2015-20927. Agency Information Collection Activities: Accounts Receivable Confirmations-OMB Control Number 1012-0001; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR), Interior.

ACTION:

Notice of extension.

SUMMARY:

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 under the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 (CFO).

DATES:

Submit written comments on or before October 26, 2015.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments on this ICR to ONRR by using one of the following three methods (please reference “ICR 1012-0001” in your comments):

1. Electronically go to http://www.regulations.gov. In the entry titled “Enter Keyword or ID,” enter “ONRR-2011-0019” and then click “Search.” Follow the instructions to submit public comments. ONRR will post all comments.

2. Mail comments to Mr. Luis Aguilar, Regulatory Specialist, ONRR, P.O. Box 25165, MS 61030A, Denver, Colorado 80225-0165.

3. Hand-carry or mail comments, using an overnight courier service, to ONRR. Our courier address is Building 85, Room A-614, Denver Federal Center, West 6th Ave. and Kipling St., Denver, Colorado 80225.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For questions on technical issues, contact Mr. Hans Meingast, Financial Management, MRM, ONRR, telephone [phone] or email at [e-mail]. For other questions, contact Mr. Luis Aguilar, telephone [phone], or email at [e-mail]. You may also contact Mr. Aguilar to obtain copies, at no cost, of (1) the ICR, (2) any associated form, and (3) the regulations that require us to collect the information.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

The Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior is responsible for collecting royalties from lessees who produce minerals from leased Federal and Indian lands and the Outer-Continental Shelf (OCS). The Secretary's responsibility, under various laws, is to manage mineral resource production from Federal and Indian lands and the OCS, collect the royalties and other mineral revenues due, and distribute the funds collected under those laws. ONRR performs the royalty management functions for the Secretary.

We have posted those laws pertaining to mineral leases on Federal and Indian lands and the OCS at http://www.onrr.gov/​Laws_​R_​D/​PubLaws/​default.htm.

Minerals produced from Federal and Indian leases vary greatly in the nature of occurrence, production, and processing methods. When a company or an individual enters into a lease to explore, develop, produce, and dispose of minerals from Federal or Indian lands, that company or individual agrees to pay the lessor a share in an amount or value of production from the leased lands. The regulations require the lessee to report various kinds of information to the lessor relative to the disposition of the leased minerals. Such information is generally available within the records of the lessee or others involved in developing, transporting, processing, purchasing, or selling such minerals. The information we collect includes data necessary to ensure that lessees accurately value production and appropriately pay royalties.

Companies submit financial information monthly to ONRR on Forms ONRR-2014, Report of Sales and Royalty Remittance (OMB Control Number 1012-0004), and ONRR-4430, Solid Minerals Production and Royalty Report (OMB Control Number 1012-0010).

Every year, under the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), the Department's Office of Inspector General, or its agent (agent), audits the Department's financial statements. The Department's goal is to receive an unqualified opinion. Accounts receivable confirmations are a common practice in the audit business. Due to continuously increasing scrutiny on financial audits, third-party confirmation of the validity of ONRR's financial records is necessary.

As part of the CFO audit, the agent selects a sample of accounts receivable items and provides the sample items to ONRR. ONRR then identifies the company names and addresses for the sample items selected, and creates accounts receivable confirmation letters. In order to meet the CFO requirements, the letters must be on ONRR letterhead; and the Deputy Director for ONRR, or his or her designee, must sign the letters. The letter requests third-party confirmation responses by a specified date on whether or not ONRR's accounts receivable records agree with royalty payor records for the following items: Customer identification; royalty/invoice number; payor-assigned document number; date of ONRR receipt; original amount the payor reported; and remaining balance due ONRR. The agent mails the letters to the payors, instructing them to respond directly to the agent to confirm the accuracy and validity of selected royalty receivable items and amounts. Verifying the amounts reported and the balances due requires research and analysis by payors.

We are requesting OMB's approval to continue to collect this information. Not collecting this information would limit the Secretary's ability to discharge the duties of the office. ONRR protects proprietary information that payors submit, and there are no questions of a sensitive nature included in this information collection.

II. Data

Title: Accounts Receivable Confirmations.

OMB Control Number: 1012-0001.

Bureau Form Number: None.

Frequency: Annually.

Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: 24 randomly selected Federal and Indian oil and gas and solid mineral royalty payors.

Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping “Hour” Burden: 6 hours. We estimate that each response will take 15 minutes for payors to complete.

Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping “Non-hour” Cost Burden: We have identified no “non-hour cost” burden associated with this collection of information.

Public Disclosure Statement: The PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) provides that an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

III. Request for Comments

Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA requires each agency to “* * * provide 60-day notice in the Federal Register * * * 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 proposed collection of information is necessary for the agency to perform its duties, including whether the information is useful; (b) evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate 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 automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

The PRA also requires agencies to estimate the total annual reporting “non-hour cost” burden to respondents or recordkeepers resulting from the collection of information. If you have 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. You should describe the methods you use to estimate major cost factors, including system and technology acquisition, expected useful life of capital equipment, discount rate(s), and the period over which you incur costs. Capital and startup costs include, among other items, computers and software you purchase to prepare for collecting information; monitoring, sampling, and testing equipment; and record storage facilities. Generally, your estimates should not include equipment or services purchased: (i) Before October 1, 1995; (ii) to comply with requirements not associated with the information collection; (iii) for reasons other than to provide information or keep records for the Government; or (iv) as part of customary and usual business or private practices.

We will summarize written responses to this notice and address them in our ICR submission for OMB approval, including appropriate adjustments to the estimated burden. We will provide a copy of the ICR to you without charge upon request. We also will post the ICR on our Web site at http://www.onrr.gov/​Laws_​R_​D/​FRNotices/​ICR0162.htm.

Public Comment Policy: ONRR will post all comments, including names and addresses of respondents at http://www.regulations.gov. Before including Personally Identifiable Information (PII), such as your address, phone number, email address, or other personal information in your comment(s), you should be aware that your entire comment (including PII) may be made available to the public at any time. While you may ask us, in your comment, to withhold PII from public view, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget control number.

Dated: August 13, 2015.

Gregory J. Gould,

Director, Office of Natural Resources Revenue.