The Minerals Management Service (MMS) Thursday published a final rule in the Federal Register which adjusts some existing fees and implements several new fees for services it currently provides to the offshore oil and gas industry. MMS said the estimated new and adjusted fees of $1.65 million are necessary to recover the agency’s actual costs of performing certain services relating to its minerals programs.

The rule will take effect Sept. 26. In the final rule, MMS removed two proposed fee adjustments. The proposed adjustment to the document filing fee has been eliminated, leaving in effect the current fee amount of $25 per lease affected. The proposed adjustment of the pipeline right-of-way (ROW) grant application has also been shelved. This fee was proposed to be lowered; however, further analysis proved that the current fee of $2,350 accurately reflects the cost to MMS to provide that service, the agency said.

MMS has updated its indirect cost rate from 15 to 21.5%, since the proposed rule was published in March, and, as required by Office of Management Budget and departmental guidance, has calculated those indirect cost rates in the new cost recovery fees.

Seven services provided by MMS will incur fees for the first time, with the lowest-priced service, a change in the designation of an operator set at $150, and the highest priced, a voluntary unitization proposal or unit expansion, set at $10,700. One service will see a fee increase, and two services will see a fee decrease.

Revenues collected under the final rule would be used by MMS to recover the actual costs of these activities, which are critical for oil and gas exploration and development, and for protecting the environment and promoting safety in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). MMS oversees 1.76 billion acres of the OCS, managing offshore energy and minerals while protecting the human, marine, and coastal environments. The OCS provides 30% of oil and 21% of natural gas produced domestically.

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