30 CFR § 203.44 - What administrative steps must I take to use the royalty suspension volume?

§ 203.44 What administrative steps must I take to use the royalty suspension volume?

(a) You must notify the BSEE Regional Supervisor for Production and Development in writing of your intent to begin drilling operations on all deep wells and phase 1 ultra- deep wells; and

(b) Within 30 days of the beginning of production from all wells that would become qualified wells by satisfying the requirements of this section, you must:

(1) Provide written notification to the BSEE Regional Supervisor for Production and Development that production has begun; and

(2) Request confirmation of the size of the royalty suspension volume earned by your lease.

(c) Before beginning production, you must meet any production measurement requirements that the BSEE Regional Supervisor for Production and Development has determined are necessary under 30 CFR part 250, subpart L.

(d) You must provide the information in paragraph (b) of this section by January 20, 2009, if you produced before December 18, 2008, from a qualified deep well or qualified phase 1 ultra-deep well on a lease that is located entirely in water more than 200 meters and less than 400 meters deep.

(e) The BSEE Regional Supervisor for Production and Development may extend the deadline for beginning production for up to one year for a well that cannot begin production before the applicable date prescribed in the definition of “qualified deep well” in § 203.0 if it meets all of the following criteria.

(1) The well otherwise meets the criteria in the definition of a qualified deep well in § 203.0.

(2) The delay in production occurred after reaching total depth in the well.

(3) Production (other than test production) was expected to begin from the well before the applicable deadline in the definition of a qualified deep well in § 203.0. You must provide a credible activity schedule with supporting documentation.

(4) The delay in beginning production is for reasons beyond your control, such as adverse weather and accidents which BSEE deems were unavoidable.