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Federal Register / Vol. 91, No. 120 / Wednesday, June 24, 2026 / Proposed Rules

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
43 CFR Parts 3000, 3100, 3110, 3120,
3130, 3140, 3150, 3160, and 3180
[Docket No. BLM–2025–0037; A2407–014–
004–065516; #O2509–014–004–125222; 256
LLHQ310000 L13100000.PP0000]
RIN 1004–AF05

Oil and Gas Leasing
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land

Management (BLM) is proposing to
revise its oil and gas leasing regulations
to reflect new requirements in the One
Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB); policy
direction in Executive Orders (E.O.)
entitled Unleashing American Energy
and Ensuring Lawful Governance and
Implementing the President’s
‘‘Department of Government Efficiency’’
Deregulatory Initiative and Modernizing
Payments To and From America’s Bank
Account; and policy guidance in
Secretary’s Order entitled Unleashing
American Energy. In addition, the
proposed rule would reflect provisions
of the Royalty Resiliency Act, which
pertains to applications for oil and gas
agreements for allocation schedules that
outline how royalties would be
distributed across different leases
within the agreement. The BLM
proposes to return the minimum bond
amounts to those prior to the
finalization of the 2024 rule. Finally, the
proposed rule would improve the BLM’s
leasing process to ensure stewardship of
public lands as required by the Mineral
Leasing Act (MLA) and as directed by
the OBBB and the above Executive
orders.

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DATES: Send your comments on this

proposed rule to the BLM on or before
August 24, 2026. The BLM is not
obligated to consider any comments
received after this date in making its
decision on the final rule.
Information Collection Requirements:
This proposed rule includes revised and
rescinded information-collection
requirements that must be approved by
the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB). If you wish to comment on the
information-collection requirements,
please note that those comments should
be sent directly to OMB. OMB may file
public comments on the collection of
information contained in this proposed
rule between 30 and 60 days after
publication of this document in the
Federal Register. Therefore, a comment

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to the OMB on the proposed
information-collection revisions is best
assured of being given full consideration
if the OMB receives it by July 24, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments
using one of these methods:
• Mail, personal, or messenger
delivery: U.S. Department of the
Interior, Director (630), Bureau of Land
Management, 1849 C St. NW, Room
5646, Washington, DC 20240, Attention:
1004–AF05.
• Federal eRulemaking Portal:
https://www.regulations.gov. In the
Search-box, enter ‘‘BLM–2025–0037’’
and click the ‘‘Search’’ button. Follow
the instructions at this website.
For Comments on Information—
Collection Activities
Information-Collection Requirements:
Written comments and suggestions on
the information-collection requirements
should be submitted to https://
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.
Find this specific information-collection
by selecting ‘‘Currently under Review—
Open for Public Comments’’ or by using
the search function.
If you submit comments on these
information-collection burdens, you
should provide the BLM with a copy at
one of the addresses shown earlier in
this section so that we can summarize
all written comments and address them
in the final rulemaking. Please indicate
‘‘Attention: Paperwork Reduction Act
Comments (RIN 1004–AF05).’’
Comments not pertaining to the
proposed rule’s information-collection
burdens should not be submitted to
OMB. The BLM is not obligated to
consider or include in the
Administrative Record for the final rule
any comments that are improperly
directed to OMB.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John
Ajak, Acting Division Chief for the
Division of Fluid Minerals, telephone:
(505) 549–9654, or email: jajak@
blm.gov, for information regarding the
substance of this proposed rule or about
the BLM’s fluid minerals program. For
questions relating to regulatory process
issues, contact Faith Bremner at email:
[email protected]. Individuals in the
United States who are deaf, blind, hard
of hearing, or have a speech disability
may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille)
to access telecommunications relay
services for contacting Mr. Cowan.
Individuals outside the United States
should use the relay services offered
within their country to make
international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States.
For a summary of the rule, please
click on the Docket Details tab in docket

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number BLM–2025–0037 on
www.regulations.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. List of Acronyms
II. Executive Summary
III. Public Comment Procedures
IV. Background
V. Discussion of the Proposed Rule
VI. Procedural Matters

I. List of Acronyms
APD = Application for Permit to Drill
BLM = Bureau of Land Management
CFR = Code of Federal Regulations
COA = Condition of Approval
CRA = Compensatory Royalty Agreement
DOI = Department of the Interior
DoW = Department of War
E.O. = Executive Order
EOI = Expression of Interest
FLPMA = Federal Land Policy and
Management Act
GAO = Government Accountability Office
IBLA = Interior Board of Land Appeals
IRA = Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
MLA = Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as
amended (MLA is also referred to as ‘‘Act’’
in the regulations.)
MLAAL = Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired
Lands of 1947, as amended
NEPA = National Environmental Policy Act
NPR–A = National Petroleum Reserve—
Alaska
OBBB = One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025
OIG = Department of Interior’s Office of
Inspector General
OIRA = Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs
OMB = Office of Management and Budget
ONRR = Office of Natural Resources Revenue
PRA = Paperwork Reduction Act
RIA = Regulatory Impact Analysis
RMP = Resource Management Plan
ROW = Right-of-way
RRA = Royalty Resiliency Act of 2024
SBA = Small Business Administration
S.O. = Secretary’s Order
SME = Subject matter expert
U.S.C. = United States Code

II. Executive Summary
This proposed rule aims to enhance
the administration of oil and gas-related
activities on America’s public lands and
includes requirements in the OBBB, as
well as policy direction in E.O.s and
S.O.s issued by the administration.
Specifically, the proposed rule
eliminates the leasing preference
criteria, modifies the public
participation periods, reintroduces
noncompetitive leasing, and provides a
mechanism for holding replacement oil
and gas lease sales. This rulemaking
implements provisions of the OBBB and
President Trump’s January 20, 2025,
E.O. 14154, entitled ‘‘Unleashing
American Energy,’’ which directs the
removal of impediments imposed on the
development and use of our Nation’s
abundant energy and natural resources.
In addition, the proposed rule would
return minimum bond amounts to the

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levels in place prior to the 2024 Fluid
Mineral Leases and Leasing Process rule
(2024 Leasing Rule) (89 FR 30916 (April
23, 2024)). The proposed rule would
ensure that America’s natural resources
can be used to restore American
prosperity through advancing
innovation to improve the energy
development and production capacity of
the United States in a way that would
provide a reliable, diversified, growing,
and affordable supply of energy to meet
the Nation’s needs for security and
prosperity. The BLM has determined
that the changes proposed in this
rulemaking would reduce barriers to the
use of Federal lands for energy
development, consistent with the BLM’s
mission to manage the public lands for
multiple use and sustained yield, in
accordance with the applicable E.O.s,
S.O.s, and the Mineral Leasing Act, as
amended by the OBBB. The Secretary of
the Interior manages the Federal
onshore oil and gas program pursuant to
the requirements of various statutes,
including the Federal Land Policy and
Management Act of 1976, as amended
(43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (FLPMA); the
Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as
amended (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) (MLA);
and the Mineral Leasing Act for
Acquired Lands of 1947, as amended
(30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.) (MLAAL); as well
as the recently enacted Royalty
Resiliency Act (RRA) of 2024 (Pub. L.
118–81).
III. Public Comment Procedures
If you wish to comment on this
proposed rule, you may submit your
comments to the BLM by mail, personal
or messenger delivery, or through
https://www.regulations.gov (see the
ADDRESSES section). Please make your
comments on the proposed rule as
specific as possible, confine them to
issues pertinent to the proposed rule,
explain the reason for any changes you
recommend, and include any
supporting documentation. Where
possible, your comments should
reference the specific section or
paragraph of the proposal that you are
addressing (for example, ‘‘43 CFR
3104.1 Bond Amounts’’). The BLM is
not obligated to consider or include in
the administrative record for the final
rule any comments received after the
close of the comment period (see DATES)
or comments delivered to an address
other than those listed previously (see
ADDRESSES).
Comments, including names and
street addresses of respondents, will be
available for public review at the
address listed under ‘‘ADDRESSES: Mail,
personal or messenger delivery’’ during
regular hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.

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eastern time), Monday through Friday,
except holidays. Before including your
address, telephone number, email
address, or other personal identifying
information in your comment, be
advised that your entire comment—
including your personal identifying
information—may be made publicly
available at any time. While you can ask
us in your comment to withhold from
public review your personal identifying
information, we cannot guarantee that
we will be able to do so.
As explained later, this proposed rule
includes revisions to information
collection requirements that must be
approved by the OMB. If you wish to
comment on the revised information
collection requirements in this proposed
rule, please note that such comments
must be sent directly to the OMB in the
manner described in the ADDRESSES
section. The OMB is required to make
a decision concerning the collection of
information contained in this proposed
rule between 30 and 60 days after
publication of this document in the
Federal Register. Therefore, a comment
to the OMB on the proposed
information collection revisions is best
assured of being given full consideration
if the OMB receives it by July 24, 2026.
IV. Background
The BLM is undertaking this
rulemaking for two primary reasons: (1)
To implement revisions to the MLA by
the OBBB and to make the regulations
consistent with the policy direction
provided for in E.O.s and S.O.s that
were issued in early January 2025; and
(2) To ensure that all regulatory
requirements related to leasing and
development of oil and gas from Federal
lands are grounded in applicable law.
As documented in S.O. 3418, which was
issued in February 2025,1 the BLM aims
to reduce barriers to the use of Federal
lands for energy development,
consistent with FLPMA’s principle of
managing the public lands on the basis
of multiple use and sustained yield.
The Secretary of the Interior manages
Federal oil and gas resources pursuant
to the MLA, MLAAL, and other statutes
pertaining to specific categories of
lands. The BLM is the agency within the
Department of the Interior (DOI)
responsible for regulating onshore oil
and gas leasing activities for federally
managed lands and subsurface mineral
estate. The BLM regulations governing
onshore oil and gas leasing activities are
set out in 43 Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR) parts 3000, 3100,
1 DOI, S.O. 3418—Unleashing American Energy,
www.doi.gov/document-library/secretary-order/so3418-unleashing-american-energy.

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3110, 3120, 3130, 3140, 3150, 3160, and
3180.
Today, Federal onshore oil and gas
production accounts for approximately
15 percent of domestically produced oil
and 9 percent of domestically produced
natural gas. As of the end of Fiscal Year
2024, the BLM managed 32,758 Federal
oil and gas leases covering 22.2 million
acres with nearly 91,006 wells that are
capable of production.
A. Enhancing the Administration of the
Federal Onshore Oil and Gas Program
The BLM is undertaking this
proposed rulemaking for the purposes of
rescinding regulations that have created
needless impediments to the
development and use of our Nation’s
abundant energy and natural resources
and removing regulations that are not
required by or are not clearly tied to the
best reading of the underlying statutory
authority, as directed by President
Trump’s January 20, 2025, E.O. 14154,
entitled Unleashing American Energy
and E.O. 14219, entitled Ensuring
Lawful Governance and Implementing
the President’s ‘‘Department of
Government Efficiency’’ Deregulatory
Initiative. The proposed rule would also
implement Secretary Burgum’s February
3, 2025, S.O. 3418, entitled Unleashing
American Energy. In addition, this
proposed rulemaking would implement
the changes required by the OBBB and
the policy direction in President
Trump’s January 20, 2025, E.O. 14156,
entitled Declaring a National Energy
Emergency, by improving the United
States’ energy leasing, development, and
production capacity to provide a
reliable, diversified, growing, and
affordable supply of energy for our
Nation using existing authorities to the
fullest extent possible.
1. The Mineral Leasing Act
The MLA requires the BLM to
establish such standards as may be
necessary to ensure that an adequate
bond, surety, or other financial
arrangement will be established prior to
the commencement of surfacedisturbing activities on any lease. These
funds ensure the complete and timely
reclamation of the lease tract, and the
restoration of any lands or surface
waters adversely affected by lease
operations after the abandonment or
cessation of oil and gas operations on
the lease (30 U.S.C. 226(g)). The MLA
further requires the BLM to include in
oil and gas leases ‘‘such provisions as
[it] deem[s] necessary . . . for the
protection of the interests of the United
States . . . and for the safeguarding of
the public welfare’’ (see 30 U.S.C. 187).

