30 C.F.R. Subpart D—Assignments and Lease Extensions
Title 30 - Mineral Resources
(a) Subject to the approval of the Secretary, a lease may be assigned, in whole or in part, pursuant to section 8(e) of the Act to anyone qualified to hold a lease. (b) Any approved assignment shall be deemed to be effective on the first day of the lease month following the date that it is submitted to the Director for approval unless by written request the parties request that the effective date be the first of the month in which the Director approves the assignment. (c) The assignor shall be liable for all obligations under the lease occurring prior to the effective date of an assignment. (d) The assignee shall be liable for all obligations under the lease occurring on or after the effective date of an assignment and shall comply with all terms and conditions of the lease and applicable regulations issued under the Act. (a)(1) All instruments of transfer of a lease or of an interest therein including subleases and assignments of record interest shall be filed in triplicate for approval within 90 days from the date of final execution. They shall include a statement over the transferee's own signature with respect to citizenship and qualifications similar to that required of a lessee and shall contain all of the terms and conditions agreed upon by the parties thereto. (2) An application for approval of any instrument required to be filed shall not be accepted unless accompanied by a nonrefundable fee of $50. Any document not required to be filed by these regulations but submitted for record purposes shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable fee of $50 per lease affected. Such documents may be rejected at the discretion of the authorized officer. (b) An attorney in fact signing on behalf of the holder of a lease or sublease, shall furnish evidence of authority to execute the assignment or application for approval and the statement required by §281.20 of this part. (c) Where an assignment creates separate leases, a bond shall be furnished for each of the resulting leases in the amount prescribed in §282.40 of this title. Where an assignment does not create separate leases, the assignee, if the assignment so provides and the surety consents, may become a joint principal on the bond with the assignor. (d) An heir or devisee of a deceased holder of a lease or any interest therein shall be recognized as the lawful successor to such lease or interest if evidence of status as an heir or devisee is furnished in the form of: (1) A certified copy of an appropriate order or decree of the court having jurisdiction over the distribution of the estate, or (2) If no court action is necessary, the statement of two disinterested persons having knowledge of the fact or a certified copy of the will. (e) The heirs or devisee shall file statements that they are the persons named as successors to the estate with evidence of their qualifications to hold such lease or interest therein. (f) In the event an heir or devisee is unable to qualify to hold the lease or interest, the heir or devisee shall be recognized as the lawful successor of the deceased and be entitled to hold the lease for a period not to exceed 2 years from the date of death of the predecessor in interest. (g) Each obligation under any lease and under the regulations in this part shall inure to the heirs, executors, administrators, successors, or assignees of the lease. (a) When an assignment is made of all the record title to a portion of the acreage in a lease, the assigned and retained portions of the lease area become segregated into separate and distinct leases. In such a case, the assignee becomes a lessee of the Government as to the segregated tract that is the subject of the assignment and is bound by the terms of the lease as though the lease had been obtained from the United States in the assignee's own name, and the assignment, after its approval, shall be the basis of a new record. Royalty, minimum royalty, and annual rental provisions of the lease shall apply separately to each segregated portion. (b) Each lease of an OCS mineral created by the segregation of a lease under paragraph (a) of this section shall continue in full force and effect for the remainder of the primary term of the original lease and so long thereafter as minerals are produced from the portion of the lease created by segregation in accordance with operations approved by the Director or the lessee is otherwise in compliance with provisions of the lease or regulations for earning the continuation of the lease in effect. (a) If the Director orders the suspension of either operations or production, or both, with respect to any lease in its primary term, the primary term of the lease shall be extended by a period of time equivalent to the period of the directed suspension. (b) If the Director orders or approves the suspension of either operations or production, or both, with respect to any lease that is in force beyond its primary term, the term of the lease shall not be deemed to expire so long as the suspension remains in effect.
Title 30: Mineral Resources
PART 281—LEASING OF MINERALS OTHER THAN OIL, GAS, AND SULPHUR IN THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF
Subpart D—Assignments and Lease Extensions
§ 281.40 Assignment of leases or interests therein.
§ 281.41 Requirements for filing for transfers.
§ 281.42 Effect of assignment on particular lease.
§ 281.43 Effect of suspensions on lease term.
