98-120. Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 2 (Monday, January 5, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 252-253]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-120]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service, Interior


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service, DOI.

ACTION: Notice of Information Collection Solicitation.

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SUMMARY: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Minerals 
Management Service (MMS) is soliciting comments on an information 
collection, Report of Sales and Royalty Remittance (OMB Control Number 
1010-0022, Form MMS-2014), which expires on May 31, 1998.

FORM: MMS-2014, Report of Sales and Royalty Remittance.

DATES: Written comments should be received on or before March 6, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments sent via the U.S. Postal Service should be sent to 
Minerals Management Service, Royalty Management Program, Rules and 
Publications Staff, P.O. Box 25165, MS 3021, Denver, Colorado 80225-
0165; courier address is Building 85, Room A613, Denver Federal Center, 
Denver, Colorado 80225; e:mail address is [e-mail].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dennis C. Jones, Rules and 
Publications Staff, phone [phone], FAX [phone], e-mail 
[e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, Section 3506 (c)(2)(A), we are notifying you, members of 
the public and affected agencies, of this collection of information, 
including Form MMS-2014, which expires May 31, 1998. We are requesting 
OMB approval for a three year extension of this existing collection 
authority. Is this information collection necessary for us to properly 
do our job? Have we accurately estimated the industry burden for 
responding to this collection? Can we enhance the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information we collect? Can we lessen the burden of this 
information collection on the respondents by using automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology?
    The Secretary of the Interior is responsible for the collection of 
royalties from lessees producing minerals from leased Federal and 
Indian lands. The Secretary is required by various laws to manage the 
production of mineral resources on Indian lands and Federal onshore and 
offshore leases, to collect the royalties due, and to distribute the 
funds in accordance with those laws.
    MMS performs the royalty management functions for the Secretary. 
When a company or individual enters into a contract to develop, 
produce, and dispose of minerals from Federal or Indian lands, that 
company or individual agrees to pay the United States or Indian tribe 
or allottee a share (royalty) of the full value received for the 
minerals taken from leased lands. We use an automated fiscal accounting 
system, the Auditing and Financial System (AFS), to account for 
revenues collected from Federal and Indian leases. The Report of Sales 
and Royalty Remittance, Form MMS-2014, is the only document used for 
reporting royalties and other lease-related transactions to MMS. AFS 
relies on data

[[Page 253]]

reported by payors on Form MMS-2014 for the majority of its processing. 
In addition to accounting for royalties reported by payors, AFS, using 
Form MMS-2014 information, performs numerous other functions. These 
functions include monthly distribution of mineral revenues to State, 
Indian, and General Treasury accounts; providing royalty accounting and 
statistical information to States, Indians, and others who have a need 
for such information; and identifying under reporting and nonreporting 
so MMS can promptly collect revenues. Sales and royalty information 
gathered through AFS is compared with production data collected by an 
MMS automated production accounting system, the Production Accounting 
and Auditing System (PAAS). This AFS/PAAS comparison of reported sales 
with reported production provides MMS with the ability to verify that 
the proper royalties are being collected.
    MMS counts monthly payor responses by line item. Each line 
represents one reporting transaction. Approximately 274,000 lines are 
submitted each month by about 2,000 payors. Payors include about 1,750 
oil and gas companies plus about 250 solid mineral companies. The total 
number of payors changes monthly as old wells cease production, new 
wells are brought into production, mines cease or increase production, 
or selling arrangements change. We estimate that on the average 7 
minutes is needed to manually complete each line. Average time includes 
data assembly, value and royalty calculations, entering data on the 
form, and mailing. The total time involved varies considerably from a 
small company reporting only one or two leases to a large company with 
a multipage report. For those companies with equipment enabling them to 
report using electronic media, including electronic data interchange, 
diskettes and tape, the time to generate and submit the data is 
estimated to be less than 3 minutes per line. About 20 percent of total 
lines will be prepared and submitted manually, an estimated 67,000 
lines per month in FY 1997. The remaining 80 percent of total lines 
will be submitted via electronic media, about 208,000 lines per month. 
We also estimate that each payor will spend 10 hours on related 
recordkeeping for this collection. We estimate that the total annual 
burden for this information collection is 155,400 hours.

    Dated: December 29, 1997.
Lucy Querques Denett,
Associate Director for Royalty Management.
[FR Doc. 98-120 Filed 1-2-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P