30 C.F.R. Subpart G—Issuance of Leases
Title 30 - Mineral Resources
(a) In accordance with section 8 of the Act, leases shall be awarded only to the highest responsible qualified bidder. (b) Mineral leases issued pursuant to section 8 of the Act may be held only by: (1) Citizens and nationals of the United States, (2) aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States as defined in 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(20); (3) private, public or municipal corporations organized under the laws of the United States or of any State or of the District of Columbia or territory thereof, or (4) associations of such citizens, nationals, resident aliens, or private, public, or municipal corporations, States, or political subdivisions of States. (c) MMS may disqualify you from acquiring any new leaseholdings or lease assignments if your operating performance is unacceptable according to 30 CFR 250.135. [44 FR 38276, June 29, 1979. Redesignated at 47 FR 47006, Oct. 22, 1982, as amended at 64 FR 72795, Dec. 28, 1999] (a)(1) All oil and gas leases shall be issued for an initial period of 5 years, or not to exceed 10 years where the authorized officer finds that such longer period is necessary to encourage exploration and development in areas because of unusually deep water or other unusually adverse conditions. (2) If your oil and gas lease is in water depths between 400 and 800 meters, it will have an initial lease term of 8 years unless MMS establishes a different lease term under paragraph (a)(1) of this section. (3) For leases issued with an initial term of 8 years, you must begin an exploratory well within the first 5 years of the term to avoid lease cancellation. (b) An oil and gas lease shall continue after such initial period for as long as oil or gas is produced from the lease in paying quantities, or drilling or well reworking operations as approved by the Secretary are conducted. The term of an oil and gas lease is subject to further extension as provided in §256.73 of this part. (c) Sulphur leases shall be issued for a term not to exceed 10 years and so long thereafter as sulphur is produced from the leasehold in paying quantities, or drilling, well reworking, plant construction, or other operations for the production of sulphur, as approved by the Secretary, are conducted thereon. [44 FR 38276, June 29, 1979. Redesignated at 47 FR 47006, Oct. 22, 1982 and amended at 50 FR 49043, Nov. 29, 1985; 54 FR 2049, Jan. 18, 1989; 61 FR 55889, Oct. 30, 1996]
Title 30: Mineral Resources
PART 256—LEASING OF SULPHUR OR OIL AND GAS IN THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF
Subpart G—Issuance of Leases
§ 256.35 Qualifications of lessees.
§ 256.37 Lease term.
§ 256.38 Joint bidding provisions.
§ 256.40 Definitions.
The following definitions apply to §§256.38 through 256.44 of this part.
(a) Single bid means a bid submitted by one person for an oil and gas lease under section 8(a) of the Act.
(b) Joint bid means a bid submitted by two or more persons for an oil and gas lease under section 8(a) of the Act.
(c) Average daily production is the total of all production in an applicable production period which is chargeable under §256.43 of this title divided by the exact number of calendar days in the applicable production period.
(d) Barrel means 42 U.S. gallons.
(e) Crude oil means a mixture of liquid hydrocarbons including condensate that exists in natural underground reservoirs and remains liquid at atmospheric pressure after passing through surface separating facilities, but does not include liquid hydrocarbons produced from tar sand, gilsonite, oil shale, or coal.
(f) An economic interest means any right to, or any right dependent upon, production of crude oil, natural gas, or liquefied petroleum products and shall include, but not be limited to, a royalty interest, or overriding royalty interest, whether payable in cash or in kind, a working interest, a net profits interest, a production payment, or a carried interest.
(g) Liquefied petroleum products means natural gas liquid products including the following: ethane, propane, butane, pentane, natural gasoline, and other natural gas products recovered by a process of absorption, adsorption, compression, or refrigeration cycling, or a combination of such processes.
(h) Natural gas means a mixture of hydrocarbons and varying quantities of nonhydrocarbons that exist in the gaseous phase.
(i) Oil and gas lease means an oil and gas lease either offered or issued pursuant to the provisions of the Act.
(j) Owned means:
(1) With respect to crude oil—having either an economic interest in or a power of disposition over the production of crude oil;
(2) With respect to natural gas—having either an economic interest in or a power of disposition over the production of natural gas; and
(3) With respect to liquefied petroleum products—having either an economic interest in or a power of disposition over any liquefied petroleum product at the time of completion of the liquefaction process.
