[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 221 (Thursday, November 15, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68144-68146]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-27773]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE)
[Docket ID BSEE-2012-0018; OMB Control Number 1014-0002]
Information Collection Activities: Oil and Gas Production
Measurement, Surface Commingling, and Security; Proposed Collection;
Comment Request
ACTION: 60-day Notice.
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SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), BSEE
is 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 a renewal to the
paperwork requirements in the regulations under Subpart L, Oil and Gas
Production Measurement, Surface Commingling, and Security.
DATES: You must submit comments by January 14, 2013.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods
listed below.
Electronically: go to http://www.regulations.gov. In the
entry titled Enter Keyword or ID, enter BSEE-2012-0018 then click
search. Follow the instructions to submit public comments and view all
related materials. We will post all comments.
Email [email protected]. Mail or hand-carry comments
to the Department of the Interior; BSEE; Regulations and Standards
Branch; ATTN: Nicole Mason; 381 Elden Street, HE 3313; Herndon,
Virginia 20170-4817. Please reference ICR 1014-0002 in your comment and
include your name and return address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nicole Mason, Regulations and
Standards Branch at (703) 787-1605 to request additional information
about this ICR.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: 30 CFR Part 250, subpart L, Oil and Gas Production
Measurement, Surface Commingling, and Security.
OMB Control Number: 1014-0002.
Abstract: The Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act, as amended
(43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq. and 43 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), authorizes the
Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to prescribe rules and
regulations necessary for the administration of the leasing provisions
of the Act related to the mineral resources on the OCS. Such rules and
regulations will apply to all operations conducted under a lease.
Operations on the OCS must preserve, protect, and develop oil and
natural gas resources in a manner that is consistent with the need to
make such resources available to meet the Nation's energy needs as
rapidly as possible; to balance orderly energy resource development
with protection of human, marine, and coastal environments; to ensure
the public a fair and equitable return on the resources of the OCS; and
to preserve and maintain free enterprise competition.
The Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C.
1701, et seq.) at section 1712(b)(2) prescribes that an operator will
``develop and comply with such minimum site security measures as the
Secretary deems appropriate, to protect oil or gas produced or stored
on a lease site or on the Outer Continental Shelf from theft.''
The Independent Offices Appropriations Act (31 U.S.C. 9701), the
Omnibus Appropriations Bill (Pub. L. 104-133, 110 Stat. 1321, April 26,
1996), and OMB Circular A-25, authorize Federal agencies to recover the
full cost of services that confer special benefits. Under the
Department of the Interior's (DOI) implementing policy, BSEE is
required to charge fees for services that provide special benefits or
privileges to an identifiable non-Federal recipient above and beyond
those which accrue to the public at large. Applications for surface
commingling and measurement applications are subject to cost recovery
and BSEE regulations specify service fees for these requests.
Regulations at 30 CFR Part 250, subpart L, implement these
statutory requirements. We use the information to ensure that the
volumes of hydrocarbons produced are measured accurately, and royalties
are paid on the proper volumes. Specifically, we need the information
to:
Determine if measurement equipment is properly installed,
provides accurate measurement of production on which royalty is due,
and is operating properly;
Obtain rates of production data in allocating the volumes
of production measured at royalty sales meters, which can be examined
during field inspections;
Ascertain if all removals of oil and condensate from the
lease are reported;
Determine the amount of oil that was shipped when
measurements are taken by gauging the tanks rather than being measured
by a meter;
Ensure that the sales location is secure and production
cannot be removed without the volumes being recorded; and
Review proving reports to verify that data on run tickets
are calculated and reported accurately.
We will protect information from respondents considered proprietary
under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) and its
implementing regulations (43 CFR part 2), and under regulations at 30
CFR 250.197, Data and information to be made available to the public or
for limited inspection. No items of a sensitive nature are collected.
Responses are mandatory.
Frequency: Varies by section, but primarily monthly, or on
occasion.
Description of Respondents: Potential respondents comprise Federal
oil, gas and sulphur lessees and/or operators.
Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour Burden: The currently
approved annual reporting burden for this collection is a total of
32,957 hours. The following chart details the individual components and
estimated hour burdens. In calculating the burdens, we assumed that
respondents perform certain requirements in the normal course of their
activities. We consider these to be usual and customary and took that
into account in estimating the burden.
[[Page 68145]]
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Hour burden
Citation 30 CFR part 250 Reporting or -----------------
subpart L recordkeeping Non-hour cost
requirement burdens
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Liquid Hydrocarbon Measurement
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1202(a)(1), (b)(1); Submit application for 24.5
1203(b)(1); 1204(a)(1). liquid hydrocarbon or
gas measurement
procedures or
changes; or for
commingling of
production or changes.
Simple........................ ...................... $1,271 simple
fee
Complex....................... ...................... $3,760 complex
No fee........................ Submit meter status 5
and replacement
notifications.
1202(a)(4).................... Copy & send pipeline 1.2
(retrograde)
condensate volumes
upon request.
