Upon a determination by the authorized officer that lands owned by the United States are being drained of oil or gas by wells drilled on adjacent lands, the authorized officer may execute agreements with the owners of adjacent lands whereby the United States and its lessees will be compensated for such drainage. Such agreements must be made with the consent of any lessee affected by an agreement. Such lands may also be offered for lease in accordance with 43 CFR part 3120.

Where lands in any leases are being drained of their oil or gas content by wells either on a Federal lease issued at a lower rate of royalty or on non-Federal lands, the lessee must both drill and produce all wells necessary to protect the leased lands from drainage. In lieu of drilling necessary wells, the lessee may, with the consent of the authorized officer, pay compensatory royalty in accordance with 43 CFR 3162.2-4.

(a)(1) Public domain. Oil and gas in public domain lands and lands returned to the public domain under 43 CFR part 2370 are subject to lease under the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended and supplemented (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), by acts, including, but not limited to, section 1009 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3148).

(2) Exceptions. The following lands are not subject to lease.

(i) Units of the National Park System, including lands withdrawn by section 206 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, except as provided in paragraph (g)(4) of this section;

(ii) Indian reservations;

(iii) Incorporated cities, towns and villages;

(iv) Naval petroleum and oil shale reserves;

(v) Lands north of 68 degrees north latitude and east of the western boundary of the National Petroleum Reserve—Alaska;

(vi) Lands recommended for wilderness allocation by the surface managing agency;

(vii) Lands within the BLM's wilderness study areas;

(viii) Lands designated by Congress as wilderness study areas, except where oil and gas leasing is specifically allowed to continue by the statute designating the study area;

(ix) Lands within areas allocated for wilderness or further planning in Executive Communication 1504, Ninety-Sixth Congress (House Document numbered 96-119), unless such lands are allocated to uses other than wilderness by a land and resource management plan or have been released to uses other than wilderness by an Act of Congress;

(x) Lands within the National Wilderness Preservation System, subject to valid existing rights under section 4(d)(3) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133) established before midnight, December 31, 1983, unless otherwise provided by law;

(xi) Subject to valid existing rights, lands within the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System and that constitute the bed or bank or are situated within one-quarter mile of the bank of any river designated as a wild river under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1280), lands within the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System that constitute the bed or bank or are situated within one-quarter mile of the bank of certain rivers designated as scenic or recreational, and in some cases, designating legislation may apply a different boundary extent. Lands within the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System that constitute the bed or bank or are situated within one-half mile of the bank of any river designated a wild river by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3148); and

(xii) Wildlife refuge lands, which are those lands embraced in a withdrawal of lands of the United States for the protection of all species of wildlife within a particular area. Sole and complete jurisdiction over such lands for wildlife conservation purposes is vested in the Fish and Wildlife Service even though such lands may be subject to prior rights for other public purposes or, by the terms of the withdrawal order, may be subject to mineral leasing. No expressions of interest covering wildlife refuge lands will be considered for oil and gas leasing, except as provided by applicable law.

(b)(1) Acquired lands. Oil and gas in acquired lands are subject to lease under the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands of August 7, 1947, as amended (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.).

(2) Exceptions. The following lands are not subject to lease.

(i) Units of the National Park System, except as provided in paragraph (g)(4) of this section;

(ii) Incorporated cities, towns and villages;

(iii) Naval petroleum and oil shale reserves;

(iv) Tidelands or submerged coastal lands within the continental shelf adjacent or littoral to lands within the jurisdiction of the United States;

(v) Lands acquired by the United States for development of helium, fissionable material deposits or other minerals essential to the defense of the country, except oil, gas and other minerals subject to leasing under the Act;

(vi) Lands reported as excess under the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949;

(vii) Lands acquired by the United States by foreclosure or otherwise for resale;

(viii) Lands recommended for wilderness allocation by the surface managing agency;

(ix) Lands within the BLM's wilderness study areas;

(x) Lands designated by Congress as wilderness study areas, except where oil and gas leasing is specifically allowed to continue by the statute designating the study area;

(xi) Lands within areas allocated for wilderness or further planning in Executive Communication 1504, Ninety-Sixth Congress (House Document numbered 96-119), unless such lands are allocated to uses other than wilderness by a land and resource management plan or have been released to uses other than wilderness by an Act of Congress;

(xii) Lands within the National Wilderness Preservation System, subject to valid existing rights under section 4(d)(3) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133) established before midnight, December 31, 1983, unless otherwise provided by law;