(k) Prior production period means the continuous six month period of January 1 through June 30 preceding November 1 through April 30 for joint bids submitted during the six month bidding period from November 1 through April 30, and means the continuous six month period of July 1 through December 31 preceding May 1 through October 31 for joint bids submitted during the six month bidding period from May 1 through October 31.
(l) Production—(1) Of crude oil means the volume of crude oil produced worldwide from reservoirs during the prior production period. The amount of such crude oil production shall be established by measurement of volumes delivered at the point of custody transfer (e.g., from storage tanks to pipelines, trucks, tankers, or other media for transport to refineries or terminals) with adjustments for:
(i) Net differences between opening and closing inventories, and
(ii) Basic sediment and water;
(2) Of natural gas means the volume of natural gas produced worldwide from natural oil and gas reservoirs during the prior production period, with adjustments, where applicable, to reflect
(i) The volume of gas returned to natural reservoirs; and
(ii) The reduction of volume resulting from the removal of natural gas liquids and nonhydrocarbon gases.
(3) Of liquefied petroleum products means the volume of natural gas liquids produced from reservoir gas and liquefied at surface separators, field facilities, or gas processing plants worldwide during the prior production period; these liquefied petroleum products include the following:
(i) Condensate—natural gas liquids recovered from gas well gas (associated and non-associated) in separators or field facilities;
(ii) Gas plant products—natural gas liquids recovered from natural gas in gas processing plants and from field facilities. Gas plant products shall include the following as classified according to the standards of the Natural Gas Processors Association (NGPA) or the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM):
(A) Ethane—C2 H6
(B) Propane—C3 H8
(C) Butane—C4 H10 including all products covered by NGPA specifications for commercial butane.
(1) Isobutane,
(2) Normal butane,
(3) Other butanes—all butanes not included as isobutane or normal butane;
(D) Butane-Propane Mixtures—All products covered by NGPA specifications for butane-propane mixtures;
(E) Natural Gasoline—A mixture of hydrocarbons extracted from natural gas, which meet vapor pressure, end point, and other specifications for natural gasoline set by NGPA;
(F) Plant Condensate—A natural gas plant product recovered and separated as a liquid at gas inlet separators or scrubbers in processing plants or field facilities; and
(G) Other Natural Gas Plant Products meeting refined product standards (i.e., gasoline, kerosene, distillate, etc.).
(m) Six month bidding period means the six month period of time
(1) From May 1 through October 31; or
(2) From November 1 through April 30, respectively.
[44 FR 38276, June 29, 1979; 44 FR 55380, Sept. 26, 1979. Redesignated at 47 FR 47006, Oct. 22, 1982, as amended at 66 FR 11518, Feb. 23, 2001]
§ 256.41 Joint bidding requirements.
(a) Any person who submits a joint bid for any oil and gas lease during a 6-month bidding period, and who was chargeable for the prior production period with an average daily production in excess of 1.6 million barrels of crude oil, natural gas and liquified petroleum products, shall have filed under oath with the Director, a Statement of Production of crude oil, natural gas and liquified petroleum products, hereinafter referred to as a Statement of Production, no later than 45 days prior to the commencement of the applicable 6-month bidding period of May 1 through October 31, and November 1 through April 30. Statements of Production shall be submitted to the Director, MMS (Attention: Offshore Leasing Management Division), Washington, DC 20240. The Statement of Production shall indicate that the person was chargeable, in accordance with §256.43 of this part, with an average daily production in excess of 1.6 million barrels of crude oil, natural gas and liquified petroleum products for the prior production period. The Director shall publish semi-annually in the
(b) When a person is placed on the List of Restricted Joint Bidders the Director shall serve that person either personally or by certified mail, return receipt requested, with a copy of the Director's Order placing that person on the List of Restricted Joint Bidders. Any appeal from that Order or from an adverse effect of that Order shall be made in accordance with the provisions of 43 CFR part 4.
(c) The submission of a Statement of Production or of a detailed Report of Production under §256.46(g) of this part which misrepresents the chargeable production of the reporting person shall constitute failure to comply with these regulations and any lease awarded in reliance on that Statement or Report of Production may be canceled, pursuant to section 8(o) of the Act and regulations issued thereunder as having been obtained by fraud or misrepresention.