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When bond levels are raised too high,
they tie up significant amounts of
capital in an unproductive capacity,
adding another cost that, in combination
with the numerous other costs of
operating, can lead to less development
and less production contrary to the
policy direction in E.O. 14154. As
required by the MLA, bonds are
submitted prior to the commencement
of surface-disturbing activities on a
lease. The BLM raised the minimum
bond amounts in the 2024 Leasing Rule
based on its authority in the MLA and
in response to various reports by the
Government Accountability Office
(GAO) and the Department’s Office of
Inspector General (OIG).2 In summary,
these reports repeatedly warned that
outdated minimum bond amounts
provide an inadequate incentive for
companies to meet their reclamation
obligations and taxpayers responsible
for cleanup in the event that operators
walk away. The minimum bond
amounts are currently $150,000 for
individual lease bonds, and $500,000
for statewide bonds.3
The BLM is proposing to return the
bond amounts to those in effect prior to
the 2024 Oil and Gas Leasing Rule as it
believes the previous minimum bond
amounts are sufficient given the BLM’s
ability to adjust bond amounts as
necessary during its periodic bond
reviews. The BLM eliminated
nationwide bonds in 2024 and is now
considering whether the BLM should reinstate nationwide bonds and, if so, at
what level.
Although the BLM is proposing to
reduce the current minimum bond
amounts, it retains sufficient statutory
and regulatory authority to increase the
bond amount to ensure that the BLM is
meeting its statutory obligation under
section 226(g) of the MLA. For example,
during periodic bond adequacy reviews,
the BLM can revise the minimum bond
amount. See 43 CFR 3104.50. The
BLM’s policies, such as Instruction
Memorandum 2024–014, Oil and Gas
Bond Adequacy Reviews, emphasizes
securing the appropriate bond amounts
considering the number of wells on each
bond and their characteristics and
provide the BLM with the flexibility to
set higher bond amounts for at-risk
companies, as well as to impose more
2 See, e.g., OIG, ‘‘Inspector General’s Statement
Summarizing the Major Management and
Performance Challenges Facing the U.S. Department
of the Interior’’ (Nov. 2022); GAO, ‘‘OIL AND
GAS—Bureau of Land Management Should Address
Risk from Insufficient Bonds to Reclaim Wells’’
(Sept. 2019); GAO, ‘‘Oil and Gas: Bureau of Land
Management Needs to Improve Its Data and
Oversight of Its Potential Liabilities,’’ (May 2018).
3 The BLM also eliminated nationwide and unit
bonds. Refer to 43 CFR 3104.1 and 3104.90.

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stringent interim and final reclamation
requirements, implement additional
bond reviews, and develop other
measures to limit the risk to the U.S.
taxpayer from a lessee failing to meet it
reclamation obligations.
To address GAO and OIG concerns,
the BLM strengthened its bond
adequacy review process in IM2024–014
by implementing risk-based reviews,
standardizing scoring, and instituting
strict timelines for corrective action.
The policy also introduced procedures
to eliminate ‘‘empty liability’’ bonds
(those where there is no well covered by
the bond), enhanced enforcement
protocols, and requires a full liability
bond for operators with over 50 percent
of wells considered idled under
42U.S.C.15907(a)(2), ensuring that bond
adequacy reflects actual liability and
risk. These updates create a dynamic
system that allows the BLM to increase
bond amounts when warranted, meet its
statutory obligations and protect
taxpayers, while avoiding unnecessarily
high minimum bond amounts that could
restrict development and conflict with
broader energy policy goals.
2. Providing Adequate Cost Recovery
Mechanisms
As explained in greater detail in
Section V below, under Discussion of
the Proposed Rule, the BLM is
proposing to revise the onshore oil and
gas program’s cost-recovery
mechanisms. The BLM, in conjunction
with this rulemaking, evaluated those
costs, which informed the proposed
adjustments to the onshore program’s
application fees.
B. Implementing Recently Enacted Laws
Concerning the Federal Onshore Oil and
Gas Program
On July 4, 2025, the President signed
the OBBB (Pub. L. 119–21). That law
repealed several provisions of the
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and
further amended the MLA. Specifically,
the OBBB repealed section 50262(a) of
the IRA, thereby returning the minimum
royalty rate for oil and gas production
to 12.5 percent. It also returned the
royalty rate for reinstated leases to 16.67
percent. The OBBB made several other
changes, such as restoring
noncompetitive leasing; requiring four
lease sales each fiscal year in
enumerated States; defining ‘‘eligible’’
and ‘‘available’’ as those terms are used
in the MLA; requiring the BLM to offer
for lease sale 50 percent of the available
parcels nominated in a resource
management plan (RMP); holding a
replacement sale if a sale is cancelled,
delayed, or deferred or if 25 percent or
more of the parcels do not receive a bid.

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The OBBB also enacted further reforms
of the oil and gas leasing program, such
as increasing the term of an APD to 4
years and providing for new provisions
governing commingling of oil and gas
production. The BLM has published
final rules, direct to final rules, and a
commingling proposed rule to
implement many of the provisions in
the OBBB. In this proposed rule, the
BLM is proposing to include a
noncompetitive leasing process in 43
CFR part 3110 and to implement the
OBBB provisions related to replacement
oil and gas lease sales, as well as
ensuring that all of the other sections of
the regulations are consistent with the
OBBB.
Congress enacted the RRA (Pub. L.
118–81) in 2024 to direct the Federal
Government to require reporting and
payment for production and royalty
based on the proposed allocation of
production for pending Federal oil and
gas agreements (e.g., unit and
communitization agreements) until the
BLM issues a final decision on the
agreement. Through this rulemaking,
the BLM proposes to revise the
regulations to reflect the requirements of
the RRA.
V. Discussion of the Proposed Rule
A. Summary
The proposed modifications to parts
3000, 3100, 3110, 3120, 3130, 3140,
3150, 3160, and 3180 are described in
detail in the following section-bysection discussion.
The BLM is proposing modifications
to these parts to implement policy
direction in E.O.s 14154 and 14219, as
well as S.O. 3418, and to implement
changes required by the OBBB and the
RRA. In addition, the BLM proposes to
remove all the appendices found under
43 CFR 3186 Model Forms and relocate
these form documents to the BLM’s
forms web page, because these are form
documents that do not belong in the
regulations.
In the final 2024 Leasing Rule, the
BLM removed regulatory section
designations that had no text associated
with them, and the titles of those
deleted section designations became
undesignated center headings. These
undesignated center headings serve as
section guideposts in the regulations.
These headings break up large subparts
and group together sections that cover
particular subject areas. This proposed
rule would similarly add, remove, and
revise undesignated center headings
throughout the regulatory text. Each
section of each subpart, and each
provision within those sections, is

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separate and severable from the other
sections and provisions.
B. Section-by-Section Discussion
The following discussion addresses
the proposed changes to the existing
regulations. If a provision is not
specifically discussed in this section-bysection analysis, then the provision
would remain unchanged.
1. Section-by-Section Discussion for
Changes to 43 CFR part 3000
The proposed rule does not revise any
section headings in the existing part
3000 regulations.
Section 3000.5

Definitions

The BLM is proposing to amend the
introductory sentence in this section
from simply referencing parts 3000 and
3100, to refencing all of 43 CFR
Subchapter C, Minerals Management
(3000). The proposed rule would move
the definitions for ‘‘acreage for which
expressions of interest have been
submitted’’ and ‘‘acres offered for lease’’
to the definitions in 43 CFR subpart
3100, which is specific to oil and gas
leasing, without any changes to the
language.
The proposed rule would clarify the
definition for ‘‘interest’’ to remove the
original 43 CFR 3101.20 citation,
because that regulatory section
designation no longer exists.
Section 3000.10

Nondiscrimination

The BLM proposes to remove this
section in its entirety, as it is based on
E.O. 11246, entitled Equal Employment
Opportunity, which President Trump
revoked on January 21, 2025, through
E.O. 14173, entitled Ending Illegal
Discrimination and Restoring MeritBased Opportunity. E.O. 14173 reaffirms
that longstanding Federal civil rights
laws protect individuals from
discrimination based on race, color,
religion, sex, or national origin, serving
as a foundation for equality of
opportunity for all Americans. The BLM
no longer requires this section in its
mineral leasing regulations, as existing
civil rights laws sufficiently provide
protections against discrimination.

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Section 3000.100

Fees in general

The proposed rule would revise the
effective dates for filing fees provided
for in paragraph (d) to coincide with the
effective date of a final rule. No other
changes would be made.
Section 3000.120
Fixed Fees

Fee Schedule for

The BLM established these fixed
filing fees pursuant to the authority in
FLPMA, which authorizes the BLM to

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obtain reimbursement for the BLM’s
processing costs related to applications
under 43 CFR Subchapter C. The BLM
may use these fees to support BLM’s
software needed to manage oil and gas
leasing and post leasing maintenance.
The BLM proposes to re-arrange the
fixed filing fees list set out in Table 1
to Paragraph (a) so they are arranged in
alphabetical order for each program.
The proposed rule would also reduce
the filing fee for competitive oil and gas
lease applications from $3,100 to $155,
and lease consolidations from $575 to
$320 for the reasons explained below.
The proposed rule would add a new $1
per page filing fee for protests, including
attachments or exhibits, that are over 50
pages, and remove the $30 filing fee for
renewal exploration permits in Alaska.
The BLM posts these fees on its website,
www.blm.gov/fixed-filing-fee-scheduleblm-energy-and-minerals.
In addition to the fee changes in this
proposed rule, on August 1, 2025, the
BLM issued a final rule to effectuate
section 50101(d)(3) of the OBBB, which
removed a filing fee for expressions of
interest.
The BLM proposes to adjust the
existing oil and gas filing fees for lease
applications and lease consolidations.
The BLM would require a lease
application fee for both competitive and
noncompetitive leases. When these fees
were initially set in 2005, and adjusted
in the 2024 Leasing Rule, the BLM
explained that it reserved the right to
amend the fees in future rulemakings to
reflect new data or other evidence that
the fees did not accurately reflect
reasonable costs (70 FR 41532 (July 19,
2005) and 88 FR 47562 (July 24, 2023)).
The current competitive leasing
application fee includes a processing
step intended to recover the BLM’s costs
for complying with National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
requirements, which inflated the filing
fee. The BLM reviewed the competitive
leasing application fee and concluded
that the costs for complying with NEPA
are completed by the time a competitive
lease sale takes place. Therefore, the
BLM should not be collecting NEPArelated fees in the competitive leasing
application fee. In addition, the BLM is
proposing to have one lease application
fee for both competitive and
noncompetitive leases. The competitive
leasing processing step for adjudicating
high bids is very similar and
interchangeable with the
noncompetitive leasing processing step
for establishing priority for
noncompetitive lease applications.
Combining the application fee to cover
both types of leases would bring
efficiencies to the program. For lease

