§ 1712. — Duties of lessees, operators, and motor vehicle transporters.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 30USC1712]
TITLE 30--MINERAL LANDS AND MINING
CHAPTER 29--OIL AND GAS ROYALTY MANAGEMENT
SUBCHAPTER I--FEDERAL ROYALTY MANAGEMENT AND ENFORCEMENT
Sec. 1712. Duties of lessees, operators, and motor vehicle
transporters
(a) Liability for royalty payments
In order to increase receipts and achieve effective collections of
royalty and other payments, a lessee who is required to make any royalty
or other payment under a lease or under the mineral leasing laws, shall
make such payments in the time and manner as may be specified by the
Secretary or the applicable delegated State. A lessee may designate a
person to make all or part of the payments due under a lease on the
lessee's behalf and shall notify the Secretary or the applicable
delegated State in writing of such designation, in which event said
designated person may, in its own name, pay, offset or credit monies,
make adjustments, request and receive refunds and submit reports with
respect to payments required by the lessee. Notwithstanding any other
provision of this chapter to the contrary, a designee shall not be
liable for any payment obligation under the lease. The person owning
operating rights in a lease shall be primarily liable for its pro rata
share of payment obligations under the lease. If the person owning the
legal record title in a lease is other than the operating rights owner,
the person owning the legal record title shall be secondarily liable for
its pro rata share of such payment obligations under the lease.
(b) Development of and compliance with site security plan and minimum
site security measures by operators; notification to Secretary
of well production
An operator shall--
(1) develop and comply with a site security plan designed to
protect the oil or gas produced or stored on an onshore lease site
from theft, which plan shall conform with such minimum standards as
the Secretary may prescribe by rule, taking into account the variety
of circumstances at lease sites;
(2) develop and comply with such minimum site security measures
as the Secretary deems appropriate to protect oil or gas produced or
stored on a lease site or on the Outer Continental Shelf from theft;
and
(3) not later than the 5th business day after any well begins
production anywhere on a lease site or allocated to a lease site, or
resumes production in the case of a well which has been off of
production for more than 90 days, notify the Secretary, in the
manner prescribed by the Secretary, of the date on which such
production has begun or resumed.
(c) Possession of documentation by transporters of oil or gas by motor
vehicle or pipeline
(1) Any person engaged in transporting by motor vehicle any oil from
any lease site, or allocated to any such lease site, shall carry, on his
person, in his vehicle, or in his immediate control, documentation
showing, at a minimum, the amount, origin, and intended first
destination of the oil.
(2) Any person engaged in transporting any oil or gas by pipeline
from any lease site, or allocated to any lease site, on Federal or
Indian lands shall maintain documentation showing, at a minimum, amount,
origin, and intended first destination of such oil or gas.
(Pub. L. 97-451, title I, Sec. 102, Jan. 12, 1983, 96 Stat. 2450; Pub.
L. 104-185, Sec. 6(g), Aug. 13, 1996, 110 Stat. 1715.)
Amendments
1996--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 104-185 inserted heading and amended text
generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: ``A lessee--
``(1) who is required to make any royalty or other payment under
a lease or under the mineral leasing laws, shall make such payments
in the time and manner as may be specified by the Secretary; and
``(2) shall notify the Secretary, in the time and manner as may
be specified by the Secretary, of any assignment the lessee may have
made of the obligation to make any royalty or other payment under a
lease or under the mineral leasing laws.''
Effective Date of 1996 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 104-185 applicable with respect to the
production of oil and gas after the first day of the month following
Aug. 13, 1996, see section 11 of Pub. L. 104-185, set out as a note
under section 1701 of this title.
Applicability of 1996 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 104-185 not applicable to any privately owned
minerals or with respect to Indian lands, see sections 9 and 10 of Pub.
L. 104-185, set out as a note under section 1701 of this title.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 1702, 1719, 1724 of this
title.
