Leasing of Sulfur or Oil and Gas in the Outer Continental Shelf (Risk Management, Financial Assurance and Loss Prevention Notice of Proposed Rulemaking)
ICR 202008-1010-002
OMB: 1010-0006
Federal Form Document
⚠️ Notice: This information collection may be outdated. More recent filings for OMB 1010-0006 can be found here:
Leasing of Sulfur or Oil and
Gas in the Outer Continental Shelf (Risk Management, Financial
Assurance and Loss Prevention Notice of Proposed Rulemaking)
In accordance
with 5 CFR 1320, OMB is filing comment and withholding approval at
this time. The agency shall examine public comment in response to
the proposed rulemaking and will include in the supporting
statement of the next ICR—which is to be submitted to OMB at the
final rule stage—a description of how the agency has responded to
any public comments on the ICR, including comments on maximizing
the practical utility of the collection and minimizing the
burden.
Inventory as of this Action
Requested
Previously Approved
01/31/2023
36 Months From Approved
01/31/2023
10,307
0
10,307
19,054
0
19,054
766,053
0
766,053
The Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)
Lands Act, as amended (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq. and 43 U.S.C. 1801 et
seq.), authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to prescribe rules
and regulations to administer leasing of the OCS. Such rules and
regulations apply to all operations conducted under a lease.
Operations on the OCS must preserve, protect, and develop oil and
natural gas resources in a manner that is consistent with the need
to make such resources available to meet the Nation’s energy needs
as rapidly as possible; balance orderly energy resource development
with protection of human, marine, and coastal environments; ensure
the public a fair and equitable return on the resources of the OCS;
and preserve and maintain free enterprise competition. Also, the
Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 prohibits certain lease
bidding arrangements (42 U.S.C. 6213 (c)). BOEM has recognized the
need to develop a comprehensive program to help in identifying,
prioritizing, and managing the financial risks associated with oil
and gas activities on the OCS. BOEM’s goal for this program is to
protect American taxpayers from exposure to financial or
environmental risks from nonperformance of obligations associated
with OCS leases and grants while also assuring that its financial
assurance program does not negatively impact offshore investment or
operations. The Department of the Interior (the Department), acting
through BOEM and BSEE, proposes to streamline its evaluation
criteria for determining whether oil, gas and sulfur lessees,
right-of-use and easement (RUE) grant holders, and pipeline
right-of-way grant holders may be required to provide bonds or
other security above the prescribed amounts for base bonds to
ensure compliance with their Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)
obligations. BOEM’s portion of the proposed rule would also remove
restrictive provisions for third-party guarantees and
decommissioning accounts, and would add new criteria under which
additional bonds and third-party guarantees may be
cancelled.
Overall, this proposed rule
would result in the following adjustments in hour burden, which
would lead to an overall reduction of 13 annual burden hours: The
hours per response for all respondents (i.e., a lessee, a
co-lessee, a co-grant holder, and/or a predecessor) who demonstrate
financial worth/ability to carry out present and future financial
obligations, request approval of another form of security, or
request reduction in amount of supplemental bond required, along
with the monitoring and submission of required information, will
remain at 3.5 hours as approved by OMB in OMB Control Number
1010-0006. The number of responses for the provisions related to §§
550.160, 550.166, 550.1011, and 556.900-902 would decrease to 160
respondents from 166 respondents due to program changes as
explained above. The related existing and new provisions would
result in a decrease of 21 burden hours from 581 to 560 annual
burden hours, which would be reflected in OMB Control Number
1010-0006. The hours per response for proposed § 556.905(b)(2)
would be an increase from 0 to 2 hours. The number of responses for
this provision would increase from 0 to 4. Therefore this new
provision would add 8 annual burden hours to OMB Control Number
1010-0006.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
Form BOEM-152 30 CFR 556 - Subpart K - BOEM-152 - Relinquishment of Federal OCS O&G Leases
OMB Supporting Statement 1010-AE00 Risk_0006 revision_v8.docx
CFR-2018-title30-vol2-part556.pdf
30 CFR Part 556 - Subpart K