[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 130 (Monday, July 8, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45144-45145]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-16925]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Minerals Management Service
Agency Information Collection Activities: Submitted for Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) Review; Comment Request
AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.
ACTION: Notice of extension of information collection (1010-0017).
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SUMMARY: To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), we
are notifying the public that we have submitted to OMB an information
collection request (ICR) to renew approval of form MMS-128, Semiannual
Well Test Report. This notice also provides the public a second
opportunity to comment on the paperwork burden of this reporting
requirement.
DATES: Submit written comments by August 7, 2002.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments directly to the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for
the Department of the Interior (1010-0017), 725 17th Street, NW.,
Washington, DC 20503. Mail or hand-carry a copy of your comments to the
Department of the Interior; Minerals Management Service; Attention:
Rules Processing Team; Mail Stop 4024; 381 Elden Street; Herndon,
Virginia 20170-4817. If you wish to e-mail comments to MMS, the e-mail
address is: [email protected]. Reference Information Collection
1010-0017 in your e-mail subject line. Include your name and return
address in your e-mail message and mark your message for return
receipt.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alexis London, Rules Processing Team,
at (703) 787-1600. You may also contact Alexis London to obtain a copy
of the form at no cost.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Form MMS-128, Semiannual Well Test Report.
OMB Control Number: 1010-0017.
Abstract: The Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act (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
[[Page 45145]]
OCS. Such rules and regulations will 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 which is consistent with the
need to make such resources available to meet the Nation's energy needs
as rapidly as possible; to balance orderly energy resource development
with protection of human, marine, and coastal environments; to ensure
the public a fair and equitable return on the resources of the OCS; and
to preserve and maintain free enterprise competition.
This notice pertains to a form used to collect information required
under 30 CFR 250, subpart K, on production rates. Section 250.1102(b)
requires respondents to submit form MMS-128. Responses are mandatory.
No questions of a ``sensitive'' nature are asked. MMS will protect
proprietary information according to 30 CFR 250.196 (Data and
information to be made available to the public), 30 CFR part 252 (OCS
Oil and Gas Information Program), and the Freedom of Information Act (5
U.S.C. 552) and its implementing regulations (43 CFR 2). Regional
Supervisors use information submitted on form MMS-128 to evaluate the
results of well tests to find out if reservoirs are being depleted in a
way that will lead to the greatest ultimate recovery of hydrocarbons.
We designed the form to present current well data on a semiannual basis
to allow the updating of permissible producing rates and to provide the
basis for estimates of currently remaining recoverable gas reserves. We
are proposing no changes to the data elements on form MMS-128. However,
we are reducing the number of copies respondents must submit to only an
original and ``one'' copy.
Frequency: Semiannual.
Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: Approximately 130
Federal OCS oil and gas lessees.
Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: The burden
for submitting semiannual well test reports does not include the time
to test the well or the pre-stabilization period. Respondents generally
conduct tests even more frequently than required by our regulations. We
only consider the burden to be the time to submit the information to
MMS. We estimate respondents submit the results of approximately 13,000
well tests each year in the GOMR and about 600 in the POCSR, with an
estimated annual hour burden of 1,336 hours. Based on $50 per hour, the
hour burden cost to respondents is $66,800. The burden varies only
slightly for electronic versus paper form submission, and is calculated
as follows:
In the Gulf of Mexico OCS Region:
25% of 13,000 well tests via electronic submission = 3,250 reports
x 5 minutes/60 = 271 hours.
75% of 13,000 via paper form/average 5 wells/form = 1,950 forms x
30 minutes/60 = 975 hours.
In the Pacific OCS Region:
100% of 600 well tests via paper form/average 20 wells/form = 30
forms x 3 hours = 90 hours.
Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' Burden: We
have identified no ``non-hour cost'' burdens associated with the
subject form.
Public Disclosure Statement: The PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.)
provides that an agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of
information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.
Until OMB approves a collection of information, you are not obligated
to respond.
Comments: Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et
seq.) requires each agency ''* * * to provide notice * * * 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.
To comply with the public consultation process, on April 1, 2002,
we published a Federal Register notice (67 FR 15408) announcing that we
would submit this ICR to OMB for approval. The notice provided the
required 60-day comment period. In addition, 30 CFR 250.199 and the PRA
statement on the form explain that the MMS will accept comments at any
time on the information collection burden of our regulations and
associated forms. We display the OMB control number and provide the
address for sending comments to MMS. We have received no comments in
response to these efforts.
If you wish to comment in response to this notice, you may send
your comments to the offices listed under the ADDRESSES section of this
notice. OMB has up to 60 days to approve or disapprove the information
collection but may respond after 30 days. Therefore, to ensure maximum
consideration, OMB should receive public comments by August 7, 2002.
Public Comment Policy: Our practice is to make comments, including
names and home addresses of respondents, available for public review
during regular business hours. Individual respondents may request that
we withhold their home address from the record, which we will honor to
the extent allowable by law. There may be circumstances in which we
would withhold from the record a respondent's identity, as allowable by
the law. If you wish us to withhold your name and/or address, you must
state this prominently at the beginning of your comment. However, we
will not consider anonymous comments. We will make all submissions from
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or
businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.
MMS Information Collection Clearance Officer: Jo Ann Lauterbach,
(202) 208-7744.
Dated: June 5, 2002.
E.P. Danenberger,
Chief, Engineering and Operations Division.
[FR Doc. 02-16925 Filed 7-5-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P