30 CFR 250.1159 - May the Regional Supervisor limit my well or reservoir production rates?

As specifically mandated by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017, this final rule revises the requirements contained in the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement regulations relating to maintaining a lease beyond its primary term through continuous operations by changing all of the references to the period of time before which a lease expires due to cessation of operations from “180 days” and “180th day” to a “year” and from “180-day period” to a “1-year period.”

This final rule adjusts the level of the maximum civil monetary penalty contained in the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) regulations pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance. The civil penalty inflation adjustment using a 1.01636 multiplier accounts for one year of inflation spanning from October 2015 to October 2016.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) is extending the public comment period on the proposed rule regarding adjustments to cost recovery fees, which was published in the Federal Register on November 17, 2016 (81 FR 81033). The original public comment period would have ended on January 17, 2017. However, BSEE has received multiple requests from various stakeholders to extend the comment period. BSEE has reviewed the extension requests and determined that a 30-day comment period extension—to February 16, 2017—is appropriate.

This rule amends Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) regulations requiring lessees and owners of operating rights to submit summaries of actual decommissioning expenditures incurred for certain decommissioning activities related to oil and gas and sulfur operations on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The amendment requires lessees, owners of operating rights, and right-of-way (ROW) holders to submit summaries of actual expenditures incurred for pipeline decommissioning activities.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) is amending and updating the regulations regarding oil and natural gas production safety on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) by addressing issues such as: Safety and pollution prevention equipment design and maintenance, production safety systems, subsurface safety devices, and safety device testing. The rule differentiates the requirements for operating dry tree and subsea tree production systems and divides the current BSEE regulations regarding oil and gas production safety systems into multiple sections to make the regulations easier to read and understand. The changes in this rule are necessary to improve human safety, environmental protection, and regulatory oversight of critical equipment involving production safety systems.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) proposes to amend the regulations requiring lessees and owners of operating rights to submit summaries of actual decommissioning expenditures incurred for certain decommissioning activities related to oil and gas and sulfur operations on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The proposed rule would expand the scope of the current regulations to require lessees, owners of operating rights, and right-of-way (ROW) holders to submit summaries of actual expenditures incurred for pipeline decommissioning activities.

The Department of the Interior (DOI or the Department), acting through BOEM and BSEE, is revising and adding new requirements to regulations for exploratory drilling and related operations on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) seaward of the State of Alaska. This final rule focuses solely on the OCS within the Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea Planning Areas (Arctic OCS). The Arctic region is characterized by extreme environmental conditions, geographic remoteness, and a relative lack of fixed infrastructure and existing operations. This final rule is designed to help ensure the safe, effective, and responsible exploration of Arctic OCS oil and gas resources, while protecting the marine, coastal, and human environments, and Alaska Natives' cultural traditions and access to subsistence resources.

This rule adjusts the level of the civil monetary penalty contained in the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) regulations pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) is correcting a final rule that appeared in the Federal Register on June 6, 2016 (81 FR 36145).

This rule makes minor edits, changes, and updates to BSEE regulations. These changes include, but are not limited to: correcting all current Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control numbers from “1010” to “1014”; adding two new control numbers to regulations as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA); changing the BSEE address from “Herndon, VA” to “Sterling, VA”; changing “shall” to “will” or “must” and changing “which” to “that”; and revising other language where necessary for improved clarity.

Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) is finalizing new regulations to consolidate into one part the equipment and operational requirements that are found in various subparts of BSEE's regulations pertaining to offshore oil and gas drilling, completions, workovers, and decommissioning. This final rule focuses on blowout preventer (BOP) and well-control requirements, including incorporation of industry standards and revision of existing regulations, and adopts reforms in the areas of well design, well control, casing, cementing, real-time well monitoring, and subsea containment. The final rule also addresses and implements multiple recommendations resulting from various investigations of the Deepwater Horizon incident. This final rule will also incorporate guidance from several Notices to Lessees and Operators (NTLs) and revise provisions related to drilling, workover, completion, and decommissioning operations to enhance safety and environmental protection.

This rule amends the regulations to require lessees and owners of operating rights to submit summaries of actual decommissioning expenditures incurred after completion of certain decommissioning activities for oil and gas and sulphur operations on the Outer Continental Shelf. This information will help BSEE to better estimate future decommissioning costs related to OCS leases, rights-of-way, and rights of use and easement.

BSEE proposes to incorporate by reference the Seventh Edition of the American Petroleum Institute (API) Specification 2C (Spec. 2C), “Offshore Pedestal-mounted Cranes” (2012), into its regulations. The Seventh Edition of API Spec. 2C revised many aspects of the standard for design and construction of cranes manufactured since the Seventh Edition took effect in October 2012. The intent of proposing to incorporate this revised standard into BSEE regulations is to improve the safety of cranes mounted on fixed platforms that are installed on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). This proposed rule would require that all cranes that lessees or operators mount on any fixed platforms after the effective date of the final rule comply with the Seventh Edition of API Spec. 2C.

The BSEE is extending the public comment period on the Notice of proposed rulemaking entitled “Oil and Gas and Sulphur Operations on the Outer Continental Shelf—Blowout Preventer Systems and Well Control,” which was published in the Federal Register on April 17, 2015. The original public comment period would have ended on June 16, 2015. However, BSEE received requests from various stakeholders to extend the comment period. The BSEE reviewed the extension requests and determined that a 30-day comment period extension—to July 16, 2015—is appropriate.

