(a) With BOEM approval, you may assign your whole, or a partial record title interest in your entire lease, or in any aliquot(s) thereof.

(b) With BOEM approval, you may sever all, or a portion of, your operating rights.

(c) You must request approval of each assignment of a record title interest and each sublease of an operating rights interest. Each instrument that transfers a record title interest must describe, by aliquot parts, the interest you propose to transfer. Each instrument that severs an operating rights interest must describe, by officially designated aliquot parts and depth levels, the interest proposed to be transferred.

(a) The Regional Director will provide the form to record an assignment of record title interest in a Federal OCS oil and gas or sulfur lease, or a severance of operating rights from that record title interest. You must submit to BOEM two originals of each instrument that transfers ownership of record title within 90 days after the last party executes the transfer instrument. You must pay the service fee listed in § 556.106 with your request and your submission must include evidence of payment via pay.gov.

(b) Before BOEM approves an assignment or transfer, it must consult with, and consider the views of, the Attorney General. The Secretary may act on an assignment or transfer if the Attorney General has not responded to a request for consultation within 30 days of said request.

(c) A new record title owner or sublessee must file a designation of operator, in accordance with § 550.143 of this chapter, along with the request for the approval of the assignment.

(a) When there is an assignment by all record title owners of 100 percent of the record title to one or more aliquots in a lease, the assigned and retained portions become segregated into separate and distinct leases. In such case, both the new lease and the remaining portion of the original lease are referred to as “segregated leases” and the assignee(s) becomes the record title owner(s) of the new lease, which is subject to all the terms and conditions of the original lease.

(b) If a record title holder transfers an undivided interest, i.e., less than 100 percent of the record title interest in any given aliquot(s), that transfer will not segregate the portions of the aliquots, or the whole aliquots, in which part of the record title was transferred, into separate leases from the portion(s) in which no interest was transferred. Instead, that transfer will create a joint ownership between the assignee(s) and assignor(s) in the portions of the lease in which part of the record title interest was transferred. Any transfer of an undivided interest is subject to approval by BOEM.

(a) The financial assurance requirements of subpart I of this part apply separately to each segregated lease.

(b) The royalty, minimum royalty, and rental provisions of the original lease will apply separately to each segregated lease.

(c) BOEM will allocate among the segregated leases, on a basis that is equitable under the circumstances, any remaining unused royalty suspension volume or other form of royalty suspension or royalty relief that had been granted to the original lease, not to exceed in aggregate the total remaining amount.

(d) Each segregated lease will continue in full force and effect for the primary term of the original lease and so long thereafter as each segregated lease meets the requirements outlined in § 556.601. A segregated lease that does not meet the requirements of § 556.601 does not continue in force even if another segregated lease, which was part of the original lease, continues to meet those requirements.

(a) BOEM may disapprove an assignment or sublease of all or part of your lease interest(s):

(1) When the transferor, transferee, or sublessee is not in compliance with all applicable regulations and orders, including financial assurance requirements;

(2) When a transferor attempts a transfer that is not acceptable as to form or content (e.g., not on standard form, containing incorrect legal description, not executed by a person authorized to bind the corporation, transferee does not meet the requirements of § 556.401); or

(3) When the transfer does not conform to these regulations, or any other applicable laws or regulations (e.g., departmental debarment rules).

(b) A transfer will be void if it is made pursuant to any prelease agreement that would cause a bid to be disqualified, such as those described in § 556.511(c), (d), or (e).

(a) An heir or devisee must submit evidence by means of a certified copy of an appropriate court order or decree that the person is deceased; or, if no court action is necessary, a certified copy of the will and death certificate or notarized affidavits of two disinterested parties with knowledge of the facts.

(b) The heir or devisee, if the lawful successor in interest, must submit evidence that he/she is the person named in the will or evidence from an appropriate judgment of a court or decree that he/she is the lawful successor in interest, along with the required evidence of his/her qualifications to hold a lease under subpart D of this part.

(c) If the heir or devisee does not qualify to hold a lease under subpart D of this part, he/she will be recognized as the successor in interest, but he/she must divest him/herself of this interest in the lease, to a person qualified to be a hold a lease, within two years.

You may not transfer interests in more than one lease to different parties using the same instrument. If you want to transfer the interest in more than one lease at the same time, you must submit duplicate, originally executed forms for each transfer. The forms used for each transfer must be accompanied by a cover letter executed by one of the parties to the transfer (or an authorized agent thereof) and evidence of payment via pay.gov.

You may not transfer different types of lease interests in a lease to different parties using the same instrument. You must submit duplicate, originally executed forms for each transfer, to a different party, of a different type of lease interest. The form used to transfer each type of lease interest must be accompanied by a cover letter executed by one of the parties to the transfer (or an authorized agent thereof) and evidence of payment via pay.gov.