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consolidations, the BLM has found that
while the processing steps have not
changed, the BLM has gained
efficiencies through data entry in the
Mineral and Land Records System.
These efficiencies have reduced the
time spent in processing the
applications thereby resulting in a
reduction in the fees.
As noted above, the BLM is proposing
to include a new fixed filing fee of $1
per page for protests, including exhibits
or attachments, for each page over 50.
The BLM can use the funds collected
from this filing fee to ensure that the
BLM has sufficient capacity (i.e., staff
and resources) to review and respond to
protests while meeting the statutory
deadline for holding lease sales and
issuing leases. In the BLM’s experience,
the length of certain protest filings (i.e.,
those exceeding 50 pages) tend to lack
focus and often incorporate an
overwhelming array of unrelated
information. These submissions
frequently include repetitive content
that echoes previous filings, making it
difficult to discern the key issues at
hand. Consequently, the excessive
length of these documents results in an
inefficient burden on the BLM’s time
and resources to sift through irrelevant
material, often already considered at a
previous stage or sale, to address the
core concerns effectively. Protests often
include generalized information about
the leasing process without clearly
linking the specific claim to a given
parcel under consideration. The BLM
established policy in 2005 (see
Instruction Memorandum 2005–176,
Filing of Protests on Lands Included in
Oil and Gas Lease Sales) to ensure that
an orderly protest process, in which
protests are announced at the sales,
allowed the BLM to have sufficient time
to issue leases within 60 days of the
payment of the remainder of the bonus
bid and rentals as required by section
226(b)(1)(A) of the MLA. In the past few
years, as shown in Table 14 from the
BLM’s statistics web page (https://
www.blm.gov/programs-energy-andminerals-oil-and-gas-oil-and-gasstatistics), more than 70 percent of the
parcels offered for lease received a
protest. For example, in fiscal year 2022,
the BLM received protests on 100
percent of the parcels offered. The BLM
usually receives protests that range from
20 pages to 120 pages, but some protests
can also be thousands of pages long,
delivered in boxes to the state offices.
To ensure an efficient oil and gas
leasing process, the BLM proposes to
include a nominal filing fee per page for
protests (including exhibits) for each
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The BLM reviewed the protests received
in calendar year 2024 and found that it
received 31 protests, 14 of which
contained over 50 pages. The page count
for these protests, including exhibits,
ranged from one page to 892 pages. If
the BLM had implemented this
proposed fee earlier, then only 14
protests received in 2024 would have
required a filing fee with a total amount
of $5,754 and an average fee of $186.
For additional context, during a recently
held lease sale, a protesting party
actively engaged in submitting
comments at each stage of the process:
scoping, public comment, and protest.
The letters submitted across these
phases averaged 116 pages in length.
Furthermore, the protestor provided
between 15 and 223 peer-reviewed
articles at each public involvement
stage, with individual article lengths
varying significantly, ranging from a
single page to an extensive 3,676 pages.
This substantial volume of
documentation underscores the
seriousness and breadth of protest
content but also highlights that much of
it is repetitive from sale to sale and
duplicative across different stages of a
given sale. The fee is not being proposed
to reimburse the BLM for its processing
costs, which the BLM estimates to be
$2,470 per protest. Instead, the purpose
of the filing fee is to encourage
individuals submitting protests to be
clear and concise as to the basis for the
protest. This would enable the BLM to
timely review and address the key
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lease issuance or causing parcels
proposed for a sale to be deferred due
to a lack of resolution of a protest. In
addition, the majority of protesters
would not need to pay a filing fee as
their protests are under 50 pages.
The BLM is proposing to remove the
fixed filing fees for exploration permit
renewals in Alaska. The BLM rarely
receives exploration permit renewals in
Alaska and has not collected the fee in
the past 10 years. It costs the BLM more
to maintain this filing fee in its
collection system than it does to receive
the benefit of collecting a fee from a
permittee.
The BLM reviewed and considered
both case-by-case and fixed filing fees
for the remaining existing fees in this
rule. Historically, the BLM has
determined costs on a case-by-case basis
for types of documents where the costs
may differ significantly in each case. In
this proposal, the BLM has opted to
institute fixed filing fees for protests,
because charging processing costs on a
case-by-case basis would be time
consuming and would not be the most
efficient use of BLM resources.
Collecting cost data on a case-by-case
basis for each document to be processed
adds to the processing costs. The BLM
decided that it would be more efficient
and sufficiently reliable to set a fixed fee
based on average costs and indexed to
inflation. In addition, there is a public
benefit from knowing fees in advance.
To determine the proposed changes to
the fixed filing fees, the BLM followed
the same method it used in 2005 and
2024 to set and adjust the current fixed
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than a simple average to determine the
processing cost for each type of
document. This method gives greater
weight to the processing cost data from
state offices with a heavy workload and,
thus, more expertise in processing a
particular type of document. The BLM’s
fluid minerals program identified the
document-processing steps and then
asked the state office subject matter
experts (SMEs) to identify the
appropriate job position, salary level,
and time required to perform particular
steps specified under the BLM’s current
policy. The BLM then calculated a
direct cost for each process and adjusted
to 2025 salary rates without a localitypay factor. The BLM’s fluid minerals
program spot-checked the data and sent
each state office a summary of the cost
data that the office had previously
submitted for these types of documents,
along with the BLM-wide weighted
average cost for each. State offices were
asked to review the cost data and report
whether that data, adjusted to proposed
filing fee amounts, remained reasonable.
They were also asked to re-estimate
costs if the state office found the reexamined adjusted cost data to be
inaccurate. A re-examination verified
that the BLM’s data continues to be
valid and ensures that figures, which
varied significantly among offices, had
not been submitted in error.
Processing Steps for the Fixed Fees
The BLM reviewed the processing
steps, and the following table
summarizes the results of this review.
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The current $500 fee for Class II lease
reinstatements is located at existing 43
CFR 3108.23(b)(2)(vi). The BLM
considered moving the existing fee to 43
CFR 3000.120 for inclusion alongside
the fixed filing fees, increasing the fee
to reflect the processing costs, and then
adjusting the fee annually for inflation.
However, the MLA, at 30 U.S.C. 188(e),
specifically states for Class II lease
reinstatements that ‘‘[t]he lessee of a
reinstated lease shall reimburse the
Secretary for the administrative costs of
reinstating the lease, but not to exceed
$500.’’ Accordingly, the BLM proposes
to leave the administrative fee of $500
in its current location at 43 CFR
3108.23(b)(2)(vi).
FLPMA Factors and Processing Fees
Section 304(b) of FLPMA lists six
factors, commonly known as the
FLPMA reasonableness factors, that the
BLM must consider when deciding the
amount of a reasonable processing fee.
Those factors are:
(1) The BLM’s actual costs to process
a document not including management
overhead, i.e., the processing time spent
by the BLM State Directors, Deputy
State Directors, and other management
staff. Actual costs include (but are not
limited to) time spent at the state and
field office levels by SMEs who work on
a specific authorization, such as a lease,
and funds spent on environmental
reviews, technical reviews, and
analyses.
(2) The monetary value, or objective
worth, of the right or privilege that the
applicant seeks;
(3) The efficiency with which the
BLM processes a document, i.e.,
minimizing of waste by carefully
managing agency expenses and time;
(4) Whether any of the BLM’s
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studies or data collection, benefit the
general public or the Federal
Government, rather than just the
applicant alone;
(5) Whether the project provides any
significantly tangible improvement,
such as a road, or other direct service to
the public. Occasionally, a negative
factor, such as an adverse impact on
wildlife, habitats, or surface drainage,
may prevent an improvement from
qualifying as a public service. Data
collection that the BLM requires of an
applicant for monitoring an activity is
not a public service; and
(6) Other relevant factors.
The BLM considered each of the
FLPMA reasonableness factors for each
type of document for which the BLM is
proposing to adjust the existing fee or
add a new fixed fee. The BLM first
estimated the actual cost to process a
type of document. When estimating the
processing costs, the BLM determined a
range based on the range of costs
provided by the BLM state offices. The
BLM then considered each of the other
FLPMA factors to determine if they
warranted setting the fee at less than
actual cost. If so, the BLM then
considered whether any of the
remaining factors acted as an enhancing
factor that would mitigate against
setting the fee at less than actual cost.
Lastly, the BLM decided the amount of
the fee, which cannot be more than the
processing cost. For all of the fees in
this proposal, this method resulted in
fees set at the lower end of the BLM’s
processing cost.
Actual Costs
Actual costs are the sum of both direct
and indirect costs. Direct costs include
such things as labor, material, and
equipment. The BLM estimated the
direct costs by reaching out to each BLM

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state office and requesting an estimate of
the processing time for each application
based on the steps detailed in the
previous table. Then using the average
hourly wage, the BLM calculated the
direct cost for the BLM to process the
application. Indirect costs include items
such as rent and overhead, excluding
State Director and management
overhead. For an example of how the
BLM would determine the sum of direct
and indirect costs, assume the measured
direct cost of processing a document is
$200. To estimate the indirect cost for
processing that document, the BLM uses
a ratio that it calculates annually.
Annually, the BLM calculates the
indirect cost rate, which is assessed on
these fixed filing fees. Indirect costs are
the overhead costs, which remain after
direct costs have been computed, and
may include utilities,
telecommunications, information
technology, space rental, and other
administrative support functions.
Currently that ratio is 10 to 2, or 20
percent, meaning for every $10 of direct
costs there would be $2 of indirect
costs. The BLM would estimate the
indirect cost using the ratio and direct
cost figures. In this example, since the
direct cost was $200 and the ratio is 10
to 2, the indirect cost is $40. The BLM
then would add the direct and indirect
cost figures to arrive at the actual cost
figure of $240 to process the document.
This method is generally accepted in the
private and public sectors.
Monetary Value of the Right or Privilege
Historically, the BLM concluded that
its processing costs to prepare parcels
for lease sales benefit three classes of
beneficiaries: the party who requests
that the parcel be included in the sale,
all parties who bid on the parcel, and
the successful bidder. The party who

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requests a parcel to be included in a
lease sale benefits by influencing the
selection of the parcels offered.
Monetary Value to the Applicant
The BLM did not attempt to calculate
the monetary benefit to each applicant,
because those values are not always
knowable to the BLM, and it would be
inefficient to attempt to calculate them
for each application or submission.
Monetary Value of the Right or Privilege
Granted
To gauge the monetary value, the
BLM considered the monetary value of
similar rights or privileges granted to
applicants historically. The BLM
reviewed each type of document and
compared the proposed filing fee for a
given type of document with our
professional judgment of the historical
values of similar rights or privileges that
the BLM has granted. In each case, the
BLM believes the value of the right or
privilege is so much greater than the
processing cost that a fee based on the
average actual cost would not
significantly affect the applicant’s
proposed action. This is not surprising
considering that the costs pertain to
documents related to the commercial
development of minerals. The BLM did
not reduce any fees because of this
factor.
Monetary Value Change
The BLM bases its decision about the
monetary value of the benefit to the
applicant on the value at the time the
applicant submits its application. All
leases have relatively large monetary
value before exploration compared with
the proposed fees. The basic value of the
opportunity provided by a lease to
explore for minerals is shown by the
willingness of applicants to pay large
sums before exploration for bonus bids,
for lease transfers, and for exploration
activities such as drilling. Because the
monetary value of the right sought in a
lease is much greater than the cost of
processing the lease, the BLM considers
it reasonable to charge a fee equal to
processing costs for all lease
applications.