1202(c)(1), (2); 1202(e)(4); Record observed data, Respondents
1202(h)(1), (2), (3), (4); correction factors & record these
1202(i)(1)(iv), (2)(iii); net standard volume items as part
1202(j). on royalty meter and of normal
tank run tickets. business
Record master meter records &
calibration runs. practices to
Record mechanical- verify accuracy
displacement prover, of production
master meter, or tank measured for
prover proof runs. sale purposes.
Record liquid
hydrocarbon royalty
meter malfunction and
repair or adjustment
on proving report;
record unregistered
production on run
ticket.
List Cpl and Ctl
factors on run
tickets.
1202(c)(4)*................... Copy & send all liquid 10 minutes
hydrocarbon run
tickets monthly.
1202(d)(4); 1204(b)(1)........ Request approval for 2
proving on a schedule
other than monthly;
request approval for
well testing on a
schedule other than
every 60 days.
1202(d)(5)*................... Copy & submit liquid 15 minutes
hydrocarbon royalty
meter proving reports
monthly & request
waiver as needed.
1202(f)(2)*................... Copy & submit 16.5 minutes
mechanical-
displacement prover &
tank prover
calibration reports.
1202(l)(2)*................... Copy & submit royalty 45 minutes
tank calibration
charts before using
for royalty
measurement.
1202(l)(3)*................... Copy & submit 45 minutes; 10
inventory tank minutes
calibration charts
upon request; retain
charts for as long as
tanks are in use.
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Gas Measurement
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1203(b)(6), (8), (9)*......... Copy & submit gas 15 minutes; 36
quality and volume minutes
statements monthly or
as requested (most
will be routine; few
will take longer).
1203(c)(1).................... Request approval for 1.2
proving on a schedule
other than monthly.
1203(c)(4)*................... Copy & submit gas 13 minutes; 7.5
meter calibration minutes
reports upon request;
retain for 2 years.
1203(e)(1)*................... Copy & submit gas 1.2
processing plant
records upon request.
1203(f)(5).................... Copy & submit 42 minutes
measuring records of
gas lost or used on
lease upon request.
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Surface Commingling
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1204(a)(2).................... Provide state 6
production volumetric
and/or fractional
analysis data upon
request.
1205(a)(2).................... Post signs at royalty 2
or inventory tank
used in royalty
determination process.
1205(a)(4).................... Report security 18 minutes
problems (telephone).
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Miscellaneous and Recordkeeping
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1200 thru 1205................ General departure and 1.3
alternative
compliance requests
not specifically
covered elsewhere in
subpart L.
1202(e)(6).................... Retain master meter 23 minutes
calibration reports
for 2 years.
1202(k)(5).................... Retain liquid 10 minutes
hydrocarbon
allocation meter
proving reports for 2
years.
1203(f)(4).................... Document & retain 15 minutes
measurement records
on gas lost or used
on lease for 2 years
at field location and
minimum 7 years at
location of
respondent's choice.
1204(b)(3).................... Retain well test data 6.7 minutes
for 2 years.
1205(b)(3), (4)............... Retain seal number 5 minutes
lists for 2 years.
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*Respondents gather this information as part of their normal business
practices. The BSEE only requires copies of readily available
documents. There is no burden for testing, meter reading, etc.
Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Non-Hour Cost Burden: We have
identified two non-hour cost burdens, both of which are cost recovery
fees. Note that the actual fee amounts are specified in 30 CFR 250.125,
which provide a consolidated table of all the fees required under the
30 CFR 250 regulations. The currently approved non-hour cost burden
total in this collection of information is an estimated $600,065. The
cost burdens are for: (1)
[[Page 68146]]
Filing fees associated with submitting requests for approval of simple
applications (applications to temporarily reroute production (for a
duration not to exceed 6 months); production tests prior to pipeline
construction; departures related to meter proving, well testing, or
sampling frequency ($1,271 per application)) or, (2) submitting a
request for approval of a complex application (creation of new facility
measurement points (FMPs); association of leases or units with existing
FMPs; inclusion of production from additional structures; meter updates
which add buyback gas meters or pigging meters; other applications
which request deviations from the approved allocation procedures
($3,760 per application)).
Public Disclosure Statement: The PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.)
provides that an agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of
information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.
Until OMB approves a collection of information, you are not obligated
to respond.
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
collection is necessary or useful; (b) evaluate the accuracy 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
technology.
Agencies must also estimate the non-hour paperwork cost burdens to
respondents or recordkeepers resulting from the collection of
information. Therefore, if you have other than hour burden 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. For further
information on this burden, refer to 5 CFR 1320.3(b)(1) and (2), or
contact the Bureau representative listed previously in this notice.
We will summarize written responses to this notice and address them
in our submission for OMB approval. As a result of your comments, we
will make any necessary adjustments to the burden in our submission to
OMB.
Public Comment Procedures: 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.
Acting BSEE Information Collection Clearance Officer: Cheryl
Blundon (703) 787-1607.
Dated: November 6, 2012.
Robert W. Middleton,
Deputy Chief, Office of Offshore Regulatory Programs.
[FR Doc. 2012-27773 Filed 11-14-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-VH-P