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2007
-- OCS Natural Gas
and Oil Program
Advance
Notice of Proposed Rules: (none)
Notice of Proposed Rules:
Summary: The MMS proposes that all lessees,
operators, permittees, and rights-of-way holders pay all fees for
processing plans, applications, and permits electronically. The MMS
believes this proposed rule would aid industry in payment processing, and
reduce payment processing errors. This proposed rule would improve MMS
processing efficiency and facilitate the correction of industry payment
errors. The MMS would not accept checks, money orders, or cashier’s checks
for payment of fees after the effective date of the final rule.
Public Comments
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Request for Information and Nominations of Areas for Leases Authorizing
Alternative Energy Resource Assessment and Technology Testing Activities
Pursuant to Subsection 8(p) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, as
Amended
(60 KB)
Federal Register Cite: Vol. 72, No. 214, FR 62673
(11/06/2007)
Summary: The Minerals Management Service (MMS)
invites comments concerning the authorization of activities on the Outer
Continental Shelf (OCS) involving the installation of meteorological or
marine data collection facilities to assess alternative energy resources
(e.g., wind, wave, and ocean current) or to test alternative energy
technology to produce or support production of alternative energy. The
MMS intends to adopt an interim policy to authorize such facilities
(e.g., meteorological towers or wave and current data collection
instruments and wave or current generators or other developing
technology) under subsection 8(p) of the OCS Lands Act, as amended by
section 388 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Parties wishing to obtain
such authorizations should submit detailed and specific nomination and
application information as described below.
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Oil and Gas and Sulphur
Operations in the Outer Continental Shelf—Pipelines and Pipeline
Rights-of-Way
(4186 KB) Regulatory Identifier Number (RIN)
1010-AD11
Federal Register Cite: Vol. 72, No. 191, FR 56442 (10/03/2007)
Summary: This proposed rulemaking completely
revises the MMS Outer Continental Shelf pipeline and pipeline
Rights-of-Way (ROW) regulations, and brings them up to date with current
industry practices and technology. The proposed rule incorporates parts
of several new and revised industry standards into the regulations. It
also incorporates several conditions of approval for pipelines, plus
guidance from various Notices to Lessees and Operators (NTLs) and one
Letter to Lessees and Operators (LTL) into one set of comprehensive
pipeline regulations. The proposed regulations would eliminate several
NTLs and the LTL, and have been rewritten in plain language.
Public Comments
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Regulatory Identifier Number (RIN) 1010-AD41
Federal Register Cite: Vol. 72, No. 116, FR 33417
(6/18/2007)
Summary: The MMS proposes to extend the
proprietary term of certain reprocessed geophysical information
submitted to MMS under a permit. The proposed rule would give up to 5
years of additional protection to reprocessed vintage geophysical
information that MMS retained and, under the current rule, is subject to
release by MMS 25 years after issuing the germane permit. The extension
would provide incentives to permittees and third parties to reprocess,
market, or in other ways use geophysical information that may not
otherwise be reprocessed without the term extension.
Public Comments
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Open and
Nondiscriminatory Movement of Oil and Gas as Required by the Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act
(126 KB)
Regulatory Identifier Number (RIN)
1010-AD17
Federal Register Cite: Vol. 72, No. 66, FR 17047 (4/6/2007)
Summary: The Minerals Management Service (MMS) is proposing
new regulations that would establish a process for a shipper
transporting oil or gas production from Federal leases on the Outer
Continental Shelf (OCS) to follow if it believes it has been denied
open and nondiscriminatory access to pipelines on the OCS. The rule
would provide MMS with tools to ensure that pipeline companies
provide open and nondiscriminatory access to their pipelines.
Public Comments
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Regulatory Identifier Number (RIN) 1010-AD12
Federal Register Cite: Vol. 72, No. 43, FR 9884
(3/6/07)
Summary: MMS proposes to amend the regulations
regarding oil and natural gas production. This is a complete rewrite of
these regulations, addressing issues such as production rates, burning oil,
and venting and flaring natural gas. The proposed rule would eliminate most
restrictions on production rates and clarify flaring and venting limits. The
proposed rule was written using plain language, so it will be easier to read
and understand.
Public Comments
Notices:
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MMS Information Collection Activity: NEW Information Collection;
Lease of Submerged Lands for Alternative Energy Activities on the
OCS; Comment Request
Regulatory Identifier Number (RIN)
1010-NEW
Federal Register Cite: Vol. 72, No. 240, FR 71152
(12/14/2007)
Summary: To comply with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), MMS is inviting comments on a
collection of information that we will submit to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The information
collection request (ICR) concerns the paperwork requirements that
address new Form MMS–0001, Lease of Submerged Lands for Alternative
Energy Activities on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), which is
printed within this Federal Register notice. This form is used to
enter into a leasing agreement between MMS and a respondent to
conduct data collection and/or technology testing on the OCS. The
MMS is also asking for comments on the lease form. Section 388 of
the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109–58), amended section 8 of
the OCS Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(p)) and gave responsibility to MMS
to grant a lease, easement, or right-of-way on the OCS for
alternative energy-related uses not otherwise authorized under the
Lands Act. DATES: Submit written comments by February 12, 2008.
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Notice of Public Workshop To
Discuss the Possible Need for Suspension of Operations Specifically
Related to High Pressure or High Temperature Equipment
(57 KB)
Federal Register Cite: Vol. 72, No. 216,
FR 63155
(11/08/2007)
Summary: The MMS will hold a
workshop to discuss the possible need to develop a new regulation
allowing for a Suspension of Operations, specifically related to high
pressure or high temperature equipment needed for safe drilling,
completion, or production operations. This Suspension of Operations
would allow for an extension of a lease when the modification of
existing technology is considered necessary in order to operate in
frontier areas due to unexpected high temperatures or high pressures
encountered on your lease. This type of Suspension of Operations would
not apply to the initial design, development, or manufacturing of new
technology.
