96-22820. Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for Office of Management and Budget Review; Comment Request

[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 174 (Friday, September 6, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Page 47174]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-22820]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for Office 
of Management and Budget Review; Comment Request

AGENCY: Mineral Management Service (MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of extension of a currently approved collection.

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SUMMARY: The Department of the Interior has submitted a proposal for 
the collection of information listed below to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for approval under the provisions of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (Act). The act requires that OMB provide 
interested Federal agencies and the public an opportunity to comment on 
information collection requests. The act also provides that an agency 
may not conduct or sponsor, and you are not required to respond to, a 
collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB 
control number.

DATES: Submit written comments by October 7, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments and suggestions directly to the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for 
the Department of the Interior (1010-0071), Washington, D.C. 20503.
    Send a copy of your comments to the Chief, Engineering and 
Standards Branch, Mail Stop 4700, Minerals Management Service, 381 
Elden Street, Herndon, Virginia 20170-4817.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Alexis London, Engineering and Standards Branch, Minerals Management 
Service, telephone [phone]. You may obtain copies of the 
proposed collection of information by contacting MMS's Clearance 
Officer at [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

    Title: 30 CFR Part 203, Relief or Reduction in Royalty Rates.
    OMB Number: 1010-0071.
    Abstract: The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) and the 
Deep Water Royalty Relief Act (DWRRA) give the Secretary of the 
Interior the authority to reduce or eliminate royalty or any net profit 
share set forth in Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas leases to 
promote increased production. The MMS interim final rule established 
the terms and conditions for granting reductions in royalty rates under 
the OCSLA and royalty suspension volumes under the DWRRA for certain 
leases in existence before November 28, 1995. It also defines the 
information required for a complete application as required by 43 
U.S.C. 1337(a)(3)(C). The interim final rule was published in the 
Federal Register on May 31, 1996 (61 FR 27263). The comment period has 
been extended to September 30, 1996 (61 FR 40734).
    MMS will use the information to determine whether granting a 
royalty relief request will result in the production of resources that 
would not be produced without such relief. An application for royalty 
relief must contain sufficient financial, economic, reservoir, geologic 
and geophysical, production, and engineering data and information for 
MMS to determine whether relief should be granted according to 
applicable law. The Application also must be sufficient to determine 
whether the requested relief will result in an ultimate increase in 
resource recovery and receipts to the Federal Treasury and provide for 
reasonable returns on project investments. The applicant's requirement 
to respond is related only to a request to obtain royalty relief. The 
applicant has no obligation to make such a request.
    Description of Respondents: Federal OCS oil and gas leases.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 130 respondents making an 
estimated 52 applications per year.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 34,530 burden hours.
    Estimate of Total Other Annual Costs to Respondents:
    (a) Application processing cost: average $21,800 per application 
for an estimated burden of $1,133,600.
    (b) Some applications will require a report prepared by an 
independent certified public accountant: average $87,500 per 
application for an estimated burden of $3,587,500.
    Type of Request: Extension of currently approved collection.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Comments: The OMB is required to make a decision concerning the 
proposed collection of information between 30 and 60 days after 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register. Therefore, a 
comment to OMB is best ensured of having its full effect if OMB 
receives it by no later than October 7, 1996.
    Bureau Clearance Officer: Carole deWitt [phone].

    Dated: August 15, 1996.
E.P. Danenberger,
Acting Deputy Associate Director for Operations and Safety Management.
[FR Doc. 96-22820 Filed 9-5-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-M