BOEM and BSEE are extending the public comment period on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking entitled, “Oil and Gas and Sulphur Operations on the Outer Continental Shelf—Requirements for Exploratory Drilling on the Arctic Outer Continental Shelf,” which was published in the Federal Register on February 24, 2015, (80 FR 9916). The original public comment period would have ended on April 27, 2015. However, BOEM and BSEE have received public comments requesting an extension of the comment period. BOEM and BSEE have reviewed the extension requests and determined that a 30-day comment period extension to May 27, 2015, is appropriate.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) proposes new regulations in order to consolidate equipment and operational requirements that are common to other subparts pertaining to offshore oil and gas drilling, completions, workovers, and decommissioning. This proposed rule would focus, at this time, on blowout preventer (BOP) requirements, including incorporation of industry standards and revising existing regulations. The proposed rule would also include reforms in the areas of well design, well control, casing, cementing, real-time well monitoring, and subsea containment. The proposed rule would address and implement multiple recommendations resulting from various investigations of the Deepwater Horizon incident. This proposed rule would also incorporate guidance from several Notices to Lessees and Operators (NTLs) and revise provisions related to drilling, workover, completion, and decommissioning operations to enhance safety and environmental protection.

The Department of the Interior (DOI), acting through BOEM and BSEE, proposes to revise and add new requirements to regulations for exploratory drilling and related operations on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) seaward of the State of Alaska (Alaska OCS). The Alaska OCS has the potential to be an integral part of the Nation's “all of the above” domestic energy strategy. This proposed rule focuses solely on the OCS within the Beaufort Sea and Chukchi Sea Planning Areas (Arctic OCS). The Arctic region is characterized by extreme environmental conditions, geographic remoteness, and a relative lack of fixed infrastructure and existing operations. The proposed rule is designed to ensure safe, effective, and responsible exploration of Arctic OCS oil and gas resources, while protecting the marine, coastal, and human environments, and Alaska Natives' cultural traditions and access to subsistence resources.

BSEE is extending the public comment period on the ANPR on Helideck and Aviation Fuel Safety for Fixed Offshore Facilities, which was published in the Federal Register on September 24, 2014 (79 FR 57008). The original public comment period would end on November 24, 2014. However, BSEE has received a request from an offshore oil and gas industry association to extend the comment period. The BSEE has reviewed the extension request and determined that a 30-day comment period extension—to December 24, 2014—is appropriate.

The BSEE is seeking comments on improving safety for operations related to helicopters and helidecks on fixed offshore facilities. Specifically, BSEE invites comments on whether to incorporate in its regulations certain industry and/or international standards for design, construction, and maintenance of offshore helidecks, as well as standards for aviation fuel quality, storage and handling. The BSEE also invites comments on whether it should incorporate existing standards, with modifications, and/or develop and propose new government regulatory standards for safety of helidecks and aviation fuel systems. As an alternative to incorporating or developing such standards, BSEE invites comments on whether to require submission of aviation-related safety plans for helidecks and offshore aviation fuel systems on Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) facilities. The BSEE also seeks information on past accidents or other incidents involving helidecks, helicopters, or aviation fuel on or near fixed OCS facilities.

This final rule amends the BSEE oil and gas resources regulations to update some fees that cover BSEE's cost of processing and filing certain documents relating to its oil and gas resources program.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) is extending the public comment period on the production safety systems proposed rule, which was published in the Federal Register on August 22, 2013. The original public comment period would end October 21, 2013. However, BSEE has received multiple requests from various industry representatives to extend the comment period. The BSEE has reviewed the extension requests and determined that a 45-day comment period extension is appropriate.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) proposes to amend and update the regulations regarding oil and natural gas production by addressing issues such as: Safety and pollution prevention equipment lifecycle analysis, production safety systems, subsurface safety devices, and safety device testing. The proposed rule would differentiate the requirements for operating dry tree and subsea tree production systems on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and divide the current subpart H into multiple sections to make the regulations easier to read and understand. The changes in this proposed rule are necessary to bolster human safety, environmental protection, and regulatory oversight of critical equipment involving production safety systems.

This final rule will revise and add several new requirements to regulations for Safety and Environmental Management Systems (SEMS). These requirements pertain to developing and implementing stop work authority (SWA) and ultimate work authority (UWA), requiring an employee participation plan (EPP), and establishing guidelines for reporting unsafe working conditions. The rule establishes additional requirements for conducting job safety analyses (JSA) for activities identified in an operator's SEMS program. In addition, this final rule requires that SEMS programs be audited by an accredited audit service provider (ASP). This rulemaking will further support BSEE's efforts to reduce the occurrence of accidents, injuries, and spills during oil and gas activities on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).

This Final Rule implements certain safety measures recommended in the report entitled, “Increased Safety Measures for Energy Development on the Outer Continental Shelf.” To implement the appropriate recommendations in the Safety Measures Report and DWH JIT report, BSEE is amending drilling, well-completion, well-workover, and decommissioning regulations related to well-control, including: subsea and surface blowout preventers, well casing and cementing, secondary intervention, unplanned disconnects, recordkeeping, and well plugging.

This document corrects an amendment contained in a final rule published in the Federal Register on March 29, 2012, and involves only that portion of the rule relating to the authority citation.