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The Efficiency Factor
The BLM’s fluid minerals program
asked the state offices’ SMEs to provide

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a minimum, maximum, and average
time spent on each application process.
Some SMEs stated that their estimated
range depended on the experience of the
staff. The estimates from less
experienced staff increased the amounts
for the average and the high estimate for
processing costs. In addition, some state
offices receive fewer applications
compared to other state offices. This can
increase the processing time SMEs
spend researching and processing
applications when their particular
offices do not frequently receive them.
Therefore, the BLM chose to use the
lowest estimate for time spent on
processing applications to create the
weighted average so that applicants are
not penalized for understaffed offices or
offices with fewer seasoned employees.
The BLM ensured that the field offices
efficiently process the documents for
which fees are charged. For all the new
and existing fees, the BLM based the
processing procedures on standardized
steps as outlined in the BLM handbooks
and Instruction Memoranda in order to
eliminate duplication and extraneous
procedures. The BLM developed these
detailed and measurable processing
steps to be efficient.
The Public Benefit Factor
Possible public benefits from the BLM
processing activities, such as studies or
data collection, are also difficult to
measure. For example, studies related to
document processing often provide
information about an area’s natural
resources. This is sometimes a public
benefit, but the value of the information,
or whether there will be a benefit at all,
is not predictable. The BLM concluded
that document processing for types of
fixed fee documents in this rulemaking
does not usually produce studies or data
that significantly benefits the public. In
addition, the BLM determined that for
each type of document in this
rulemaking, the monetary value to the
applicant outweighs the possible benefit
of such studies to the public. The BLM
analysts used their knowledge of the
historical values of such cases to make
these determinations. The BLM has,
therefore, decided that this factor does
not warrant setting any fee in this
rulemaking at less than its actual
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fee. Protests against offering parcels on
an oil and gas lease sale provide a
benefit to the BLM by reducing the
potential for error in the lease sale
process. The fee for oil and gas lease
sale protests was therefore set at $1 per
page, over 50 pages, which is less than
BLM’s actual processing cost of $2,470
per protest.
The Public Service Factor
A project’s service to the public
concerns whether the applicant’s project
itself, as opposed to the BLM’s
processing of the related documents,
provides some significant direct service
or benefit to the general public. FLPMA
refers to this as public service. Examples
include improvements, such as roads,
trails, or recreation facilities.
Occasionally, a negative factor, such as
an adverse impact on wildlife, habitats,
or surface drainage, may prevent the
BLM from regarding an improvement as
a public service.
The projects with a proposed fixed fee
do not generally provide a public
service. The lease consolidation and the
issuance of leases received do not
provide a public service. Unlike
activities that provide direct public
services, such as infrastructure
development or environmental studies,
the lease consolidation and issuance
process primarily benefit lessees and
generates government revenue without
offering broad public benefits.
Consequently, for fixed fee documents,
the likelihood of providing such a
public service is too remote and
speculative to warrant charging a fee
less than actual costs.
Other Factors
The BLM did not find other factors
that made it reasonable to adjust fees in
this proposed rulemaking, except for the
protest fee. Protests received against
offering parcels on an oil and gas lease
sale provide a benefit to the BLM by
reducing the potential for error in the
lease sale process. The fee for oil and
gas lease sale protests is therefore
proposed to be set at $1 per page, over
50 pages, which is less than the BLM’s
actual processing cost.
New Proposed Oil and Gas Fixed Fees
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BLM’s actual processing cost as
explained above. This is consistent with
general business practices.
Annual Inflation Adjustments
The BLM no longer publishes the
annual fee adjustments in the Federal
Register and the CFR. The BLM posts
the updated table on the BLM’s web
page at https://www.blm.gov/fixedfiling-fee-schedule-blm-energy-andminerals with the historical fees posted
in the same location. Revised fees are
effective each year on October 1.
Annual inflation adjustments are
calculated based on the percentage
change in the Implicit Price Deflator for
Gross Domestic Product for the 1-year
period between the fourth quarters of
the previous 2 years, consistent with the
2005 Cost Recovery Rule. For example,
the fiscal year 2022 fees were set based
on the change in the IPD–GDP from the
fourth quarter of 2020 to the fourth
quarter of 2021. The BLM then
multiplies the current fee amounts by
that multiplier to obtain the adjusted fee
amounts.
Existing Applications
The BLM would not charge a new
fixed fee under this rule for processing
a document that the BLM received
before the effective date of any final
rule. Documents submitted before the
effective date of the final rule would be
processed with the appropriate fees
under the regulations existing as of the
submittal date.

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2. Section-by-Section Discussion for
Changes to 43 CFR Subpart 3100
The proposed rule would remove the
existing §§ 3101.31, 3101.32, and
3101.33 covering options in their
entirety as these sections are not used
by industry or the BLM. E.O. 14270
directs the BLM to incorporate a sunset
provision into regulations promulgated
under FLPMA. While the BLM’s oil and
gas leasing regulations reference FLPMA
for land use planning decisions, these
regulations are primarily established
under the MLA and its authority for
promulgating regulations. As a result,
the BLM did not include a sunset date
for its oil and gas leasing regulations
and proposes to remove the FLPMA
citation from its authority citation for
part 3100.
Section 3100.5 Definitions
The purpose of this section is to
provide definitions of terms used in
parts 3100, 3110, and 3120.
The proposed rule would move the
terms ‘‘Acreage for which expressions of
interest have been submitted’’ and
‘‘Acres offered for lease’’ from 43 CFR

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3000.5 to this section, as previously
discussed above, because these
definitions are specific to oil and gas
leasing.

sections to be redesignated accordingly.
The purpose of this reorganization is to
achieve consistency and ease of
reference throughout subpart 3101.

Section 3100.9 Information Collection
The proposed rule would update the
Table 1 in paragraph (b) to add
noncompetitive leases in the new part
3110 to Control Number 1004–0185.
The proposed rule would update the
table located in paragraph (b)(2) by
moving the reference to 43 CFR 3106
from OMB Control Number 1004–0034
to Control Number 1004–0185. The
2024 Leasing Rule transferred the
information collection requirements,
along with the associated burdens from
OMB control number 1004–0034 to
1004–0185, however the BLM
inadvertently missed this table update.
All other control number assignments
would remain the same.

Section 3101.12 Surface Use Rights
The BLM promulgated this section in
1988 to clarify the BLM’s authority to
use the terms and conditions of the
standard lease form to control sitespecific environmental impacts on
leaseholds, as opposed to lease-specific
protective measures, addressed in lease
stipulations, and to mitigate impacts to
specific resource values identified on
leased lands. The standard lease form
authorizes the BLM to require
reasonable measures to the extent that
such measures would be consistent with
the lessee’s rights. The BLM may not
impose mitigation measures that would
render lease operations uneconomic or
infeasible; however, the BLM may
impose some types of mitigation
measures if the BLM documents that
such requirements are reasonable and
necessary to prevent unnecessary or
undue degradation of public lands or
resources and provided that those
measures are included in the underlying
RMP, as required by section 50101(d)(3)
of the OBBB.
Previously, the 2024 Leasing Rule
increased the minimum siting distance
and timing limitation for lease activities
that were considered consistent with
lease rights due to the advances in
horizontal and directional drilling. The
2024 Leasing Rule increased the siting
measure for the location of proposed
operations from 200 to 800 meters
(approximately 1⁄2 mile) and the timing
of surface disturbance operations from
60 days to 90 days. The BLM proposes
to return to the pre-2024 Leasing Rule
values. The BLM calculated 678 acres as
the average size for Federal onshore oil
and gas leases based on the Fiscal Year
2024 oil and gas statistics. Moving the
location 800 meters would move the
location halfway across an average-sized
lease. In addition, many leases include
timing limitations that limit
development on a lease to 6 months or
less. Applying a 90-day timing
limitation could limit a lessee to only
being able to develop its lease for 3
months out of each year. These
modified distances and timing
limitations unnecessarily increase the
burden on oil and gas lessees and
operators; therefore, the BLM is
proposing to return to the previous
values of 200 meters and 60 days.
Although this proposed rule would
decrease the minimum distance and
minimum timing limitation duration
within this section, the Interior Board of
Land Appeals (IBLA) has upheld the

Sections 3100.31 Through 3100.33
Options (Existing)
The BLM proposes to remove
§§ 3100.31, 3100.32, and 3100.33 from
the existing regulations. An option
agreement generally contains an
exclusive right to explore and evaluate
the lands during the option period.
Parties use the agreement in real estate
investing to grant to one party the right,
but not the obligation, to purchase an
asset from or sell an asset to the other
party. An option agreement outlines the
agreed upon price and a future date for
the transaction. The option period is a
set period stated in the agreement
during which a party may cancel the
agreement without obligation to
purchase the lease. The BLM proposes
to rescind the sections covering options,
because the industry has never filed
options with the BLM. While the BLM
has not previously received option
statements from industry, the BLM
cannot prohibit options and would
continue to accept option agreements
for inclusion in the lease file for a lease
with the understanding that BLM’s
acceptance of an option does not mean
it is approved or valid.
3. Section-by-Section Discussion for
Changes to 43 CFR Subpart 3101
The proposed rule would move the
existing §§ 3101.21, 3101.22, 3101.23,
3101.24 and 3101.25 covering Acreage
Limitations to subpart 3102, because
acreage limitations can also affect postleasing actions, such as assignments,
transfers, and reinstatements. The
removal of these sections would result
in renaming the undesignated center
heading from Acreage Limitations to
Limitation on the Issuance of New
Leases thereby causing some of the

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BLM’s authority to move operations and
confirmed that the siting and timing
parameters in the regulations are only
minimums. Yates Petroleum, 176 IBLA
144, 156 (2008). Therefore, the BLM
does not expect to see any adverse
impacts to other resources on the public
lands due to returning this provision to
the values that had been in existence for
over 30 years.
The OBBB states that the BLM cannot
impose stipulations or mitigation
requirements in a lease that are not
included in the RMP governing the
lands to be leased; however, the BLM is
not interpreting this provision as
applying to conditions of approval
(COA) for APDs. This interpretation is
grounded in several key points:
Distinct Nature of COAs: COAs are
operational measures imposed after
lease issuance to ensure that drilling
activities comply with environmental
standards and best management
practices. Unlike lease stipulations,
which are attached during the leasing
process, COAs address site-specific
concerns that may arise during the
permitting phase, allowing for
adaptability and responsiveness to new
information once operators identify the
location they intend to drill.
Alignment with RMP Objectives:
While the language restricts the BLM
from adding new lease stipulations not
included in an applicable RMP, it does
not limit the BLM’s ability to impose
COAs that are consistent with the RMP’s
objectives and that further support the
BLM’s interpretation. COAs enhance
environmental protections and
operational safety without contradicting
the terms established in the approved
RMP. They also ensure compliance with
other laws, such as the Endangered
Species Act.
Responsibility to Protect Resources:
The BLM has an ongoing responsibility
to manage public lands effectively and
to implement necessary measures to
protect the environment, wildlife, and
public interests. Not allowing the BLM
to apply COAs would limit its ability to
address unforeseen impacts on public
resources. In addition, were the BLM to
be limited in applying COAs to an APD,
this may result in the BLM having to
deny an APD that could otherwise be
approved with an appropriate COA.
In summary, the OBBB’s restriction
on applying mitigation measures and
stipulations does not restrict the BLM’s
ability to apply COAs at the APD stage
to ensure the BLM is complying with all
other applicable laws, such as FLPMA
and the ESA. The BLM retains its
authority to propose and implement
COAs to address operational specifics
and site-specific concerns, ensuring