(d) The Secretary may exempt a person from the provisions of §§256.41(a), 256.44, 256.46(g) and 256.62(b) of this part if it is found, on the record, after an opportunity for an agency hearing, that lands being offered have extremely high cost exploration and development problems and that exploration and development will not occur on such lands unless the exemption is granted.
[44 FR 38276, June 29, 1979; 44 FR 55380, Sept. 26, 1979, as amended at 45 FR 69174, Oct. 17, 1980; 47 FR 25971, June 16, 1982. Redesignated and amended at 47 FR 47006, 47007, Oct. 22, 1982]
§ 256.43 Chargeability for production.
(a) As used in this section the following definitions shall control:
(1) Person means a natural person or company.
(2) Company means a corporation, a partnership, an association, a joint-stock company, a trust, a fund, or any group of persons whether incorporated or not; it also means any receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, or similar official acting for such a company.
(3) Subsidiary means a company 50 percent or more of whose stock or other interest having power to vote for the election of directors, trustees, or other similar controlling body of the company is directly or indirectly owned, controlled, or held with the power to vote by another company; a subsidiary shall be deemed a subsidiary of the other company owning, controlling, or holding 50 percent or more of the stock or other voting interest.
(4) Security or securities means any note, stock, treasury stock, bond, debenture, evidence of indebtedness, certificate of interest or participation in any profit-sharing agreement, collateral-trust certificate, pre-organization certificate or subscription, transferable share, investment contract, voting-trust certificate, certificate of deposit for a security, fractional undivided interest in oil, gas, or other mineral rights, or, in general, any interest or instrument commonly known as a “security” or any certificate of interest or participation in, temporary or interim certificate for, receipt for, guarantee of, or warrant or right to subscribe to or purchase any of the foregoing.
(b) A person filing a Statement of Production under §256.41 of this part shall be charged with the following production during the applicable prior production period:
(1) The average daily production in barrels of crude oil, natural gas, and liquefied petroleum products which it owned worldwide;
(2) The average daily production in barrels of crude oil, natural gas, and liquefied petroleum products owned worldwide by every subsidiary of the reporting person;
(3) The average daily production in barrels of crude oil, natural gas, and liquefied petroleum products owned worldwide by any person or persons of which the reporting person is a subsidiary; and
(4) The average daily production in barrels of crude oil, natural gas, and liquefied petroleum products owned worldwide by any subsidiary, other than the reporting person, of any person or persons of which the reporting person is a subsidiary.
(c) A person filing a Statement of Production shall be charged with, in addition to the production chargeable under paragraph (b) of this section, but not in duplication thereof, its proportionate share of the average daily production in barrels of crude oil, natural gas, and liquefied petroleum products owned worldwide by every person:
(1) Which has an interest in the reporting person, and
(2) In which the reporting person has an interest, whether the interest referred to in paragraphs (c) (1) and (2) of this section is by virtue of ownership of securities or other evidence of ownership, or by participation in any contract, agreement, or understanding respecting the control of any person or of any person's production of crude oil, natural gas, or liquefied petroleum products, equal to said interest. As used in paragraph (c) of this section “interest” means an interest of at least 5 percent of the ownership or control of a person.
(d) All measurements of crude oil and liquefied petroleum products under this section shall be at 60 °F.
(e)(1) For purposes of computing production of natural gas under §256.41 of this part, chargeability under this section, and reporting under §256.46(g) of this part, 5,626 cubic feet of natural gas at 14.73 pounds per square inch (msl) shall equal one barrel.
(2) For purposes of computing production of liquefied petroleum products under §256.41 of this part, chargeability under §256.46(g) of this part, 1.454 barrels of natural gas liquids at 60 °F shall equal one barrel of crude oil.
[44 FR 38276, June 29, 1979; 44 FR 55380, Sept. 26, 1979, as amended at 47 FR 25971, June 16, 1982. Redesignated at 47 FR 47006, 47007, Oct. 22, 1982]
§ 256.44 Bids disqualified.
