Office of Natural Resources Revenue 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), we, the Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR), are proposing to renew an information collection.

To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), ONRR is inviting comments on a collection of information requests that we will submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. This Information Collection Request (ICR) covers the paperwork requirements in title 30, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), part 1218. This ICR pertains to cross-lease netting in calculation of late-payment interest; a lessee's designation of designee; and Tribal permission for recoupment on Indian oil and gas leases.

Final regulations for valuing gas produced from Indian leases, published August 10, 1999, require the Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) to determine major portion prices and notify industry by publishing the prices in the Federal Register. The regulations also require ONRR to publish a due date for industry to pay additional royalties based on the major portion prices. Consistent with these requirements, this notice provides major portion prices for the 12 months of calendar year 2015.

In accordance with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (Act), as amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (2015 Act) and recent Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance, the Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) is publishing this final rule to adjust our maximum civil monetary penalty (CMP) rates for calendar year 2017. This final rule also adopts as final a 2016 interim final rule that adjusted the amount of our civil monetary penalties for inflation with initial ``catch-up'' adjustments under the 2015 Act.

The Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) requests comments and suggestions from affected parties and the interested public on whether revisions to the regulations governing the valuation, for royalty purposes, of oil and gas produced from Federal onshore and offshore leases and coal produced from Federal and Indian leases, are needed and, if so, what specific revisions should be considered. On July 1, 2016, ONRR published a final rule, Consolidated Federal Oil and Gas and Federal and Indian Coal Valuation Reform (2017 Valuation Rule). ONRR subsequently stayed the effective date of that rule pending resolution of litigation. As a result of the stay, the regulations in effect prior to January 1, 2017 (``pre-existing regulations'') remain in effect. In a separate notice, ONRR is seeking comments on a proposed rule to repeal the 2017 Valuation Rule to maintain the status quo in which the pre-existing regulations remain in effect while ONRR reconsiders whether changes made by the 2017 Valuation Rule are needed or appropriate.

To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), ONRR is notifying the public that we have submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) an Information Collection Request (ICR) to renew approval of the paperwork requirements in the regulations under title 30, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), parts 1202, 1204, and 1206. This ICR pertains to (1) Federal oil and gas valuation regulations, which include transportation and processing regulatory allowance limits; and (2) accounting and auditing relief for marginal properties. Also, there is one form (ONRR-4393 [Request to Exceed Regulatory Allowance Limitation]) associated with this information collection.