§ 251.11 - Submission, inspection, and selection of geological data and information collected under a permit and processed by permittees or third parties.

(a) Availability of geological data and information collected under a permit. (1) You must notify the Regional Director, in writing, when you complete the initial analysis, processing, or interpretation of any geological data and information. Initial analysis and processing are the stages of analysis or processing where the data and information first become available for in-house interpretation by the permittee, or become available commercially to third parties via sale, trade, license agreement, or other means.

(2) The Regional Director may ask if you have further analyzed, processed, or interpreted any geological data and information. When so asked, you must respond to MMS in writing within 30 days.

(b) Submission, inspection, and selection of geological data and information. The Regional Director may request the permittee or third party to submit the analyzed, processed, and interpreted geologic data and information for inspection and/or permanent retention by MMS. The data and information must be submitted within 30 days after such request.

(c) Requirements for submission of geological data and information collected under a permit. Unless the Regional Director specifies otherwise, geological data and information must include:

(1) An accurate and complete record of all geological (including geochemical) data and information describing each operation of analysis, processing, and interpretation;

(2) Paleontological reports identifying microscopic fossils by depth, including the reference datum to which paleontological sample depths are related and, if the Regional Director requests, washed samples that you maintain for paleontological determinations;

(3) Copies of well logs or charts in a digital format, if available;

(4) Results and data obtained from formation fluid tests;

(5) Analyses of core or bottom samples and/or a representative cut or split of the core or bottom sample;

(6) Detailed descriptions of any hydrocarbons or hazardous conditions encountered during operations, including near losses of well control, abnormal geopressures, and losses of circulation; and

(7) Other geological data and information that the Regional Director may specify.

(d) Obligations when geological data and information collected under permit are obtained by a third party. A third party may obtain geological data and information from a permittee, or from another third party, by sale, trade, license agreement, or other means. If this happens:

(1) The third party recipient of the data and information assumes the obligations under this section, except for the notification provisions of paragraph (a)(1), and is subject to the penalty provisions of 30 CFR part 250, subpart N; and

(2) A permittee or third party that sells, trades, licenses, or otherwise provides data and information to a third party must advise the recipient, in writing, that accepting these obligations is a condition precedent of the sale, trade, license, or other agreement; and

(3) Except for license agreements, a permittee or third party that sells, trades, or otherwise provides data and information to a third party must advise the Regional Director, in writing and within 30 days, of the sale, trade, or other agreement, including the identity of the recipient of the data and information; or

(4) For license agreements a permittee or third party that licenses data and information to a third party must, within 30 days of a request by the Regional Director, advise the Regional Director, in writing, of the license agreement, including the identity of the recipient of the data and information.