43 USC 1334 - Administration of leasing

U.S Code last checked for updates: Apr 26, 2024

§ 1334.

Administration of leasing

(a)

Rules and regulations; amendment; cooperation with State agencies; subject matter and scope of regulations

The Secretary shall administer the provisions of this subchapter relating to the leasing of the outer Continental Shelf, and shall prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out such provisions. The Secretary may at any time prescribe and amend such rules and regulations as he determines to be necessary and proper in order to provide for the prevention of waste and conservation of the natural resources of the outer Continental Shelf, and the protection of correlative rights therein, and, notwithstanding any other provisions herein, such rules and regulations shall, as of their effective date, apply to all operations conducted under a lease issued or maintained under the provisions of this subchapter. In the enforcement of safety, environmental, and conservation laws and regulations, the Secretary shall cooperate with the relevant departments and agencies of the Federal Government and of the affected States. In the formulation and promulgation of regulations, the Secretary shall request and give due consideration to the views of the Attorney General with respect to matters which may affect competition. In considering any regulations and in preparing any such views, the Attorney General shall consult with the Federal Trade Commission. The regulations prescribed by the Secretary under this subsection shall include, but not be limited to, provisions—

(1)

for the suspension or temporary prohibition of any operation or activity, including production, pursuant to any lease or permit (A) at the request of a lessee, in the national interest, to facilitate proper development of a lease or to allow for the construction or negotiation for use of transportation facilities, or (B) if there is a threat of serious, irreparable, or immediate harm or damage to life (including fish and other aquatic life), to property, to any mineral deposits (in areas leased or not leased), or to the marine, coastal, or human environment, and for the extension of any permit or lease affected by suspension or prohibition under clause (A) or (B) by a period equivalent to the period of such suspension or prohibition, except that no permit or lease shall be so extended when such suspension or prohibition is the result of gross negligence or willful violation of such lease or permit, or of regulations issued with respect to such lease or permit;

(2)

with respect to cancellation of any lease or permit—

(A)

that such cancellation may occur at any time, if the Secretary determines, after a hearing, that—

(i)

continued activity pursuant to such lease or permit would probably cause serious harm or damage to life (including fish and other aquatic life), to property, to any mineral (in areas leased or not leased), to the national security or defense, or to the marine, coastal, or human environment;

(ii)

the threat of harm or damage will not disappear or decrease to an acceptable extent within a reasonable period of time; and

(iii)

the advantages of cancellation outweigh the advantages of continuing such lease or permit force;

(B)

that such cancellation shall not occur unless and until operations under such lease or permit shall have been under suspension, or temporary prohibition, by the Secretary, with due extension of any lease or permit term continuously for a period of five years, or for a lesser period upon request of the lessee;

(C)

that such cancellation shall entitle the lessee to receive such compensation as he shows to the Secretary as being equal to the lesser of (i) the fair value of the canceled rights as of the date of cancellation, taking account of both anticipated revenues from the lease and anticipated costs, including costs of

compliance with all applicable regulations and operating orders, liability for cleanup costs or damages, or both, in the case of an oilspill, and all other costs reasonably anticipated on the lease, or (ii) the excess, if any, over the lessee’s revenues, from the lease (plus interest thereon from the date of receipt to date of reimbursement) of all consideration paid for the lease and all direct expenditures made by the lessee after the date of issuance of such lease and in connection with exploration or development, or both, pursuant to the lease (plus interest on such consideration and such expenditures from date of payment to date of reimbursement), except that (I) with respect to leases issued before

(3)

for the assignment or relinquishment of a lease;

(4)

for unitization, pooling, and drilling agreements;

(5)

for the subsurface storage of oil and gas from any source other than by the Federal Government;

(6)

for drilling or easements necessary for exploration, development, and production;

(7)

for the prompt and efficient exploration and development of a lease area; and

(8)

for compliance with the national ambient air quality standards pursuant to the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.), to the extent that activities authorized under this subchapter significantly affect the air quality of any State.

