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

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service

Agency Information Collection Activities: Submitted for Office of

Management and Budget Review; Comment Request

Title: Production Accounting and Auditing System Oil and Gas

Reports, OMB Control Number: 1010-0040.

Comments: This collection of information has been submitted to the

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval. In compliance with

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Section 3506(c)(2)(A), we are

notifying you, members of the public and affected agencies, of this

collection of information, and are inviting your comments. Is this

information collection necessary for us to properly do our job? Have we

accurately estimated the public's burden for responding to this

collection? Can we enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the

information we collect? Can we lessen the burden of this information

collection on the respondents by using automated collection techniques

or other forms of information technology?

Comments should be made directly to the Attention: Desk Officer for

the Interior Department, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs

(OMB Control Number: 1010-0040), Office of Management and Budget,

Washington, DC 20503; telephone (202) 395-7340. Copies of these

comments should also be sent to us. The U.S. Postal Service address is

Minerals Management Service, Royalty Management Program, Rules and

Publications Staff, P.O. Box 25165, MS 3021, Denver, Colorado 80225-

0165; the courier address is Building 85, Room A-613, Denver Federal

Center, Denver, Colorado 80225; and the e-Mail address is

RMP.[email protected]. OMB has up to 60 days to approve or disapprove

the information collection but may respond after 30 days; therefore,

public comments should be submitted to OMB within 30 days in order to

assure their maximum consideration.

Copies of the proposed information collection and related

explanatory material may be obtained by contacting Dennis C. Jones,

Rules and Publications Staff, telephone (303) 231-3046, FAX (303) 231-

3385, e-Mail Dennis.C.J[email protected].

Dates: Written comments should be received on or before July 24,

1998.

Summary: The Secretary of the Interior is responsible for the

collection of royalties from lessees who produce minerals from leased

Federal and Indian

[[Page 34475]]

lands. The Secretary is authorized to manage lands, to collect

royalties due, and to distribute royalty funds. The Minerals Management

Service (MMS) is responsible for the royalty management functions

assigned to the Secretary and has developed the Production Accounting

and Auditing System (PAAS) as a part of an overall effort to improve

management of the Nation's resources.

PAAS is an integrated computer system based on production and

processing reports submitted by lease operators and is designed to

track minerals produced from Federal and Indian lands from the point of

production to the point of disposition, or royalty determination, and/

or point of sale. It is used in conjunction with MMS Auditing and

Financial System (AFS), which provides payment and sales volumes and

values as reported by payors. These data are compared to production and

processing volumes reported on PAAS. The comparison enables MMS to

verify that proper royalties are being received for the minerals

produced.

MMS uses six forms for gathering oil and gas production data from

industry. The production and disposition reports provide MMS with

ongoing information on lease and facility production, sales volumes,

and inventories. The reports summarize all operations on a lease or

facility during a reporting period. They identify production by well

number and sales by product. Data collected by PAAS are used as a

method of cross-checking reported production with sales reported to the

AFS. Failure to collect all of this information will prevent MMS from

ensuring that all royalties owed on lease production are paid.

Additionally, the data are shared electronically with the Bureau of

Land Management and MMS's Offshore Minerals Management so they can

perform their lease management responsibilities.

Description of Respondents: Companies or individuals (operators)

that operate leases to develop, produce, and dispose of minerals from

Federal or Indian lands.

Forms Numbers: Form MMS-4051, Facility and Measurement Information

Form; Form MMS-4054, Oil and Gas Operations Report; Form MMS-4055, Gas

Analysis report, Form MMS-4056, Gas Plant Operations Report, Form MMS-

3160, Monthly Report of Operations, and Form MMS-4058, Production

Allocation Schedule Report.

Frequency of Response: Monthly.

Estimated Reporting Burden: 15 to 30 minutes per manually completed

report, 7 to 15 minutes per electronically completed report.

Recordkeeping Burden: 12 hours annually for recordkeeping.

Annual Responses: 356,668.

Annual Burden Hours: 81,938 hours.

Bureau Clearance Officer: Jo Ann Lauterbach, (202) 208-7744.

Dated: May 29, 1998.

R. Dale Fazio,

Acting Associate Director for Royalty Management.

[FR Doc. 98-16723 Filed 6-23-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P