30 CFR § 1206.57 - How do I determine a transportation allowance if I have an arm's-length transportation contract?

§ 1206.57 How do I determine a transportation allowance if I have an arm's-length transportation contract?

(a) Arm's-length transportation.

(1) If you incur transportation costs under an arm's-length contract, your transportation allowance is the reasonable, actual costs that you incur to transport oil under that contract. You have the burden of demonstrating that your contract is arm's-length.

(2) You must submit to ONRR a copy of your arm's-length transportation contract(s) and all subsequent amendments to the contract(s) within 2 months of the date that ONRR receives your report, which claims the allowance on Form ONRR–2014.

(3) If ONRR determines that the consideration paid under an arm's-length transportation contract does not reflect the reasonable value of the transportation because of misconduct by or between the contracting parties, or because the lessee otherwise has breached its duty to the lessor to market the production for the mutual benefit of the lessee and the lessor, then ONRR shall require that the transportation allowance be determined in accordance with paragraph (b) of this section. When ONRR determines that the value of the transportation may be unreasonable, ONRR will notify the lessee and give the lessee an opportunity to provide written information justifying the lessee's transportation costs.

(4)

(i) If an arm's-length transportation contract includes more than one liquid product, and the transportation costs attributable to each product cannot be determined from the contract, then you must allocate the total transportation costs in a consistent and equitable manner to each of the liquid products transported in the same proportion as the ratio of the volume of each product (excluding waste products which have no value) to the volume of all liquid products (excluding waste products which have no value). Except as provided in this paragraph (a)(4)(i), you may not take an allowance for the costs of transporting lease production, which is not royalty-bearing, without ONRR's approval.

(ii) Notwithstanding the requirements of paragraph (a)(4)(i) of this section, you may propose to ONRR a cost allocation method on the basis of the values of the products transported. ONRR shall approve the method unless it determines that it is not consistent with the purposes of the regulations in this part.

(5) If an arm's-length transportation contract includes both gaseous and liquid products, and the transportation costs attributable to each product cannot be determined from the contract, you must propose an allocation procedure to ONRR.

(i) You may use the oil transportation allowance determined in accordance with its proposed allocation procedure until ONRR issues its determination on the acceptability of the cost allocation.

(ii) You must submit to ONRR all available data to support your proposal.

(iii) You must submit your initial proposal within 3 months after the last day of the month for which you request a transportation allowance, whichever is later (unless ONRR approves a longer period).

(iv) ONRR will determine the oil transportation allowance based on your proposal and any additional information that ONRR deems necessary.

(6) Where an arm's-length sales contract price includes a provision whereby the listed price is reduced by a transportation factor, ONRR will not consider the transportation factor to be a transportation allowance. You may use the transportation factor to determine your gross proceeds for the sale of the product. The transportation factor may not exceed 50 percent of the base price of the product without ONRR's approval.

(b) Reporting requirements.

(1) If ONRR requests, you must submit all data used to determine your transportation allowance. You must provide the data within a reasonable period of time that ONRR will determine.

(2) You must report transportation allowances as a separate entry on Form ONRR–2014. ONRR may approve a different reporting procedure on allotted leases and with lessor approval on Tribal leases.

(3) ONRR may establish, in appropriate circumstances, reporting requirements that are different from the requirements of this section.