Workshop Date: January 23, 2008,
beginning at 9 a.m.
Workshop Location: The workshop
will be held at the Gulf of Mexico Regional Office, Minerals Management
Service, Room 111, 1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana
70123–2394. All interested parties are invited to attend.
Public Comments
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Alternative Energy and Alternate Use
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement
(57 KB)
Federal Register Cite: Vol.
72, No. 214, FR 62672 (11/06/2007)
Summary: The MMS has prepared a final
programmatic EIS in support of the establishment of a program for
authorizing alternative energy and alternate use activities on the Outer
Continental Shelf (OCS), as authorized by Section 388 of the Energy
Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct), and codified in subsection 8(p) of the Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA). Pursuant to the regulations
implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the MMS is
announcing the availability of this final programmatic EIS. As part of
its efforts to develop a regulatory program for alternative energy and
alternate use activities, this final programmatic EIS examines the
potential environmental effects of the program on the OCS and identifies
policies and best management practices that may be adopted for the
program. Several alternatives available to the MMS for implementing an
alternative energy and alternate use program on the OCS are analyzed in
this final programmatic EIS, including the ‘‘no action’’ alternative.
The MMS intends to prepare a separate NEPA analysis, tiered from this
EIS, to evaluate the environmental impacts of the proposed rule for
alternative energy and alternate use activities on the OCS. Further,
separate lease sale, activity-specific, and proposal-specific NEPA
analyses will be prepared as appropriate.
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Notice of the Annual Price Threshold Determination
(63 KB)
Federal Register Cite: Vol. 72, No. 117, FR
33768 (6/19/07)
Summary: This notice provides the official MMS
documentation of which Gulf of Mexico price thresholds have been
exceeded by annual market prices for oil or gas, by lease vintage,
for calendar year 2006. This notice also explains in detail how MMS
calculates the annual oil and gas prices and applicable price
thresholds used to determine whether royalty relief applies in
calendar year 2006 for our various deepwater and deep depth royalty
relief programs.
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Federal Register Cite: Vol. 72, No. 52, FR 12823 (3/19/07)
Summary: This notice
provides a listing of civil penalties paid from January 1, 2006, through
December 31, 2006, for violations of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands
Act (OCSLA). The goal of the MMS Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Civil
Penalties Program is to assure safe and clean operations in the OCS.
Final Rules:
Summary: This
document makes minor technical changes to regulations that were
published in various Federal Register documents and are codified in
the Code of Federal Regulations. These changes will correct form
names in 30 CFR parts 250 and 251, as well as various citations and
typographical errors in 30 CFR parts 203, 250, 251, and 260.
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Oil, Gas, and
Sulphur Operations in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) — Plans and
Information — Protection of Marine Mammals and Threatened and Endangered
Species
(96 KB)
Regulatory Identifier Number
(RIN) 1010-AD10
Federal Register Cite: Vol. 72, No. 71, FR 18578
(4/13/07)
Summary: This final rule requires lessees of Federal oil and gas
leases in the OCS to provide information on how they will conduct their
proposed activities in a manner consistent with provisions of the
Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA).
It identifies environmental, monitoring, and mitigation information that
lessees must submit with plans for exploration and development and
production. This final rulemaking specifies what information the MMS
needs to ensure compliance with the OCSLA, the ESA, and the MMPA. The
final rule will help assure that lessees conduct their activities in a
manner consistent with the provisions of the ESA and the MMPA.
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Oil and Gas and Sulphur
Operations in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)—Update of New and
Reaffirmed Documents Incorporated by Reference
(92 KB)
Regulatory Identifier Number
(RIN) 1010-AD24
Federal Register Cite: Vol. 72, No.
50, FR 12088 (3/15/07)
Summary: This final rule
incorporates 33 new editions and 37 reaffirmed editions of documents
previously incorporated by reference in regulations governing oil
and gas and sulphur operations in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).
The new and reaffirmed editions of these documents will ensure that
lessees use the best and safest technologies available while
operating in the OCS. The final rule also updates citations for
documents that were incorporated by reference in recent final rules.
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Oil and Gas and Sulphur
Operations in the Outer Continental Shelf and Oil Spill Financial
Responsibility for Offshore Facilities—Civil Penalties
(326 KB)
Regulatory Identifier Number (RIN) 1010-AD39
Federal Register Cite: Vol. 72, No. 39, FR 8897
(2/28/07)
Summary: The MMS
is required to review the maximum daily civil penalty assessment
allowable under 43 U.S.C. 1350 at least once every 3 years for the
purpose of adjusting this amount in accordance with the Consumer
Price Index (CPI) as prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
Department of Labor. The same review and adjustment process is
required every 4 years for the maximum daily civil penalty
assessment allowable under 33 U.S.C. 2716a. The intended effect is
for punitive assessments to keep up with inflation.
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Regulatory Identifier Number (RIN) 1010-AD19
Federal Register Cite: Vol. 72, No. 39, FR 8900
(2/28/07)
Summary: MMS is incorporating by reference the
First Edition of the American Petroleum Institute's Recommended Practice
(RP) for Cementing Shallow Water Flow (SWF) Zones in Deep Water Wells
(API RP 65) into MMS regulations. From 1987 to 2004, at least 113 Outer
Continental Shelf (OCS) wells encountered SWF to varying degrees. While
the majority of these wells experienced SWF to only a minor degree,
there were instances of severe encounters resulting in abandonment of
well sites and loss of wells. This action establishes best practices for
cementing wells in deep water areas of the OCS that are prone to SWF.
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Last Updated:
11/18/2008,
05:07 PM
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