(xiii) Subject to valid existing rights, lands within the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System and that constitute the bed or bank or are situated within one-quarter mile of the bank of any river designated as a wild river under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1280), lands within the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System that constitute the bed or bank or are situated within one-quarter mile of the bank of certain rivers designated as scenic or recreational, and in some cases, designating legislation may apply a different boundary extent. Lands within the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System that constitute the bed or bank or are situated within one-half mile of the bank of any river designated a wild river by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3148); and

(xiv) Wildlife refuge lands, which are those lands embraced in a withdrawal of lands of the United States for the protection of all species of wildlife within a particular area. Sole and complete jurisdiction over such lands for wildlife conservation purposes is vested in the Fish and Wildlife Service even though such lands may be subject to prior rights for other public purposes or, by the terms of the withdrawal order, may be subject to mineral leasing. No expressions of interest for wildlife refuge lands will be considered except as provided in applicable law.

(c) National Petroleum Reserve—Alaska is subject to lease under the Department of the Interior Appropriations Act, Fiscal Year 1981 (42 U.S.C. 6508).

(d) Where oil or gas is being drained from lands otherwise unavailable for leasing, there is implied authority in the agency having jurisdiction of those lands to grant authority to the BLM to lease such lands (see 43 U.S.C. 1457; also Attorney General's Opinion of April 2, 1941 (Vol. 40 Op. Atty. Gen. 41)).

(e) Where lands previously withdrawn or reserved from the public domain are no longer needed by the agency for which the lands were withdrawn or reserved and such lands are retained by the General Services Administration, or where acquired lands are declared as excess to or surplus by the General Services Administration, authority to lease such lands may be transferred to the Department in accordance with the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 and the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands, as amended.

(f) The Act of May 21, 1930 (30 U.S.C. 301-306), authorizes the leasing of oil and gas deposits under certain rights-of-way to the owner of the right-of-way or any assignee.

(g)(1) Certain lands in Nevada. The Act of May 9, 1942 (56 Stat. 273), as amended by the Act of October 25, 1949 (63 Stat. 886), authorizes leasing on certain lands in Nevada.

(2) Lands patented to the State of California. The Act of March 3, 1933 (47 Stat. 1487), as amended by the Act of June 5, 1936 (49 Stat. 1482) and the Act of June 29, 1936 (49 Stat. 2026), authorizes leasing on certain lands patented to the State of California.

(3) National Forest Service Lands in Minnesota. The Act of June 30, 1950 (16 U.S.C. 508(b)) authorizes leasing on certain National Forest Service Lands in Minnesota.

(4) Units of the National Park System. The Secretary is authorized to permit mineral leasing in the following units of the National Park System if the Secretary finds that such disposition would not have significant adverse effects on the administration of the area and if lease operations can be conducted in a manner that will preserve the scenic, scientific and historic features contributing to public enjoyment of the area, pursuant to the following authorities:

(i) Lake Mead National Recreation Area—The Act of October 8, 1964 (16 U.S.C. 460n et seq.).

(ii) Whiskeytown Unit of the Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area—The Act of November 8, 1965 (79 Stat. 1295; 16 U.S.C. 460q et seq.).

(iii) Ross Lake and Lake Chelan National Recreation Areas—The Act of October 2, 1968 (82 Stat. 926; 16 U.S.C. 90 et seq.).

(iv) Glen Canyon National Recreation Area—The Act of October 27, 1972 (86 Stat. 1311; 16 U.S.C. 460dd et seq.).

(5) Shasta and Trinity Units of the Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area. Section 6 of the Act of November 8, 1965 (Pub. L. 89-336; 79 Stat. 1295), authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to permit the removal of leasable minerals from lands (or interest in lands) within the recreation area under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture in accordance with the Mineral Leasing Act of February 25, 1920, as amended (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), or the Acquired Lands Mineral Leasing Act of August 7, 1947 (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.), if the Secretary finds that such disposition would not have significant adverse effects on the purpose of the Central Valley project or the administration of the recreation area.

(h) Under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act, as amended (43 U.S.C. 869 et seq.), all lands within Recreation and Public Purposes leases and patents are subject to lease under the provisions of this part, subject to such conditions as the Secretary deems appropriate.

(i)(1) Coordination lands are those lands withdrawn or acquired by the United States and made available to the States by cooperative agreements entered into between the Fish and Wildlife Service and the game commissions of the various States, in accordance with the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (16 U.S.C. 661), or by long-term leases or agreements between the Department of Agriculture and the game commissions of the various States pursuant to the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act (50 Stat. 525), as amended, where such lands were subsequently transferred to the Department of the Interior, with the Fish and Wildlife Service as the custodial agency of the United States.