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effective management of both resource
development and environmental
protection. This includes the ability to
move locations more than 200 meters or
implement a timing limitation of more
than 60 days.
In addition, the proposed rule would
remove the words ‘‘federally recognized
Tribes, and underserved communities.’’
Instead, the BLM would return to the
language in the prior regulations that
considers reasonable measures to
mitigate adverse impacts to all land uses
or users. This will prevent readers from
misinterpreting this section as limited to
federally recognized Tribes and
underserved communities.
Sections 3101.21 Through 3101.25
Acreage Limitations (Existing)
The BLM proposes relocating the
Acreage Limitations currently covered
under §§ 3101.21, 3101.22, 3101.23,
3101.24, and 3101.25 to subpart 3102 as
§§ 3102.51, 3102.52, 3102.53, 3102.54,
and 3102.55 for qualifications, without
further changes. This move is intended
to reflect that acreage limitations impact
not only lease issuance but also the
ability to acquire lease interests through
assignments, transfers, and mergers.
Relocating these sections would
necessitate redesignating other sections
within the regulations.
Section 3101.52 Action by the Bureau
of Land Management
This section outlines the actions that
the BLM will take if another Federal
surface management agency consents to
a lease on lands it manages. The
proposed rule would revise paragraph
(a) by removing the last sentence, ‘‘The
authorized officer may add other
appropriate stipulations,’’ as this
language conflicts with § 3101.13(a)
which states ‘‘Leases issued by the BLM
will include only those stipulations and
mitigation measures included in the
RMP covering that parcel of land that is
being leased.’’ Section 50101(d) of the
OBBB amended the MLA and requires
any leases issued under the MLA to be
subject to the terms and conditions of an
approved RMP and prohibits the
Secretary from including any
stipulations or mitigation in a lease,
unless such stipulations or mitigation
are included in an approved RMP.
Section 50101(d) also provides that
initiation of an amendment to an RMP
will not prevent the Secretary from
leasing land, provided the other
requirements of the section have been
met. The remaining paragraphs in this
section are unchanged.
The OBBB requires the BLM to only
apply stipulations from its approved
RMPs to the leases it issues. Refer to 30

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U.S.C. 226(a)(2)(A). However, the BLM
has determined that the requirement to
apply stipulations or mitigation
measures within the approved RMP
applies only to lands managed by the
BLM or to private surface. For parcels
managed by other Federal surface
management agencies, the BLM will
continue to apply relevant stipulations
specified by those agencies; failure to do
so would likely result in those agencies
withholding consent to lease. For lands
managed by other Federal surface
management agencies, the BLM will
first check the land status records which
may show lands were withdrawn from
the mineral leasing laws. Lands
withdrawn from the mineral leasing
laws are not considered open and
available for leasing. For example, if the
BLM received an expression of interest
(EOI) for lands acquired by the
Department of War (DoW) which are not
withdrawn from the mineral leasing
laws, the BLM must obtain DoW
consent and apply any stipulations
included in such consent to the lease,
such as a no surface occupancy
restriction in some circumstances. If the
BLM could not apply this stipulation,
the DoW would likely not consent to
lease the lands. Therefore, the BLM
intends to continue applying
stipulations from other surface
management agencies.
4. Section-by-Section Discussion for
Changes to 43 CFR Subpart 3102
The proposed rule would revise the
existing subpart 3102 to move the
sections covering acreage limitations in
§§ 3101.21, 3101.22, 3101.23, 3101.24,
and 3101.25 to this subpart as
§§ 3102.51, 3102.52, 3102.53, 3102.54,
and 3102.55, necessitating redesignation
of some of the sections.
Section 3102.20

Non-U.S. Citizens

The BLM proposes to enhance the last
sentence in paragraph (a) to provide
clearer information about the
consequences of a country denying
privileges to U.S. citizens or
corporations. The current sentence
states that if it is determined that a
country has denied similar or like
privileges to citizens or corporations of
the United States, it would be placed on
a list available from any BLM state
office. The proposed revision would
change it to read that if it is determined
that a country has denied similar or like
privileges to citizens or corporations of
the United States, the country would be
placed on a list available from any BLM
state office and citizens from those
countries may not hold an interest in a
lease.

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Federal Register / Vol. 91, No. 120 / Wednesday, June 24, 2026 / Proposed Rules

Section 3102.40 Signature
The proposed rule would correct the
citation found in this section from
‘‘§ 3102.50’’ in the introductory
paragraph to ‘‘§§ 3102.62 and 3102.63.’’

the paragraph to change the existing
referenced citation from ‘‘§ 3102.51’’ to
‘‘§ 3102.61.’’

Sections 3102.51 Through 3102.55
Acreage Limitations (Proposed)
The proposed rule would relocate the
existing lease acreage-limitations
provisions from subpart 3101, which
governs lease issuance, to subpart 3102,
which governs qualifications of lessees,
such that they would be redesignated as
§§ 3102.51 through 3102.55. The
existing acreage-limitations ‘‘§ 3101.21
Public domain lands,’’ would be
redesignated as § 3102.51; ‘‘§ 3101.22
Acquired lands,’’ would be redesignated
as § 3102.52; ‘‘§ 3101.23 Excepted
acreage,’’ would be redesignated as
§ 3102.53 and includes a correction to
the existing citation in paragraph (a)(3)
to change ‘‘43 CFR 3105.30’’ to ‘‘43 CFR
subpart 3105’’; ‘‘§ 3101.24 Excess
acreage’’ would be redesignated as new
§ 3102.54; and § 3101.25 Computation
would be redesignated as new
§ 3102.55. No other changes are
proposed to the language under these
sections.

The proposed rule would redesignate
the existing section as § 3102.63 due to
the relocation of the acreage-limitations
provisions.

Section 3102.51 Compliance (Existing
Regulations)
The proposed rule would redesignate
the existing § 3102.51 as new § 3102.61
due to the relocation of the acreagelimitations provisions discussed above.
The BLM proposes to revise the initial
paragraph, which generally outlines
requirements for compliance, to change
the word ‘‘will’’ to ‘‘must’’ in paragraph
(a). The word ‘‘must’’ provides a clearer
indication of the obligation for this
requirement and removes any ambiguity
related to the word ‘‘will.’’ ‘‘Will’’ can
imply a future action that is likely or
expected but not guaranteed. In
contrast, ‘‘must’’ removes ambiguity and
ensures that the regulated community
and the public clearly understand that
the action is essential and nonnegotiable.
The BLM also proposes to revise
paragraph (b) to correct the existing
referenced citation ‘‘§ 3101.20’’ to
‘‘§§ 3102.51, 3102.52, 3102.53, and
3102.54.’’ The BLM proposes to revise
paragraph (g) to correct the existing
referenced citation ‘‘§ 3102.53’’ to
‘‘§ 3102.63’’ due to the proposed
changes noted below.
Section 3102.52 Certification of
Compliance (Existing Regulation)
The proposed rule would redesignate
the existing section as § 3102.62 due to
the relocation of the acreage-limitations
provisions. The BLM proposes to revise

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Section 3102.53 Evidence of
Compliance (Existing Regulation)

5. Section-by-Section Discussion for
Changes to 43 CFR Subpart 3103
The proposed rule would not revise
any section headings in the existing 43
CFR subpart 3103 regulations.
Section 3103.1

Fiscal Terms

The proposed rule would update the
last sentence in paragraph (a) to remove
the phrase ‘‘Per the Inflation Reduction
Act.’’ The proposed rule would update
the fiscal terms schedule found at 43
CFR 3103.1(a) Table 1, to remove the
word competitive from ‘‘Competitive oil
and gas’’ as well as from ‘‘Competitive
lease reinstatement, Class II’’ as the
OBBB reinstituted noncompetitive
leasing, which the IRA had repealed.
These rental requirements listed in the
schedule would also apply to
noncompetitive leases. Removing the
word competitive from these phrases
makes it clear that these rentals
requirements apply to both types of oil
and gas leases.
Section 3103.11

Form of Remittance

The proposed rule would remove the
first sentence that references payments
made by personal check, cashier’s
check, certified check, or money order.
This proposed change is consistent with
E.O. 14247, Modernizing Payments To
and From America’s Bank Account,
signed on March 25, 2025. This order
states ‘‘As soon as practicable, and to
the extent permitted by law, all
payments made to the Federal
Government shall be processed
electronically.’’ The proposed rule
would update the second sentence in
this paragraph to remove the phrase ‘‘by
other arrangements’’ since electronic
payments made to the BLM would be
the primary method of accepting
payment. The proposed rule would
further update the second sentence in
this paragraph to insert ‘‘or other digital
payment options,’’ to match the
language of the E.O. and so this section
does not become outdated with future
technological advances. The BLM
would allow alternative payment
options from an individual or entity if
they request and qualify for an
exception from submitting an electronic
payment on a case-by-case basis.

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6. Section-by-Section Discussion for
Changes to 43 CFR Subpart 3104
The BLM proposes to change the
subpart 3104 heading from ‘‘Bonds’’ to
‘‘Performance Bonds’’ to reduce
confusion about the type of bonds the
BLM has always maintained.
Performance bonds are provided to the
BLM under subpart 3104 to guarantee a
lessee’s performance in complying with
the requirements of a lease. If a lessee
defaults on its obligations under the
terms and conditions of a lease, the
BLM can collect the performance bond
to remedy the default. The performance
bond protects the BLM, and ultimately
the taxpayers, from financial loss should
the operator fail to perform its
obligations under the terms and
conditions of the lease, and the
regulations and laws under which the
operations were authorized.
The BLM is requesting that
commenters provide information on
unit operator and nationwide bonds
used by the BLM before publication of
the 2024 Leasing Rule. Before the 2024
Leasing Rule, the BLM accepted the
following bonds: individual bonds that
cover the operations for a single lease;
statewide bonds that cover the
operations for all Federal leases in a
single State; nationwide bonds that
covered the operations for all Federal
leases nationwide; and unit operator
bonds that covered the operations for all
Federal leases in a single unit
agreement. The 2024 Leasing Rule
eliminated nationwide and unit
operator bonds for the reasons stated in
the rule. The BLM is seeking public
comments on the following options: (1)
Allow for nationwide bonds; (2) Allow
for nationwide and unit operator bonds;
or (3) Continue the 2024 Leasing Rule’s
elimination of both nationwide and unit
operator bonds from the BLM’s lease
bonding program for the reasons set out
in the proposed and final 2024 Leasing
Rule. If the BLM chooses to include
either nationwide or unit operator
bonds in the final rule, it would also
include minimum bond amounts
consistent with the amounts set for
individual lease and statewide bonds.
The BLM is requesting comments on
allowing nationwide and unit operator
bonds because these bond types were
accepted prior to the 2024 Leasing Rule
and may offer operational flexibility for
some lessees. While these bonds could
reduce compliance costs for operators
managing multiple leases or unit
agreements, they may increase
administrative complexity and oversight
costs for the BLM. The BLM originally
created unit operator bonds, because the
BLM bond forms that predated 1987 did