You may not transfer your record title interests in more than one lease to the same party using the same instrument. If you want to transfer record title interests in more than one lease at the same time, you must submit separate, originally executed forms for each transfer. The forms used for each transfer must be accompanied by a cover letter executed by one of the parties to the transfer (or an authorized agent thereof), and evidence of payment via pay.gov. A separate fee applies to each individual transfer of interest.

You may transfer your record title interest in one lease to multiple parties using the same instrument. That instrument must be submitted in duplicate originals, accompanied by a cover letter executed by one of the parties to the transfer (or an authorized agent thereof). In such a multiple transfer of interests using a single instrument, a separate fee applies to each individual transfer of interest, and evidence of payment via pay.gov must accompany the instrument.

If you assign your record title interest, as an assignor you remain liable for all obligations, monetary and non-monetary, that accrued in connection with your lease during the period in which you owned the record title interest, up to the date BOEM approves your assignment. BOEM's approval of the assignment does not relieve you of these accrued obligations. Even after assignment, BOEM or BSEE may require you to bring the lease into compliance if your assignee or any subsequent assignee fails to perform any obligation under the lease, to the extent the obligation accrued before approval of your assignment. Until there is a BOEM-approved assignment of interest, you, as the assignor, remain liable for the performance of all lease obligations that accrued while you held record title interest, until all such obligations are fulfilled.

(a) A record title holder who subleases operating rights remains liable for all obligations of the lease, including those obligations accruing after BOEM's approval of the sublease, subject to § 556.604(e) and (f).

(b) Neither the sublease of operating rights, nor subsequent assignment of those rights by the original sublessee, nor by any subsequent assignee of the operating rights, alters in any manner the liability of the record title holder for nonmonetary obligations.

(c) Upon approval of the sublease of the operating rights, the sublessee and subsequent assignees of the operating rights become primarily liable for monetary obligations, but the record title holder remains secondarily liable for them, as prescribed in 30 U.S.C. 1712(a) and § 556.604(f)(2).

Any transfer is effective at 12:01 a.m. on the first day of the month following the date on which BOEM approves your request, unless you request an earlier effective date and BOEM approves that earlier date, but such earlier effective date, if prior to the date of BOEM's approval, does not relieve you of obligations accrued between that earlier effective date and the date of approval.

As assignee, you and any subsequent assignees are liable for all obligations that accrue after the effective date of your assignment. As assignee, you must comply with all the terms and conditions of the lease and regulations issued under OCSLA, and in addition, you must remedy all existing environmental and operational problems on the lease, properly abandon all wells, and reclaim the site, as required under 30 CFR part 250.

(a) Where the proposed assignment or transfer is by a person who, at the time of acquisition of an interest in the lease, was on the List of Restricted Joint Bidders, and that assignment or transfer is of less than the entire interest held by the assignor or transferor and to a person or persons on the same List of Restricted Joint Bidders, the assignor or transferor must file, prior to the approval of the assignment, a copy of all agreements applicable to the acquisition of that lease or fractional interest, or a description of the timing and nature of the agreement(s) by which the assignor or transferor acquired the interest it now wishes to transfer.

(b) Such description of the timing and nature of the transfer agreement must be submitted together with a certified statement that attests to the truth and accuracy of any information reported concerning that agreement, subject to the penalties of 18 U.S.C. 1001.

(c) If you wish to transfer less than your entire interest to another restricted joint bidder, BOEM may request the opinion of the Attorney General before acting on your request.

(d) You may request that any submission to BOEM made pursuant to this part be treated confidentially. Please note such a request on your submission. BOEM will treat this request for confidentiality in accordance with the regulations at § 556.104 and the regulations at 43 CFR part 2.

(a) You may create, transfer, or assign economic interests without BOEM approval. However, for record purposes, you must send BOEM a copy of each instrument creating or transferring such interests within 90 days after the last party executes the transfer instrument. For each lease affected, you must pay the service fee listed in § 556.106 with your documents submitted for record purposes and your submission must include evidence of payment via pay.gov.

(b) For recordkeeping purposes, you may also submit other legal documents to BOEM for transactions that do not require BOEM approval. If you submit such documents for record purposes not required by this part, you must pay the service fee listed in § 556.106 with your document submissions for each lease affected. Your submission must include evidence of payment via pay.gov.

(a) If a transfer of ownership of the record title interest only changes the percentage ownership of the record title, no new parties or new aliquots are involved in the transaction, and no change of designated operator is made, you will not need to submit a new designation of operator form.

(b) In all cases other than that in paragraph (a) of this section, you must submit new designation of operator forms in accordance with § 550.143 of this chapter. In the event that you are transferring multiple record title interests, you must comply with this requirement for each interest that does not fall within paragraph (a) of this section.