(2) Representatives of the BLM and the Fish and Wildlife Service will, in cooperation with the authorized members of the various State game commissions, confer for the purpose of determining by agreement those coordination lands which will not be subject to oil and gas leasing. Coordination lands not closed to oil and gas leasing may be subject to leasing on the imposition of such stipulations as are agreed upon by the State Game Commission, the Fish and Wildlife Service and the BLM.

(j) No lands within a refuge in Alaska open to leasing will be available until the Fish and Wildlife Service has first completed compatibility determinations.

As used in this part, the term:

Actual drilling operations includes not only the physical drilling of a well, but also the testing, completing or equipping of such well for production.

Assignment means a transfer of all or a portion of the lessee's record title interest in a lease.

Bid means an amount of remittance offered as partial compensation for a lease equal to or in excess of the national minimum acceptable bonus bid set by statute or by the Secretary, submitted by a person for a lease parcel in a competitive lease sale. For leases or compensatory royalty agreements issued under 43 CFR subpart 3109, “bid” means an amount or percent of royalty or compensatory royalty that the owner or lessee must pay for the extraction of the oil and gas underlying the right-of-way.

Competitive auction means an in-person or internet-based bidding process where leases are offered to the highest bidder.

Exception means (as used for lease stipulations) a limited exemption, for a particular site within the leasehold, to a stipulation.

Lessee means a person holding record title in a lease issued by the United States.

Modification means (as used for lease stipulations) a change to the provisions of a lease stipulation for some or all sites within the leasehold and either temporarily or for the term of the lease.

National Wildlife Refuge System Lands means lands and water, or interests therein, administered by the Secretary as wildlife refuges, areas for the protection and conservation of fish and wildlife that are threatened with extinction; wildlife management areas; or waterfowl production areas.

Oil and gas agreement means an agreement between lessees and the BLM to govern the development and allocation of production for existing leases and unleased lands, including, but not limited to, communitization agreements, compensatory royalty agreements, unit agreements, secondary recovery agreements, and gas storage agreements.

Operating right (working interest) means the interest created out of a lease authorizing the holder of that right to enter upon the leased lands to conduct drilling and related operations, including production of oil or gas from such lands in accordance with the terms of the lease. Operating rights include the obligation to comply with the terms of the original lease, as it applies to the area or horizons for the interest acquired, including the responsibility to plug and abandon all wells that are no longer capable of producing, reclaim the lease site, and remedy environmental problems.

Operating rights owner means a person holding operating rights in a lease issued by the United States. A lessee also may be an operating rights owner if the operating rights in a lease or portion thereof have not been severed from record title.

Operator means any person, including, but not limited to, the lessee or operating rights owner, who has stated in writing to the authorized officer that it is responsible under the terms and conditions of the lease for the operations conducted on the leased lands or a portion thereof.

Primary term of lease subject to section 4(d) of the Act prior to the revision of 1960 (30 U.S.C. 226-1(d)) means all periods of the life of the lease prior to its extension by reason of production of oil and gas in paying quantities; and

Primary term of all other leases means the initial term of the lease, which is 10 years.

Qualified bidder means any person in compliance with the laws and regulations governing a bid.

Qualified lessee means any person in compliance with the laws and regulations governing the BLM issued leases held by that person.

Record title means a lessee's interest in a lease, which includes the obligation to pay rent and the ability to assign and relinquish the lease. Record title includes the obligation to comply with the lease terms, including requirements relating to well operations and abandonment. Overriding royalty and operating rights are severable from record title interests.

Responsible bidder means any person who has not defaulted on the payment of winning bids for BLM-issued oil and gas leases, is capable of fulfilling the requirements of onshore BLM oil and gas leases, and is in compliance with statutes and regulations applicable to oil and gas development or with the terms of a BLM-issued oil and gas lease. The term “responsible bidder” does not include persons who bid with no intention of paying a winning bid or persons who default on a winning bid.

Responsible lessee means any person who has not defaulted on previous winning bids, is capable of fulfilling the requirements of onshore Federal oil and gas leases, and is in compliance with statutes applicable to oil and gas development or the terms of a BLM-issued oil and gas lease.

Sublease means a transfer of a non-record title interest in a lease, i.e., a transfer of operating rights is normally a sublease, and a sublease also is a subsidiary arrangement between the lessee (sublessor) and the sublessee, but a sublease does not include a transfer of a purely financial interest, such as overriding royalty interest or payment out of production, nor does it affect the relationship imposed by a lease between the lessee(s) and the United States.