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not cover the principal bond holder
acting in the capacity of a unit operator
when the operator did not have an
interest in the lease. The BLM’s current
bond forms now address this issue,
negating the need for unit operator
bonds. Unit operator bonds have never
been widely used by industry. The
minimum bond amount for unit
operator bonds were usually identical to
the statewide minimum bond amount as
these bonds covered all leases and
operations in one unit agreement.
Removing the use of nationwide bonds
created efficiencies for the BLM’s oil
and gas program by allowing the agency
to better tailor bond amounts to local
conditions and State-specific
requirements when reviewing bonds for
adequacy. However, because any
reinstated bond types would be required
to meet minimum amounts consistent
with individual lease and statewide
bonds, the BLM does not anticipate
economic impacts from their inclusion.
Section 3104.1 Bond Amounts
The BLM is proposing to restore the
previous minimum bond amounts for
individual lease bonds (all operations
on one Federal lease) and statewide
bonds (all operations on Federal leases
in a geographic State). The purpose of
the bond is to ensure the complete and
timely plugging of the well(s),
reclamation of the lease area(s), and the
restoration of any lands or surface
waters adversely affected by lease
operations after the abandonment or
cessation of oil and gas operations. (43
CFR 3104.10(a)). The regulations at
§ 3104.1(a) currently set the following
minimum bond amounts:
(1) Lease/Individual Bonds, which
provide coverage for one lease and must
be in an amount of not less than
$150,000;
(2) Statewide Bonds, which cover all
leases and operations in one State and
must be in an amount of not less than
$500,000;
The BLM now believes these amounts
are too high and inhibit an operator’s
ability to develop our nation’s oil and
natural gas resources in contravention of
existing E.O.s and S.O.s. The BLM
received numerous comments during
the 2024 rulemaking that these amounts
were excessive and potentially
unobtainable for a large number of small
operators due to practices in the bond
market. Commenters flagged that this
would lead to a reduction in domestic
energy production and negatively
impact local economies. Bond market
practices, such as the requirement for
significant collateral and high
premiums, further exacerbate the
financial burden on small operators.

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Many small operators may not have the
necessary creditworthiness to obtain
bonds at reasonable rates, making it
difficult for them to secure the
necessary bonds were they to remain at
the higher rates.
Given these concerns, the BLM is
proposing to return to the original
minimum bond amounts of $10,000 for
lease bonds and $25,000 for statewide
bonds. These amounts are currently
attainable for small operators and would
alleviate the financial burden on them.
The BLM is proposing to reduce the
minimum oil and gas bond amounts
back to the prior values of $10,000 for
individual lease bonds and $25,000 for
statewide bonds. The BLM is
contemplating re-instating nationwide
bonds. If the BLM reinstates nationwide
bonds, the BLM proposes to restore the
previous minimum bond amount of
$150,000. This change aims to lower
financial barriers for operators,
encouraging an increase in Federal oil
and gas activities. The reduced bonding
requirements may benefit smaller,
independent operators, who may find it
challenging to meet the higher
minimum bond amounts. By easing
these financial constraints, the BLM
believes it will stimulate growth in the
oil and gas sector, enhance economic
opportunities, and foster greater
engagement from a diverse range of
operators thereby contributing to the
nation’s economic security.
The BLM recognizes that lower
minimum bond amounts could
potentially decrease the incentive for
operators to adhere to responsible
operational practices and properly
reclaim well sites, which could result in
greater risks to the public lands and
local ecosystems. However, the BLM is
able to mitigate this risk by continuing
to fully use its existing bond adequacy
review policy. The BLM conducts bond
adequacy reviews as outlined in
Instruction Memorandum 2024–014, Oil
and Gas Bonds Adequacy Reviews, to
ensure that bond amounts for Federal
oil and gas leases are sufficient to cover
potential liabilities based on risk, an
operator’s compliance history, the
number of wells and their
characteristics. The BLM’s regulations at
43 CFR 3104.50 also provide a basis for
increasing the bond amount and provide
the BLM with the ability to bar lessees
who fail to provide increased bond
amounts from obtaining additional oil
and gas leases. See 43 CFR 3104.1(c).
The policy directs BLM State Offices to
review all bonds at least every 5 years,
or more frequently when warranted,
focusing on operators with higher risk
factors.

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The proposed rule would remove
paragraph (c) which provides for a
phase-in period to increase or replace
statewide and lease bonds. This
paragraph would no longer be needed.
Bonds that have already been increased
to the higher minimum bond amounts
may have the potential to return to the
new proposed minimum bond amounts
under the current regulations. Any
bonded principal can request a bond
decrease if they believe a decrease is
warranted. Upon request, the BLM
would perform a bond adequacy review
under its existing policy to approve or
deny such request. The proposed rule
would redesignate paragraph (d) to
paragraph (c) due to the removal of the
existing paragraph (c).
Should the BLM modify the onshore
oil and gas bonding process? As part of
ongoing efforts to enhance the
management of onshore oil and gas
resources, the BLM is seeking public
input on potential modifications to the
bonding process for oil and gas
operations. Comments are invited on
whether the BLM should consider reestablishing unit operator or nationwide
bonds to streamline financial assurance
requirements for operators.
Additionally, feedback is requested on
any changes that could improve the
effectiveness and efficiency of the
BLM’s bonding process while ensuring
adequate protection for public lands and
resources. Public input is essential in
shaping policies that balance
responsible resource development with
environmental stewardship.
Section 3104.10

Bond Obligations

The proposed rule would revise
paragraph (c)(2) to replace the words,
‘‘Cashier’s check’’ with ‘‘An electronic
funds transfer to the BLM.’’ The
proposed rule would also remove
paragraph (c)(3), which references
‘‘Certified check.’’ This change would
lead to redesignating paragraphs (c)(4)
and (c)(5) as paragraphs (c)(3) and (c)(4),
respectively. This proposed change is
consistent with E.O. 14247, Modernizing
Payments To and From America’s Bank
Account, signed on March 25, 2025.
Section 3104.90 Bonds Held Prior to
June 22, 2025 (Existing Regulation)
The proposed rule would remove the
existing § 3104.90 entitled ‘‘Bonds Held
Prior to June 22, 2025.’’ Under the
existing regulations, operators were
required to replace existing nationwide
and unit operator bonds by June 22,
2025. Since that deadline has now
passed, the BLM no longer needs to
retain this phase-in period in the
regulations.

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Federal Register / Vol. 91, No. 120 / Wednesday, June 24, 2026 / Proposed Rules

7. Section-by-Section Discussion for
Changes to 43 CFR Subpart 3105
The proposed rule would add new
§ 3105.1 to existing 43 CFR subpart 3105
to comply with the RRA of September
20, 2024.

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Section 3105.1 Reporting and Payment
for Production (Proposed Regulation)
The proposed rule would add a new
§ 3105.1 entitled ‘‘Reporting and
payment for production.’’ This new
section is added to comply with the
RRA, which was passed on September
20, 2024. The RRA amended the Federal
Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of
1982 (FOGRMA), 30 U.S.C. 1721(j), and
directs the Department to require
reporting and payment for production
and royalty that is based on a pending
Federal oil and gas agreement (e.g.,
communitization agreements and
participating areas) that has an
allocation schedule that outlines how
royalties would be distributed across
different leases within the agreement
until the BLM issues a final decision on
the agreement. When the BLM issues a
final decision on a pending application,
the BLM will specify whether the lessee,
or its designees, must adjust the
production reporting or royalty paid.
The lessee would then have until the
end of the third month following the
month in which the lessee or its
designee receives the BLM’s final
decision to adjust the production
reporting or royalty paid, if needed.
This provision does not apply to unit or
communitization agreements that
include Indian lands.
Proposed paragraph (a) would reflect
the requirements of the RRA and state
that the lessee or its designee who is
party to a unit or communitization
agreement must report and pay royalties
on oil and gas production for each
production month in accordance with
the terms of the proposed allocation of
production for the unit or
communitization agreement until the
BLM issues a decision on the proposed
agreement.
Paragraph (b) would assist the BLM in
implementing the RRA and would state
that to assist with accurate and
complete reporting, applicants for a
Federal participating area, secondary
recovery unit, or communitization
agreement must: (1) Provide a list of
wells with existing production that
would contribute production to the area
to be included in the proposed
agreement; and (2) As required under 43
CFR 3160.0–9(c)(1), submit a
completion report for all wells that
would contribute production to the area
included in the proposed participating

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area, secondary recovery unit, or
communitization agreement. Proposed
paragraph (c) restates the RRA’s
prohibition against applying this
provision to oil and gas agreements
containing Indian lands.
8. Section-by-Section Discussion for
Changes to 43 CFR Subpart 3106
The proposed rule would not revise
any section headings in the existing 43
CFR subpart 3106 regulations.
Section 3106.10 Transfers, General
The proposed rule would revise
paragraph (e) to change the citation from
‘‘43 CFR 3102.51(g)’’ to ‘‘43 CFR
3102.61(g)’’ for certification of
compliance to address changes being
made elsewhere in this proposed rule.
Section 3106.20 Qualifications of
Transfers
The purpose of this section is to
ensure that those parties to whom leases
and operating rights are transferred
comply with the provisions of 43 CFR
subpart 3102 ‘‘Qualifications of
Lessees.’’ The proposed rule would
remove the phrase ‘‘and post any bond
that may be required.’’ This phrase is
not associated with 43 CFR subpart
3102 and unnecessarily repeats similar
language found in 43 CFR subpart 3104,
which addresses when a bond is
required and 43 CFR 3106.71 for failure
to qualify. The proposed rule would
eliminate the sentence that reads ‘‘only
responsible and qualified lessees may
own, hold, or control an interest in a
lease.’’ The proposed rule would
eliminate this sentence because it is
repetitive and already covered by 43
CFR subpart 3102.
9. Section-by-Section Discussion for
Changes to 43 CFR Subpart 3107
The proposed rule would remove
§ 3107.52 in existing 43 CFR subpart
3107 as it is no longer needed as further
described below.
Section 3107.10 Extension by Drilling
The proposed rule would correct the
referenced CFR citation in existing
paragraph (a) from ‘‘43 CFR 3103.20’’ to
the correct citation of ‘‘43 CFR
3103.22.’’ In addition, the proposed rule
would change the reference to
‘‘appendix A to part 3180’’ to ‘‘43 CFR
part 3180.’’ As discussed, the proposed
rule would remove the model forms
included in the appendices found in 43
CFR subpart 3186. Finally, the proposed
rule would revise existing paragraph (b)
by replacing the phrase ‘‘reasonable
person seriously looking for oil or gas
could’’ with ‘‘prudent operator would,’’
as this is the more commonly