The following bids for any oil and gas lease shall be disqualified and rejected in their entirety:
(a) A joint bid submitted by 2 or more persons who are on the effective List of Restricted Joint Bidders; or
(b)(1) A joint bid submitted by two or more persons when 1 or more of those persons is chargeable for the prior production period with an average daily production in excess of 1.6 million barrels of crude oil, natural gas and liquified petroleum products and has not filed a Statement of Production as required by §256.41 of this part for the applicable 6-month bidding period, or
(2) Any of those persons have failed or refused to file a detailed report of production when required to do so under §256.46(g) of this part, or
(c) A single or joint bid submitted pursuant to an agreement (whether written or oral, formal or informal, entered into or arranged prior to or simultaneously with the submission of such single or joint bid, or prior to or simultaneously with the award of the bid upon the tract) which provides:
(1) For the assignment, transfer, sale, or other conveyance of less than a 100 percent interest in the entire tract on which the bid is submitted, by a person or persons on the List of Restricted Joint Bidders, effective on the date of submission of the bid, to another person or persons on the same List of Restricted Joint Bidders; or
(2) For the assignment, sale, transfer or other conveyance of less than a 100 percent interest in any fractional interest in the entire tract (which fractional interest was originally acquired by the person making the assignment, sale, transfer or other conveyance, under the provisions of the act) by a person or persons on the List of Restricted Joint Bidders, effective on the date of submission of the bid, to another person or persons on the same List of Restricted Joint Bidders; or
(3) For the assignment, sale, transfer, or other conveyance of any interest in a tract by a person or persons not on the List of Restricted Joint Bidders, effective on the date of submission of the bid, to 2 or more persons on the same List of Restricted Joint Bidders; or
(4) For any of the types of conveyances described in paragraphs (c) (1), (2) or (3) of this section where any party to the conveyance is chargeable for the prior production period with an average daily production in excess of 1.6 million barrels of crude oil, natural gas and liquified petroleum products and has not filed a Statement of Production pursuant to §256.41 of this part for the applicable 6-month bidding period. Assignments expressly required by law, regulation, lease or stipulation to lease shall not disqualify an otherwise qualified bid; or
(d) A bid submitted by or in conjunction with a person who has filed a false, fraudulent or otherwise intentionally false or misleading detailed Report of Production.
[44 FR 38276, June 29, 1979; 44 FR 55380, Sept. 26, 1979, as amended at 45 FR 69175, Oct. 17, 1980; 47 FR 25971, June 16, 1982. Redesignated at 47 FR 47006, Oct. 22, 1982]
§ 256.46 Submission of bids.
(a) A separate sealed bid shall be submitted for each tract unit bid upon as described in the notice of lease sale. A bid may not be submitted for less than an entire tract.
(b) MMS requires a deposit for each bid. The notice of sale will specify the bid deposit amount and method of payment.
(c) If the bidder is an individual a statement of citizenship shall accompany the bid.
(d) If the bidder is an association (including a partnership), the bid shall be accompanied by a certified statement indicating the State in which it is registered and that it is authorized to hold mineral leases on the OCS, or appropriate reference to statements or records previously submitted to an MMS OCS office (including material submitted in compliance with prior regulations).
(e) If the bidder is a corporation, the following information shall be submitted with the bid:
(1) A statement certified by the corporate Secretary or Assistant Secretary over the corporate seal showing the State in which it was incorporated and that it is authorized to hold mineral leases on the OCS, or appropriate reference to statements or records previously submitted to an MMS OCS office (including material submitted in compliance with prior regulations).
(2) Evidence of authority of persons signing to bind the corporation. Such evidence may be in the form of either a certified copy of the minutes of the board of directors or of the bylaws indicating that the person signing has authority to do so; or a certificate to that effect signed by the Secretary or Assistant Secretary of the corporation over the corporate seal, or appropriate reference to statements or records previously submitted to an MMS OCS office (including material submitted in compliance with prior regulations). Bidders are advised to keep their filings current.
(3) The bid shall be executed in conformance with corporate requirements.
(f) Bidders should be aware of the provisions of 18 U.S.C. 1860, prohibiting unlawful combination or intimidation of bidders.
(g) To verify the accuracy of any statement submitted pursuant to §256.41 of this part, the Director may require the person submitting such information to:
(1) Submit no later than 30 days after receipt of the request by the Director, a detailed Report of Production which shall list, in barrels, the average daily production of crude oil, natural gas and liquefied petroleum products chargeable to the reporting person in accordance with §256.43 of this part for the prior production period, and
(2) Permit the inspection and copying by an official of the Department of the Interior of such documents, records of production of crude oil, natural gas and liquified petroleum products, analyses and other material as are necessary to demonstrate the accuracy of any statement or information contained in any Report of Production.
