§ 3179.105 - Emergencies.

§ 3179.105 Emergencies.

(a) An operator may flare or, if flaring is not feasible given the emergency, vent gas royalty-free under § 3179.4(a)(vi) of this subpart during an emergency. For purposes of this subpart, an “emergency” is a temporary, infrequent and unavoidable situation in which the loss of gas or oil is uncontrollable or necessary to avoid risk of an immediate and substantial adverse impact on safety, public health, or the environment. For purposes of royalty assessment, an “emergency” is limited to a short-term situation of 24 hours or less (unless the BLM agrees that the emergency conditions necessitating venting or flaring extend for a longer period) caused by an unanticipated event or failure that is out of the operator's control and was not due to operator negligence.

(b) The following do not constitute emergencies for the purposes of royalty assessment:

(1) More than 3 failures of the same component within a single piece of equipment within any 365-day period;

(2) The operator's failure to install appropriate equipment of a sufficient capacity to accommodate the production conditions;

(3) Failure to limit production when the production rate exceeds the capacity of the related equipment, pipeline, or gas plant, or exceeds sales contract volumes of oil or gas;

(4) Scheduled maintenance;

(5) A situation caused by operator negligence; or

(6) A situation on a lease, unit, or communitized area that has already experienced 3 or more emergencies within the past 30 days, unless the BLM determines that the occurrence of more than 3 emergencies within the 30 day period could not have been anticipated and was beyond the operator's control.

(c) Within 45 days of the start of the emergency, the operator must estimate and report to the BLM on a Sundry Notice the volumes flared or vented beyond the timeframes specified in paragraph (b) of this section.