(b)

Compliance with regulations as condition for issuance, continuation, assignment, or other transfer of leases

(c)

Cancellation of nonproducing lease

(d)

Cancellation of producing lease

(e)

Pipeline rights-of-way; forfeiture of grant

(f)

Competitive principles governing pipeline operation

(1)

Except as provided in paragraph (2), every permit, license, easement, right-of-way, or other grant of authority for the transportation by pipeline on or across the outer Continental Shelf of oil or gas shall require that the pipeline be operated in accordance with the following competitive principles:

(A)

The pipeline must provide open and nondiscriminatory access to both owner and nonowner shippers.

(B)

Upon the specific request of one or more owner or nonowner shippers able to provide a guaranteed level of throughput, and on the condition that the shipper or shippers requesting such expansion shall be responsible for bearing their proportionate share of the costs and risks related thereto, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission may, upon finding, after a full hearing with due notice thereof to the interested parties, that such expansion is within technological limits and economic feasibility, order a subsequent expansion of throughput capacity of any pipeline for which the permit, license, easement, right-of-way, or other grant of authority is approved or issued after September 18, 1978. This subparapraph 1

 So in original. Probably should be “subparagraph”.

shall not apply to any such grant of authority approved or issued for the Gulf of Mexico or the Santa Barbara Channel.

(2)

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission may, by order or regulation, exempt from any or all of the requirements of paragraph (1) of this subsection any pipeline or class of pipelines which feeds into a facility where oil and gas are first collected or a facility where oil and gas are first separated, dehydrated, or otherwise processed.

(3)

The Secretary of Energy and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shall consult with and give due consideration to the views of the Attorney General on specific conditions to be included in any permit, license, easement, right-of-way, or grant of authority in order to ensure that pipelines are operated in accordance with the competitive principles set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection. In preparing any such views, the Attorney General shall consult with the Federal Trade Commission.

(4)

Nothing in this subsection shall be deemed to limit, abridge, or modify any authority of the United States under any other provision of law with respect to pipelines on or across the outer Continental Shelf.

(g)

Rates of production

(1)

The leasee 2

 So in original. Probably should be “lessee”.

shall produce any oil or gas, or both, obtained pursuant to an approved development and production plan, at rates consistent with any rule or order issued by the President in accordance with any provision of law.

(2)

If no rule or order referred to in paragraph (1) has been issued, the lessee shall produce such oil or gas, or both, at rates consistent with any regulation promulgated by the Secretary of Energy which is to assure the maximum rate of production which may be sustained without loss of ultimate recovery of oil or gas, or both, under sound engineering and economic principles, and which is safe for the duration of the activity covered by the approved plan. The Secretary may permit the lessee to vary such rates if he finds that such variance is necessary.

(h)

Federal action affecting outer Continental Shelf; notification; recommended changes

(i)

Flaring of natural gas

(j)

Cooperative development of common hydrocarbon-bearing areas

(1)

Findings

(A)

 So in original. No subpar. (B) has been enacted.

The Congress of the United States finds that the unrestrained competitive production of hydrocarbons from a common hydrocarbon-bearing geological area underlying the Federal and State boundary may result in a number of harmful national effects, including—

(i)

the drilling of unnecessary wells, the installation of unnecessary facilities and other imprudent operating practices that result in economic waste, environmental damage, and damage to life and property;

(ii)

the physical waste of hydrocarbons and an unnecessary reduction in the amounts of hydrocarbons that can be produced from certain hydrocarbon-bearing areas; and

(iii)

the loss of correlative rights which can result in the reduced value of national hydrocarbon resources and disorders in the leasing of Federal and State resources.

(2)

Prevention of harmful effects

(Aug. 7, 1953, ch. 345, § 5, 67 Stat. 464; Pub. L. 95–372, title II, § 204, Sept. 18, 1978, 92 Stat. 636; Pub. L. 101–380, title VI, § 6004(a), Aug. 18, 1990, 104 Stat. 558; Pub. L. 109–58, title III, § 321(a), Aug. 8, 2005, 119 Stat. 694.)

cite as: 43 USC 1334