Transfer means any conveyance of an interest in a lease by assignment, sublease or otherwise. This definition includes the terms: Assignment and Sublease.

Unit operator means the person authorized under the unit agreement approved by the Department of the Interior to conduct operations within the unit.

Waiver means (as used for lease stipulations) a permanent exemption from a lease stipulation.

(a) Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520

(b)(1) Purpose. The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 generally provides that an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person is not required to respond to a collection of information, unless the collection displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Control Number. This part displays OMB control numbers assigned to information collection requirements contained in the BLM's regulations at 43 CFR part 3100. This section aids in fulfilling the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act to display current OMB Control Numbers for these information collection requirements. Interested persons should consult https://www.reginfo.gov for the most current information on these OMB control numbers; including among other things, the justification for the information collection requirements, description of likely respondents, estimated burdens, and current expiration dates.

(2) Table 1 to Paragraph (b)—OMB control number assigned pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act.

The ownership of and the right to extract helium from all gas produced from lands leased or otherwise disposed of under the Act have been reserved to the United States.

(a) No option to acquire any interest in a lease is enforceable if entered into for a period of more than 3 years (including any renewal period that may be provided for in the option).

(b) No option or renewal thereof is enforceable until a signed copy or notice of the option has been filed in the proper BLM office. Each such signed copy or notice must include:

(1) The names and addresses of the parties thereto;

(2) The serial number of the lease to which the option is applicable;

(3) A statement of the number of acres and the type and percentage of interests to be conveyed and retained by the parties to the option, including the date and expiration date of the option.

(c) The signatures of all parties to the option or their duly authorized agents. The signed copy or notice of the option required by this paragraph must contain or be accompanied by a signed statement by the holder of the option that entity is the sole party in interest in the option; if not, the entity must set forth the names and provide a description of the interest therein of the other interested parties, and provide a description of the agreement between them, if oral, and a copy of such agreement, if written.

The acreage to which the option is applicable will be charged both to the grantor of the option and the option holder. The acreage covered by an unexercised option remains charged during its term until notice of its relinquishment or surrender has been filed in the proper BLM office.

Each option holder must file in the proper BLM office within 90 days after June 30 and December 31 of each year a statement showing:

(a) Any changes to the statements submitted under § 3100.31(b); and

(b) The number of acres covered by each option and the total acreage of all options held in each State.

(a) All data and information concerning Federal and Indian minerals submitted under this part 3100 and parts 3120 through 3190 of this chapter are subject to 43 CFR part 2, except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section. 43 CFR part 2 includes the regulations of the Department of the Interior covering the public disclosure of data and information contained in Department of the Interior records. Certain mineral information not protected from public disclosure under 43 CFR part 2 may be made available for inspection without a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552) request.

(b) When you submit data and information under this part 3100 and parts 3120 through 3190 of this chapter that you believe to be exempt from disclosure to the public, you must clearly mark each page that you believe includes confidential information. The BLM will keep all such data and information confidential to the extent allowed by 43 CFR 2.26.

(c) Under the Indian Mineral Development Act of 1982 (IMDA) (25 U.S.C. 2101 et seq.), the Department of the Interior will hold as privileged proprietary information of the affected Indian or Indian Tribe—

(1) All findings forming the basis of the Secretary's intent to approve or disapprove any Minerals Agreement under IMDA; and

(2) All projections, studies, data, or other information concerning a Minerals Agreement under IMDA, regardless of the date received, related to:

(i) The terms, conditions, or financial return to the Indian parties;

(ii) The extent, nature, value, or disposition of the Indian mineral resources; or

(iii) The production, products, or proceeds thereof.

(d) For information concerning Indian minerals not covered by paragraph (c) of this section:

(1) The BLM will withhold such records as may be withheld under an exemption to FOIA when it receives a request for information related to tribal or Indian minerals held in trust or subject to restrictions on alienation;

(2) The BLM will notify the Indian mineral owner(s) identified in the records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and give them a reasonable period of time to state objections to disclosure, using the standards and procedures of 43 CFR 2.28, before making a decision about the applicability of FOIA exemption 4 to:

(i) Information obtained from a person outside the United States Government; when

(ii) Following consultation with a submitter under 43 CFR 2.28, the BLM determines that the submitter does not have an interest in withholding the records that can be protected under FOIA; but

(iii) The BLM has reason to believe that disclosure of the information may result in commercial or financial injury to the Indian mineral owner(s) but is uncertain that such is the case.