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understood legal standard. No changes
are proposed for paragraph (c).
Section 3107.32 Segregation of Leases
Committed in Part
The proposed rule would revise the
statement in paragraph (b)(2) to change
the language that currently states, ‘‘If a
partially committed lease’’ to read
instead, ‘‘If a lease committed-in-part.’’
The terms ‘‘committed in part’’ and
‘‘partially committed’’ are frequently
confused. ‘‘Committed in part’’
describes a lease that includes land both
within the unit area and outside the unit
area. The BLM will segregate a fully or
effectively committed Federal lease in
such a status into two leases. The BLM
will ensure the lease’s term is 2 years or
the remainder of the lease term,
whichever is longer, for the lands in the
lease outside the unit area from the
effective date of commitment. ‘‘Partially
committed’’ is when one or some, but
not all, working interest owners have
committed their interest in a lease to a
unit agreement. The lease does not get
the benefit of the unit, until such a lease
is fully committed, which would
happen once the BLM receives the
approval/acceptance of unit joinders
from all previously uncommitted
working interest owners. Therefore, the
BLM is proposing to revise § 3107.32 to
refer to ‘‘a lease committed in part.’’
Section 3107.52 Undeveloped Parts of
Leases in Their Extended Term (Existing
Regulation)
The proposed rule would remove this
section in its entirety as it is outdated
and no longer needed. The section only
applies to leases issued prior to
September 2, 1960. The BLM has no
record of any nonproducing leases that
are that old, and if they exist, they
would also be covered by 43 CFR
3107.53, which states, ‘‘Undeveloped
parts of leases retained or assigned out
of leases which are extended by
production, actual or suspended, or the
payment of compensatory royalty will
continue in effect for 2 years after the
effective date of assignment and for so
long thereafter as oil or gas is produced
in paying quantities.’’
Section § 3107.60 Extension of
Reinstated Leases
The proposed rule would revise the
introductory paragraph to correct the
citation from ‘‘43 CFR 3108.20’’ to ‘‘43
CFR 3108.22 or 43 CFR 3108.23’’ to
eliminate any confusion that this
applies to all reinstatements.

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Federal Register / Vol. 91, No. 120 / Wednesday, June 24, 2026 / Proposed Rules
10. Section-by-Section Discussion for
Changes to 43 CFR Subpart 3108
The proposed rule would not revise
any section headings in the existing 43
CFR subpart 3108.
Section 3108.23 Reinstatement at
Higher Rental and Royalty Rates: Class
II Reinstatements
The proposed rule would update
paragraph (a) to remove the phrase
‘‘competitive oil and gas’’ since Class II
reinstatements are no longer restricted
to competitive leases given the OBBB’s
reinstatement of the noncompetitive
lease provision.
11. Section-by-Section Discussion for
Changes to 43 CFR Subpart 3109
The proposed rule would not revise
any of the existing headings in the
existing subpart 3109 regulations, but it
would add an undesignated center
heading following § 3109.15 to read as
follows: Leasing Under Other Special
Acts.

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Section 3109.20 Units of the National
Park System
The proposed rule would update
paragraph (b) to remove the phrase ‘‘or
renewed’’ since oil and gas leases are no
longer renewed. Oil and gas leases are
issued for a primary term of 10 years. A
lease is held beyond the primary term
when the lease contains a well capable
of producing oil and gas in paying
quantities.
12. Section-by-Section Discussion for
Addition of 43 CFR Part 3110
The proposed rule would add six
sections for noncompetitive leasing,
which was reinstated by section
50101(a)(2) of the OBBB. The title for
this new subpart is ‘‘Noncompetitive
Leases.’’ The Secretary has broad
discretion on how to implement
noncompetitive leasing. One of the
challenges with noncompetitive leasing
is that the OBBB requires the BLM to
hold replacement sales for competitive
oil and gas lease sales that do not sell
25 percent or more of the acreage
offered on a lease sale. See OBBB
section 50101(c)(3)(B). Due to this
additional requirement, the BLM is not
proposing to reinstate all of the previous
regulations for noncompetitive leasing,
such as those related to noncompetitive
presale offers. The BLM is proposing
only to accept noncompetitive
applications that match the competitive
parcels after the competitive oil and gas
lease sale, or its replacement sale, has
occurred. In addition, the proposed rule
would not reinstate cumbersome and
unnecessary procedures that do not
match the MLA (that includes almost 50

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percent of the prior 43 CFR 3110
regulations that were in place before the
2024 Leasing Rule). The BLM, with this
approach, will be better positioned to
respond to a noncompetitive lease
application quickly and minimize
delays related to lease issuance.
Section 3110.1 Lands Accessible for
Noncompetitive Leasing
The proposed rule would add a new
section to describe when lands are
accessible for noncompetitive leasing.
Lands would be accessible for
noncompetitive leasing after the BLM
has offered lands competitively and for
which the BLM has not received a bid.
Section 3110.2 Application
Requirements
The proposed rule would add a new
section to describe the application
requirements for noncompetitive
leasing. This section would require an
application to be submitted on the
BLM’s lease form, include the
applicable filing fees, include the
advanced first year rental, demonstrate
the applicant’s compliance with lessee
qualifications, provide the parcel
number from the Notice of Competitive
Lease Sale in which the parcel was
offered and did not sell, and the legal
land description of the parcel of interest
in the noncompetitive lease application,
which must exactly match the parcel
land description of a parcel that was
offered in the competitive auction. This
section also provides the applicant the
ability to withdraw an application,
unless the BLM has signed the lease
form.
Section 3110.3 Priority
The proposed rule would add a new
section to describe how the BLM will
determine priority for noncompetitive
applications, when multiple
applications are filed on the same day,
by referring to the existing procedures
codified at 43 CFR 1821.11 and 43 CFR
1822.18. Where a correction to an
application is needed or is made, either
at the option of the applicant or the
BLM, the priority for the application
will be adjusted when there are multiple
applications made for the same lands.
Section 3110.4 Action on Application
The proposed rule would add a new
section to describe the action the BLM
will take on applications received for
noncompetitive leasing. The BLM
would not issue a noncompetitive lease
if there is a pending action on any
existing lease, such as pending lease
extensions or an application with
established priority, including a
pending petition for reinstatement. If

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the BLM improperly issues a
noncompetitive lease, the BLM will
cancel the lease under 43 CFR 3108.30.
The BLM would reject noncompetitive
lease applications that are not properly
filed in accordance with these
regulations, that are submitted before
the competitive lease sale, or that
contain lands that have already been
leased. The BLM would accept
noncompetitive lease applications filed
on a BLM form not currently in use if
it is filed before the form is declared
obsolete by the Director. In these cases,
the applicant would be bound by the
terms and conditions of the lease form
currently in use.
Section 3110.5 Noncompetitive Lease
Terms
The proposed rule would add a new
section to describe the lease terms for
noncompetitive leases. Noncompetitive
leases would have the same terms as
competitive leases, including a primary
term of 10 years. The noncompetitive
lease would be considered issued when
it is signed by the BLM’s authorized
officer. A noncompetitive lease would
normally be effective the first day of the
month following the date the lease is
issued. An applicant may send the BLM
a written request to have the lease
become effective on the first day of the
month in which it is signed. However
the BLM must receive the request before
the BLM’s authorized officer signs the
lease. Noncompetitive future interest
leases will be effective the same day that
the mineral interest vests in the United
States.
Section 3110.6 Reversionary
Noncompetitive Lease
The proposed rule would add a new
section to describe reversionary
noncompetitive leases that would be
issued when a Federal lease would take
over immediately upon vestiture of the
mineral estate in the United States and
so there is no break in the time the lands
are under lease. This section would
apply only to those lands from which
oil and gas is being produced, or when
there is a well capable of production
from a private lease and the mineral
interest is acquired for administration
by the Secretary of Agriculture pursuant
to the Act of March 1, 1911 (36 Stat. 961
et seq.). An election for a reversionary
noncompetitive lease must be made
before the interest becomes a vested
present interest. If the election is made
after the time allowed, or if no election
is made, the BLM would reject the
application as untimely and offer the
lands at the next competitive lease sale.
An applicant must be qualified to hold
an interest in a lease, and because the

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lease is usually producing at the time of
lease issuance under this section, the
lessee must have a bond that the BLM
has accepted before lease issuance.

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13. Section-by-Section Discussion for
Changes to 43 CFR Part 3120
The proposed rule would rename the
title of § 3120.11 in this part so the
language is not confused with the
definition of ‘‘available lands’’ provided
for by the OBBB. The proposed rule
would remove §§ 3120.32 and 3120.33
in existing 43 CFR part 3120
‘‘Competitive Leases.’’ The goal of these
revisions is to remove requirements that
are not required by law or that do not
affect oil and gas leasing in keeping
with E.O. 14192 Unleashing Prosperity
through Deregulation. The proposed
rule would also remove § 3120.13
Protests and relocate it to new § 3120.43
under the discussion of the Notice of
Competitive Lease Sale provisions to
consolidate topics and enhance
readability.
E.O. 14270 directs the BLM to
incorporate a sunset provision into
regulations promulgated under FLPMA.
While the BLM’s oil and gas leasing
regulations reference FLPMA for land
use planning decisions, these proposed
regulations are primarily established
under the MLA and its authority for
promulgating regulations. As a result,
the BLM did not include a sunset date
for these oil and gas leasing regulations
and proposes to remove reference to the
FLPMA citation from its authority
statement for part 3120.
Section 3120.11 Lands Offered for
Competitive Leasing (Proposed)
The proposed rule would rename this
section from ‘‘Lands available for
competitive leasing’’ to ‘‘Lands offered
for competitive leasing.’’ In addition,
the first sentence of the section would
be modified to remove the reference to
eligible and available lands. The
purpose of these changes is to clarify
that the list of lands described in this
section are not automatically available
for leasing. The BLM also did not want
the public to interpret or confuse this
section with the definition of available
lands provided for in the OBBB.
The proposed rule would revise
paragraph (c) to improve clarity,
grammatical precision, and readability
while maintaining the core legal
meanings of the original text. These
changes would better align paragraph (c)
with the introductory paragraph, as
proposed, which would state: ‘‘The
BLM will consider the types of lands
described below for competitive leasing
under the MLA, including but not
limited to:’’. Paragraph (c) would begin

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with ‘‘Lands from a cancelled lease or
interest in a lease . . .’’ so that it
follows grammatically from the
introductory sentence and so that it is
parallel with the rest of the list in this
section. The proposed rule would also
remove the reference to options to be
consistent with the proposed changes to
43 CFR subpart 3100 as no options have
been filed with the BLM. The proposed
rule would remove paragraph (g), which
refers to lands offered in a previous
lease sale. Paragraph (g) was recently
added to the regulations in the 2024
Leasing Rule after the IRA eliminated
noncompetitive leasing. Since the OBBB
reinstated noncompetitive leasing, this
paragraph is no longer needed. The
BLM is also proposing language in
§ 3120.60, as further discussed below, to
incorporate replacement sales when
parcels do not receive a bid.
Section 3120.13 Protests (Existing
Regulation)
The proposed rule would remove
existing § 3120.13, which pertains to
protests, and relocate it to new
§ 3120.43 so that it appears in the
provisions pertaining to Notice of
Competitive Lease Sale. This change
would allow the sections within part
3120 to appear in chronological order to
enhance clarity and comprehension by
creating a logical flow that would allow
readers to follow the progression of the
lease sale process more easily. In
addition to updating the existing
paragraphs’ language to active voice, the
BLM proposes to add a new paragraph
(d) to the new section, which would
state that the processing fee for filing
protests that contain more than 50
pages, inclusive of exhibits or
attachments, is listed in the fee schedule
in § 3000.120 of this chapter. This
would reflect the proposed new
nonrefundable, administrative filing fee
as discussed earlier in this preamble
under proposed changes for 43 CFR
3000.120.
Please provide comments on how the
BLM should handle hyperlinks in
protests submitted to the BLM. Should
the BLM include each page of a
hyperlink as part of the number of pages
to calculate the filing fee?
Section 3120.22 Effective Date of
Leases (Proposed)
The proposed rule would change the
title of the section from ‘‘Dating of
leases’’ to ‘‘Effective date of leases’’ for
improved clarity. The proposed rule
would also revise the paragraph to
active voice and correct the referenced
regulatory citation from 43 CFR 3120.80,
which does not exist, to the correct
citation, 43 CFR 3120.72.

