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The
NewsRoom
Release: #3324
Date: August 25, 2005
MMS Adjusts Fees Relating
to Minerals Programs
WASHINGTON- The Minerals Management Service today
published a final rule in the
Federal Register which adjusts some
existing fees and implements several new fees for services it
currently provides to the offshore oil and gas industry. The estimated
new and adjusted fees of $1.65 million are necessary to recover MMS’s
actual costs of performing certain services relating to its minerals
programs. This rule, which modifies 30 CFR parts 250 and 256, will
take effect September 26, 2005.
MMS published a proposed rule to revise some
existing fees and implement several new fees in the Federal Register
on March 15, 2005. The comment period for the proposed rule closed on
April 14, 2005. MMS received 23 sets of comments on the proposed
rulemaking on 14 different issues, and these comments are addressed in
the final rule.
In the final rule, MMS removed two proposed fee
adjustments. The proposed adjustment to the document filing fee has
been removed, leaving in effect the current fee amount of $25 per
lease affected. The proposed adjustment of the Pipeline Right-of-Way
(ROW) Grant Application has also been removed. This fee was proposed
to be lowered; however, further analysis proved that the current fee
of $2,350 accurately reflects the cost to MMS to provide that service.
MMS has updated its indirect cost rate from 15 to
21.5 percent, since the proposed rule was published, and, as required
by OMB and Departmental guidance, has calculated those indirect cost
rates in the new cost recovery fees. No specific comments addressing
the indirect cost rate calculation were received.
Seven services provided by MMS will incur fees for
the first time, one service will see a fee increase, and two services
will see a fee decrease. The costs for two other services remain the
same.
| Service |
Old Fee |
Proposed Fee |
New Fee |
| Change in Designation of Operator |
none |
$140 |
$150 |
Suspensions of Operations/
Suspensions of Production |
none |
$1,700 |
$1,800 |
500 feet from Lease/
Unit Line Production requests |
none |
$3,100 |
$3,300 |
| Gas Cap Production Requests |
none |
$4,000 |
$4,200 |
| Downhole Commingling Requests |
none |
$4,600 |
$4,900 |
Voluntary Unitization Proposal
or Unit Expansion |
none |
$10,000 |
$10,700 |
| Unitization Revision |
none |
$720 |
$760 |
| Pipeline ROW Assignment
|
$60 |
$160 |
$170 |
| Non-required Document Filings.
|
$25 |
$170 |
$25 |
Record Title/ Operations Rights
(Transfer) |
$185 |
$160 |
$170 |
| Pipeline Right of Way Grant
Applications |
$2,350 |
$1,100 |
$2,350 |
Pipeline conversion of Lease Term
to ROW |
$300 |
$180 |
$200 |
Revenues collected under the final rule would be
used by MMS to recover the actual costs of these activities, which are
critical for oil and gas exploration and development, and for
protecting the environment and promoting safety in the OCS. Federal
agencies are authorized to recover costs of providing services to
non-federal entities, such as industry, through provisions in the
Independent Offices Appropriations Act of 1952 (IOAA) 31 USC 9701.
MMS, part of the U.S. Department of the Interior,
oversees 1.76 billion acres of the Outer Continental Shelf, managing
offshore energy and minerals while protecting the human, marine, and
coastal environments. The OCS provides 30 percent of oil and 21
percent of natural gas produced domestically, as well as sand used for
coastal restoration. MMS collects, accounts for, and disburses mineral
revenues from Federal and American Indian lands, and contributes to
the Land and Water Conservation Fund and other special use funds, with
Fiscal Year 2004 disbursements of about $8 billion and more than $143
billion since 1982.
Relevant Web Sites:
MMS Main Website
Media Contacts:
Nicolette Nye, (703) 787-1011
MMS: Securing Ocean Energy & Economic Value for
America
U.S. Department of the Interior
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