[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 102 (Thursday, May 26, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32050-32052]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-11380]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of Natural Resources Revenue

[Docket No. ONRR-2012-0006; DS63644000 DRT000000.CH7000 223D1113RT; OMB 
Control Number 1012-0005]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Federal Oil and Gas 
Valuation

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

ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(``PRA''), ONRR is proposing to renew an information collection. 
Through this Information Collection Request (``ICR''), ONRR seeks 
renewed authority to collect information necessary to (1) verify proper 
reporting and payment of royalties and other amounts due pursuant to 
Federal oil and gas leases; (2) determine requests for prepayment or 
accounting and auditing relief for certain marginal properties; and (3) 
determine requests to exceed transportation and processing allowance 
limits. ONRR uses form ONRR-4393 (Request to Exceed Regulatory 
Allowance Limitation) as part of these information collection 
requirements.

DATES: You must submit your written comments on or before July 25, 
2022.

ADDRESSES: All comment submissions must (1) reference ``OMB Control 
Number 1012-0005'' in the subject line; (2) be sent to ONRR before the 
close of the comment period listed under DATES; and (3) be sent through 
one of the following two methods:
     Electronically via the Federal eRulemaking Portal: Please 
visit https://www.regulations.gov. In the Search Box, enter the Docket 
ID Number for this ICR renewal (``ONRR-2012-0006'') and click 
``search'' to view the publications associated with the docket folder. 
Locate the document with an open comment period and click the ``Comment 
Now!'' button. Follow the prompts to submit your comment prior to the 
close of the comment period.
     Email Submissions: Please submit your comments to 
[email protected] with the OMB Control Number (``OMB 
Control Number 1012-0005'') listed in the subject line of your email. 
Email submissions must be postmarked on or before the close of the 
comment period.
    Docket: To access the docket folder to view the ICR Federal 
Register publications, go to https://www.regulations.gov and search 
``ONRR-2012-0006'' to view renewal notices recently published in the 
Federal Register, publications associated with prior renewals, and 
applicable public comments received for this ICR. ONRR will make the 
comments submitted in response to this notice available for public 
viewing at https://www.regulations.gov.
    OMB ICR Data: OMB also maintains information on ICR renewals and 
approvals. You may access this information at https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRASearch. Please use the following instructions: Under the 
``OMB Control Number'' heading enter ``1012-0005'' and click the 
``Search'' button located at the bottom of the page. To view the ICR 
renewal or OMB approval status, click on the latest entry (based on the 
most recent date). On the ``View ICR--OIRA Conclusion'' page, check the 
box next to ``All'' to display all available ICR information provided 
by OMB.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information 
about this ICR, please contact Peter Christnacht, Royalty Valuation, 
ONRR, by email at [email protected] or by telephone at (303) 
231-3651. Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, 
hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or 
TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. Individuals 
outside the United States should use the relay services offered within 
their country to make international calls to the point-of-contact in 
the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501, et 
seq., and 5 CFR 1320.5, all information collections, as defined in 5 
CFR 1320.3, require approval by OMB. ONRR may not conduct or sponsor, 
and you are not required to respond to, a collection of information 
unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.
    As part of ONRR's continuing effort to reduce paperwork and 
respondent burdens, ONRR is inviting the public and other Federal 
agencies to comment on new, proposed, revised, and

[[Page 32051]]

