirm the accuracy of randomly-selected ONRR 
accounts receivable. Accounts receivable confirmations are a common 
financial audit practice that require approval under the PRA.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
December 17, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments on this information collection request 
(ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget's Desk Officer for the 
Department of the Interior by email at [email protected]; or 
via facsimile to (202) 395-5806. Please provide a copy of your comments 
to Mr. Luis Aguilar, Regulatory Specialist, ONRR, P.O. Box 25165, MS 
61030A, Denver, Colorado 80225-0165, or email [email protected]. 
Please reference OMB Control Number 1012-0001 in your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions on technical issues, 
contact Mr. Hans Meingast, Financial Services, ONRR, at (303) 231-3382, 
or email to [email protected]. For other questions, contact Mr. 
Luis Aguilar at (303) 231-3418, or email to [email protected]. You 
may also contact Mr. Aguilar to obtain copies (free of charge) of (1) 
the ICR, (2) any associated form(s), and (3) the regulations that 
require the subject collection of information. You may also review the 
ICR online at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.

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. A Federal Register notice with a 60-day public comment period 
soliciting comments on this collection of information was published on 
June 11, 2018 (83 FR 27019). No comments were received.
    We are again soliciting comments on the proposed ICR that is 
described below. We are especially interested in public comment 
addressing the following issues: (1) Is the collection necessary to the 
proper functions of the ONRR; (2) will this information be processed 
and used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden accurate; 
(4) how might the ONRR enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (5) how might the 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. Before including your address, phone number, email 
address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you 
should be aware that your entire comment--including your personal 
identifying information--may be made publicly available at any time. 
While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal 
identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we 
will be able to do so.
    Abstract: The Secretary of the United States Department of the 
Interior is responsible for collecting royalties from lessees who 
produce minerals from Federal and Indian lands and the Outer-
Continental Shelf (OCS). Under various laws, the Secretary is 
responsible to manage mineral resources from Federal and Indian lands 
and the OCS. One of the mineral responsibilities that ONRR performs on 
behalf of the Secretary is to collect the royalties and other mineral 
revenues due. These obligations are accounted for as accounts 
receivables with ONRR's Financial Management group. We have posted the 
laws pertaining to mineral leases on Federal and Indian lands and the 
OCS at http://www.onrr.gov/Laws_R_D/PubLaws/default.htm.

General Information

    When a company or an individual enters into a lease to explore, 
develop, produce, sell, or otherwise dispose of minerals, from Federal 
and Indian lands and the OCS, that company or individual agrees to pay 
the lessor a share in an amount or value of production from the leased 
lands. For oil, gas, and solid minerals, the lessee is required to 
report various types of information to ONRR relative to the disposition 
of the leased minerals. Specifically, companies submit financial 
information to ONRR on a monthly basis by submitting form ONRR-2014 
[Report of Sales and Royalty Remittance for oil and gas reported in OMB 
Control Number 1012-0004], and form ONRR-4430 [Solid Minerals 
Production and Royalty Report reported in OMB Control Number 1012-
0010]. These royalty reports result in accounts receivables and capture 
the vast majority of the mineral revenue collected by ONRR.
    The basis for the data that companies submit on forms ONRR-2014 and 
ONRR-4430 is generally available within the records of the lessee or 
others involved in developing, transporting, processing, purchasing, or 
selling such minerals. The information that we collect under the ICR 
includes data necessary to ensure that ONRR's accounts receivables are 
accurately based on the value of the mineral production, as reported to 
ONRR on forms ONRR-2014 and ONRR-4430.

Information Collections

    Every year, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) under Chief Financial 
Officers Act of 1990, the Office of Inspector General, or its agent 
(agent), audits the accounts receivable portions of the Department's 
financial statements, which are based on ONRR forms ONRR-2014 and ONRR-
4430. Accounts receivable confirmations are a common financial audit 
practice. A third-party audit provides confirmation of the validity of 
ONRR's financial records.
    As part of the CFO audit, the agent selects a sample of accounts 
receivable items based on forms ONRR-2014 and ONRR-4430, and provides 
the sample items to ONRR. ONRR then identifies the company names and 
addresses for the sample items selected and creates accounts receivable 
confirmation letters. In order to meet the CFO requirements, the 
letters must be on ONRR letterhead and the Deputy Director for ONRR, or 
his or her designee, must sign the letters. The letter requests third-
party confirmation responses by a specified date on whether or not 
ONRR's accounts

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receivable records agree with royalty payor records for the following 
items: (1) Customer identification; (2) royalty invoice number; (3) 
payor assigned document number; (4) date of ONRR receipt; (5) original 
amount the payor reported; and (6) remaining balance due to ONRR. The 
agent mails the letters to the payors, instructing them to respond 
directly to the agent to confirm the accuracy and validity of selected 
royalty receivable items and amounts. In turn, it is the responsibility 
of the payors to verify, research, and analyze the amounts and balances 
reported on their respective forms ONRR-2014 and ONRR-4430.

OMB Approval

    We will request OMB approval to continue to collect this 
information. Not collecting this information would limit the 
Secretary's ability to discharge the duties of the office, could result 
in a violation of the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990, and may 
also result in the inability to confirm the accuracy of ONRR's accounts 
receivables which are based on the accurate reporting of forms ONRR-
2014 and ONRR-4430. ONRR protects the proprietary information received 
and does not collect items of a sensitive nature.
    Title of Collections: Accounts Receivable Confirmations.
    OMB Control Number: 1012-0001.
    Form(s) Number: None.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Respondent/Affected Public: Businesses.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 24 randomly-selected 
mineral payors from Federal and Indian lands and the OCS.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 24.
    Estimated Completion Time per Response: We estimate that each 
response will take 15 minutes for payors to complete.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 6 hours.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Frequency of Collection: Annual.
    Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: We have identified no 
``non-hour cost'' burden associated with this collection of 
information.
    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.
    The authority for this action is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq).

Gregory J. Gould,
Director for Office of Natural Resources Revenue.
[FR Doc. 2018-24877 Filed 11-14-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4335-30-P