(h) No bid for a lease may be submitted if the Secretary finds, after notice and hearing, that the bidder is not meeting due diligence requirements on other OCS leases.
[44 FR 38276, June 29, 1979, as amended at 45 FR 69175, Oct. 17, 1980; 47 FR 25971, June 16, 1982. Redesignated at 47 FR 47006, Oct. 22, 1982, as amended at 64 FR 40767, July 28, 1999]
§ 256.47 Award of leases.
(a) Sealed bids received in response to the notice of lease sale shall be opened at the place, date and hour specified in the notice. The opening of bids is for the sole purpose of publicly announcing and recording the bids received and no bids shall be accepted or rejected at that time.
(b) The United States reserves the right to reject any and all bids received for any tract, regardless of the amount offered.
(c) In the event the highest bids are tie bids, the tie bidders (unless they would be disqualified under §256.35(b) of this part, or disqualified under §256.44 of this part if their bids had been joint bids) may file with the Director, within 15 days after notification, an agreement to accept the lease jointly; otherwise all bids shall be rejected.
(d) Pursuant to section 8(c) of the Act, the Attorney General may review the results of the lease sale prior to the acceptance of bids and issuance of leases.
(e)(1) The decision of the authorized officer on bids shall be the final action of the Department, subject only to reconsideration by the Secretary, pursuant to written request, of the rejection of the high bid. The delegation of review authority to the Office of Hearings and Appeals shall not be applicable to decisions on high bids for leases on the Outer Continental Shelf.
(2) The authorized officer must accept or reject the bid within 90 days. The authorized officer may extend the time period for acceptance or rejection of a bid for 15 working days or longer, if circumstances warrant. Any bid not accepted within the prescribed time period, including any extension thereof, is deemed rejected.
(3) Any high bidder whose bid is rejected by the authorized officer may, within 15 days of such rejection, file with the Secretary, with a copy to the authorized officer, a written request for reconsideration accompanied by a statement of reasons. The Secretary shall respond in writing either affirming or reversing the decision of the authorized officer.
(f) Written notice of the authorized officer's action shall be transmitted promptly to those bidders whose deposits have been held. If a bid is accepted, such notice shall transmit three copies of the lease to the successful bidder. As provided in §218.155, the bidder shall, not later than the 11th business day after receipt of the lease, execute the lease, pay the first-year's rental, and unless deferred, pay the balance of the bonus bid. The bidder must also file a bond as required in §256.52 of this title. Deposits and any interest accrued shall be refunded on high bids subsequently rejected.
(g) If the successful bidder fails to execute the lease within the prescribed time or otherwise comply with the applicable regulations the deposit shall be forfeited and disposed of as other receipts under the Act.
(h) If, before the lease is executed on behalf of the United States, the land which would be subject to the lease is withdrawn or restricted from leasing, all deposits and any interest due shall be refunded.
(i) If the awarded lease is executed by an agent acting on behalf of the bidder, the lease shall be accompanied by evidence that the bidder authorized the agent to execute the lease. When three copies of the lease are executed and returned to the authorized officer, the lease shall be executed on behalf of the United States, and one fully executed copy shall be transmitted to the successful bidder.
(j) No lease or permit shall be issued for any area within 15 statute miles of the boundaries of the Point Reyes Wilderness in California unless the State of California allows exploration, development or production activities in the adjacent navigable waters of the State under section 11(h) of the Act.
[44 FR 38276, June 29, 1979, as amended at 47 FR 25972, June 16, 1982. Redesignated at 47 FR 47006, Oct. 22, 1982, and amended at 49 FR 8606, Mar. 8, 1984; 49 FR 10056, Mar. 16, 1984; 50 FR 47378, Nov. 18, 1985; 61 FR 34732, July 3, 1996; 62 FR 27955, May 22, 1997]
§ 256.49 Lease form.
Oil and gas leases and leases for sulphur shall be issued on forms approved by the Director. Other mineral leases shall be issued on such forms as may be prescribed by the Secretary.
[47 FR 25972, June 16, 1982. Redesignated at 47 FR 47006, Oct. 22, 1982]
§ 256.50 Dating of leases.
All leases issued under the regulations in this part shall be dated and become effective as of the first day of the month following the date leases are signed on behalf of the lessor. When prior written request is made, a lease may be dated and become effective as of the first day of the month within which it is so signed.
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