continuing collections of information in accordance with the PRA and 5 
CFR 1320.8(d)(1). This helps ONRR to assess the impact of its 
information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting 
burden. It also helps the public understand ONRR's information 
collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired 
format.
    ONRR is especially interested in public comments addressing the 
following:
    (1) Whether the collection of information is necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether 
the information will have practical utility.
    (2) The accuracy of ONRR's estimate of the burden for this 
collection of information, including the validity of the methodology 
and assumptions used.
    (3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected.
    (4) How might the agency minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on those who are to respond, including through the use of 
appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., 
permitting electronic submission of response.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. ONRR will include or summarize each comment in its 
request to OMB to approve this ICR. 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 ONRR in your comment to 
withhold your personal identifying information from public review, ONRR 
cannot guarantee that it will be able to do so.
    Abstract: (a) General Information: ONRR reviews and audits the 
reporting and payment of royalties and other amounts due to the United 
States pursuant to Federal oil and gas leases. See U.S. Department of 
the Interior Departmental Manual, 112 DM 34.1 (Sept. 9, 2020). ONRR's 
responsibilities include valuing oil and gas for royalty purposes, 
evaluating claimed transportation and processing allowances, and 
granting royalty prepayment, accounting, and other relief for marginal 
properties in appropriate circumstances. ONRR collects the information 
covered by this ICR for these purposes. ONRR shares information with 
the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of 
Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Bureau of Ocean Energy 
Management, and State governments for their land and lease management 
responsibilities.
    (b) Federal Oil and Gas Royalties and Valuation: Title 30 CFR part 
1202--Royalties, subparts B and C, and 30 CFR part 1206--Product 
Valuation, subparts C and D, require a lessee to provide certain 
information necessary to calculate royalties due to the United States. 
Information collected under these subparts is used for oil and gas 
valuation, calculating and allocating transportation and processing 
allowances, determining location and quality differentials, and 
allocating residue gas and gas plant products to leases. See Sec. Sec.  
1206.102, 1206.108, 1206.110, 1206.113, 1206.141, 1206.142, 1206.148, 
1206.150, 1206.152 to 1206.154, 1206.160, and 1206.161.
    Some information collected under parts 1202 and 1206 is submitted 
on form ONRR-2014 (Report of Sales and Royalty Remittance). This ICR 
does not include burden hours for submitting information on form ONRR-
2014 because those burden hours are addressed in ONRR's ICR 1012-0004 
(Royalty and Production Reporting). See Agency Information Collection 
Activities; Royalty and Production Reporting, 87 FR 3300 (January 21, 
2022).
    (c) Accounting and Auditing Relief for Marginal Properties: Title 
30 CFR part 1204 allows ONRR or a State that receives a statutorily 
prescribed portion of the royalties from a Federal lease to grant 
certain relief for marginal properties. This relief includes allowing a 
lessee to make a lump-sum advance payment of royalties instead of 
monthly royalty payments and various accounting and auditing relief 
options. See 30 CFR 1204.3. Lessees must submit information to ONRR for 
this relief. See Sec. Sec.  1204.202, 1204.203, 1204.205, 1204.206, and 
1204.209 to 1204.211.
    (d) Requests to Exceed Allowance Limits: Title 30 CFR part 1206--
Product Valuation, subparts C and D, prior to their amendment effective 
January 1, 2017, permitted a Federal oil and gas lessee to request to 
exceed certain caps that ONRR's regulations place on transportation and 
processing allowances by filing form ONRR-4393. (Request to Exceed 
Regulatory Allowance Limitation), with supporting documentation. See 
Sec. Sec.  1206.109(c)(2) (2016), 1206.153(c)(3) (2016), and 
1206.158(c)(3) (2016). Subject to the statute of limitations, a lessee 
may file this form to request to exceed the caps for oil and gas 
produced prior to January 1, 2017.
    This ICR does not include burden hours for submitting information 
on form ONRR-4393 for Indian leases because those burden hours are 
addressed in ONRR's ICR 1012-0002 (Indian Oil and Gas Valuation).
    (e) Information Collections: This ICR covers the paperwork 
requirements under 30 CFR parts 1202, 1204, and 1206.
    Title of Collection: Federal Oil and Gas Valuation--30 CFR parts 
1202, 1204 and 1206.
    OMB Control Number: 1012-0005.
    Form Number: ONRR-4393.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Businesses.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 120 Federal lessees/
designees and 7 States for Federal oil and gas.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 139.
    Estimated Completion Time per Response: The average completion time 
is 71.32 hours per response. The average completion time is calculated 
by dividing the total estimated burden hours (9,913) by the estimated 
annual responses (139).
    Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 9,913 hours.
    For this renewal cycle, the burden hours have decreased 105 hours 
in part 1206 due to the Consolidated Federal and Indian Oil & Gas and 
Federal & Indian Coal Valuation Reform Final Reform Rule published on 
July 1, 2016 (81 FR 43337), and effective January 1, 2017.
    Respondent's Obligation: The information that a lessee must submit 
pursuant to 30 CFR parts 1202 and 1206 for calculating royalties and 
other payment obligations for Federal oil and gas leases is mandatory. 
The information that a lessee must submit to obtain prepayment, 
accounting, or auditing relief for qualifying Federal marginal 
properties or to exceed the transportation and processing regulatory 
caps for oil and gas produced prior to 2017 is required to obtain or 
retain a benefit.
    Frequency of Collection: Annually and on occasion.
    Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: ONRR has identified no 
``nonhour'' cost burden associated with the 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.

[[Page 32052]]

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

Howard Cantor,
Acting Director, Office of Natural Resources Revenue.
[FR Doc. 2022-11380 Filed 5-25-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4335-30-P