U.S. Department of the Interior
Minerals Management Service
Office of Communications

NEWS RELEASE

        The U.S. Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) is further extending the comment period for proposed regulations regarding marginal oil and gas properties on Federal public lands. MMS is extending the comment period for an additional 15 days from April 21 to May 6, 1999, to allow states and other interested parties additional time to submit comments. A Notice of the extension will be published in the Federal Register in the next few days.

        Marginal properties are generally leases that produce less than 15 barrels of oil equivalents per well, per day or 90 thousand cubic feet of gas per well, per day, or a combination thereof. The rules are designed to promote production, reduce administrative costs, and increase net receipts. The proposed regulations explain how leaseholders may obtain royalty accounting and auditing relief for these properties.

        Copies of the proposed regulations are available on the MMS website at www.rmp.mms.gov/library/leglroom/proprule/ProRules.htm. For additional information or to submit written comments for consideration in the final rule's determination, contact or mail your comments to David Guzy, MMS, Royalty Management Program, Rules and Publications, P.O. Box 25165, MS 3021, Denver, CO 80225-0165. He may also be reached by phone at (303)231-3432. Comments may also be emailed to: RMP.comments@mms.gov.

        MMS is the federal agency that manages the Nation's natural gas, oil and other mineral resources on the Outer Continental Shelf; and collects, accounts for, and last year disbursed about $6 billion in revenues from Federal offshore mineral leases and from onshore mineral leases on Federal and Indian lands.

-MMS-

MMS Internet website address: http://www.mms.gov
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