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Section 3120.31
Process

Expression of Interest

The proposed rule would remove the
requirements found in paragraphs (b)(5)
and (b)(6) of this section that require the
submitter to identify the percentage of
the United States’s fractional interest
when submitting an EOI for leasing
lands where the United States holds a
fractional interest or to identify the
private surface owner’s name and
address when expressing interest in
leasing split estate lands, respectively.
The remaining paragraph (b)(7) would
be redesignated to become paragraph
(b)(5).
While the BLM proposes to remove
the requirement for the submitter to
identify the percentage of the fractional
Federal mineral ownership, the BLM
nevertheless encourages submitters to
identify the percentage of the Federal
fractional interest if they have
documentation showing the percentage
to help speed the BLM’s review of the
EOI.
As directed by E.O. 14219, Ensuring
Lawful Governance and Implementing
the President’s ‘‘Department of
Government Efficiency’’ Deregulatory
Initiative, the BLM proposes to remove
the requirement for the EOI submitter to
provide the private surface owner’s
name and address. The MLA does not
require the BLM to notify the private
surface owners when the BLM plans to
offer Federal oil and gas interests
underlying their land; therefore, the
BLM proposes to remove this
requirement as a regulation that imposes
undue burdens on the oil and gas
industry.
As required by the OBBB, the BLM
must process EOIs within 18 months.
We encourage the individual submitting
an EOI for acquired lands to provide
title documents demonstrating that the
Federal Government owns the oil and
gas underlying the lands proposed for
leasing to assist the BLM’s oil and gas
leasing process for several reasons:
Verification of Mineral Ownership:
The title documents provide essential
proof of the Federal Government’s
ownership of the mineral rights,
allowing the BLM to confirm that the
interested party is indeed seeking to
lease minerals owned by the Federal
Government. This helps prevent
confusion or disputes regarding
property rights and ensures that the
BLM is processing EOIs related to
public resources.
Streamlined Processing: Having clear
documentation of mineral ownership
upfront can expedite the EOI processing
by reducing the time the BLM would
otherwise have to spend verifying

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ownership status later in the review
process. This efficiency can lead to
quicker decisions on whether the
proposed lands can be included in a
sale and help the BLM manage
workloads effectively, facilitating timely
access to the resources.
Enhanced Coordination with Other
Agencies: In cases involving acquired
lands that may fall under the
jurisdiction of other Federal agencies,
title documents assist the BLM in
communicating effectively about
ownership and management
responsibilities. This clarity aids
coordination among agencies and
streamlines any necessary consent
requirements.
In summary, the BLM is not
proposing to require title documentation
as part of the EOI submission but
encourages all nominators to include
title documentation on acquired lands.
Voluntarily submitting title documents
supports the BLM in confirming mineral
ownership, streamlining processing, and
enhancing inter-agency coordination,
which would allow the BLM to more
quickly offer the parcels identified in
EOIs on future lease sales.
Section 3120.32 Expression of Interest
Leasing Preference
The proposed rule would remove this
section in its entirety as the sections and
requirements listed under this section
are not required by law and
unnecessarily burden the oil and gas
leasing process contrary to the policy
guidance in E.O. 14154 and E.O. 14219.
In addition, elimination of the leasing
preference criteria would allow the BLM
to comply with the OBBB, which
requires the BLM to offer a parcel
within 18 months of receipt of the lands
within an EOI. Based on experience
since the promulgation of the 2024
Leasing Rule and the previous
comments submitted on the preference
criteria, the BLM has identified the
following deficiencies:
(1) The preference criteria may
inadvertently hinder oil and gas mineral
development by delaying the leasing
process and unnecessarily limiting
exploration and expansion
opportunities.
(2) The criteria are duplicative of
existing established processes for land
use planning, resulting in unnecessary
delays in oil and gas leasing without
providing tangible benefits.
(3) Modern drilling technology has
advanced, allowing for reduced surface
impacts, which the preference criteria
do not adequately consider.
Based upon the above considerations,
the BLM proposes to remove § 3120.32
in its entirety.

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Section 3120.33
Leasing

Agency Inventory of

This section is related to section
50265 of the IRA, which provides that
the BLM may not issue a right-of-way
(ROW) for wind or solar energy
development on Federal land unless it
has: (1) Held an onshore oil and gas
lease sale during the past 120 days; and
(2) Offered the lesser of a sum total of
either 2,000,000 acres or 50 percent of
the acreage for which EOIs have been
submitted for lease sales during the
previous 1-year period. The proposed
rule would remove this section in its
entirety as this section does not govern
oil and gas leasing and limits the BLM
in issuing ROWs for wind and solar
development. In addition, the provision
sunsets by law on August 16, 2032, and
is better suited to being addressed in
policy guidance.
Section 3120.42

Posting Timeframes

The proposed rule would remove
existing paragraphs (a) and (b), which
require the BLM to provide a scoping
period and comment period during the
NEPA review. These scoping and
comment periods are not required by
the MLA or any other applicable statute;
therefore, the BLM is proposing to
remove these provisions in accordance
with E.O.s 14192 and 14154.
Eliminating the two 30-day public
participation periods could significantly
expedite the oil and gas leasing process.
By reducing the time spent in public
comment and review, the BLM could
still draft strong analyses while
facilitating quicker decision-making,
thus allowing for more timely access to
resources. This is essential for meeting
the increasing demand for domestic
energy production and ensuring that
industry operations can proceed
without unnecessary delays.
In addition, the existing public
participation periods are not mandated
by NEPA. The BLM already conducts
thorough environmental reviews and
assessments that include opportunities
for public input at various stages,
including its land use planning efforts,
where the BLM identifies the lands
available for oil and gas leasing and
relevant stipulations. Consequently, the
public participation periods often
extend the overall timeline
unnecessarily, without providing
significant added value or meaningful
changes to the analysis. The BLM is
staffed with professionals who possess
the expertise to evaluate the
environmental and operational
implications of leasing decisions. By
streamlining public participation, the
agency could focus on leveraging its

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38103

technical knowledge and scientific
assessments to make informed
decisions, rather than being delayed by
overly extended public comment
periods that do not yield substantial
new information. In some cases, groups
have submitted the same comment to
four different BLM administrative state
offices for all sales held in the same
month. In a recently conducted lease
sale, a group submitted nearly identical
letters at all three phases of the process,
with the lengths of these letters
averaging approximately 116 pages.
Upon review, the BLM found that, with
the exception of one statement of
reason, all statements in the scoping and
comment letters were replicated in both
submissions. Furthermore, in two recent
lease sales, the BLM received almost
identical protests from the same party,
highlighting a concerning trend of
redundancy across multiple sales. This
repetition raises questions about the
efficiency of responding to such
content. Finally, the oil and gas industry
needs timely access to resources to
remain competitive in a rapidly
changing market. By removing these
redundant public participation periods
that are not required by law, the BLM
can respond more effectively to industry
needs and market demands, ensuring
that the U.S. remains competitive in the
global energy landscape and national
energy demands are better met.
The existing paragraph (c) would be
redesignated as paragraph (a) and would
be revised to change the timeframe for
posting of the Notice of Competitive
Lease Sale from 60 calendar days to 45
calendar days before the sale date to
align with the statutory requirement set
forth in the MLA. This adjustment
would streamline the leasing process by
reducing unnecessary delays in
notifying the public and the oil and gas
industry of pending sales and
facilitating quicker access to Federal
lands for oil and gas development.
The existing paragraph (d) would be
redesignated as paragraph (b) and would
be revised to change the protest period
from 30 calendar days to 10 calendar
days. This reduction in the protest
period is intended to ensure a more
efficient and orderly process, allowing
for timely announcements at lease sales
of any protests received while still
providing adequate opportunity for
stakeholders to voice their concerns. By
shortening the protest period, the BLM
can ensure it has time to respond to
protests and meet statutory deadlines
for lease issuance, thereby promoting a
more responsive and effective regulatory
framework that supports responsible
mineral development. These changes
are designed to enhance operational

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efficiency while maintaining the
integrity of the leasing process.
The existing paragraph (e) would be
redesignated as paragraph (c) and the
word ‘‘compliance’’ would be removed
as it is unnecessary.
In addition, the proposed rule would
add a new paragraph (d) stating the
BLM will post a public notice if it
decides for any reason not to hold a
scheduled quarterly lease sale. By
providing such notice, those entities
that might have participated in a sale
will be able to take the lack of a sale into
account in planning any exploration or
development. The BLM could post the
notice in multiple places, such as the
National Fluids Lease Sale System,
state-office web pages, and in public
rooms. However, the proposed rule does
not specify where the BLM would post
this notice to provide for flexibility.
The BLM would hold replacements
sales, as provided in proposed
§ 3120.60, when a regularly scheduled
sale is canceled, delayed, or deferred,
including for a lack of eligible parcels as
mandated by section 50101(c)(3) of the
OBBB.
Section 3120.43

Protests (Proposed)

The proposed rule would move the
protest section from § 3120.13 to
§ 3120.43, as discussed above under
§ 3120.13, so that it appears in the
provisions pertaining to the Notice of
Competitive Lease Sale.
Section 3120.53

Award of Lease

The proposed rule would correct all
the references in paragraph (a) from ‘‘43
CFR 3120.62’’ to the correct citation of
‘‘43 CFR 3120.52’’ as 43 CFR 3120.62
does not exist in the regulations.

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Section 3120.60
Auction

Parcels Not Bid on at

The proposed rule would update the
paragraph in this section to incorporate
requirements mandated by the OBBB.
The proposed rule would add language
to state that the BLM would hold a
replacement sale within 30 calendar
days when a competitive auction does
not receive bids on 25 percent or greater
of the acreage offered. This complies
with section 50101(c)(3)(B) of the OBBB,
which states, ‘‘The Secretary of the
Interior shall conduct a replacement
sale during the same fiscal year if (B)
during a lease sale under paragraph (1)
the percentage of acreage that does not
receive a bid is equal to or greater than
25 percent of the acreage offered.’’ In
addition, the section would state that
these lands will be available
noncompetitively under 43 CFR part
3110 for 2 years after either the lease

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sale or the replacement sale, whichever
is later.
Section 3120.72 Future Interest Terms
and Conditions
The proposed rule would revise the
referenced citation of ‘‘43 CFR 3101.20’’
in paragraph (b) to ‘‘43 CFR subpart
3102’’ due to the previously discussed
reorganization of the acreage-limitations
section.
Section 3120.73 Compensatory
Royalty Agreements
The proposed rule would revise this
section by adding a sentence that states
the BLM may use such agreements until
the BLM issues a competitive lease for
unleased lands included in a
compensatory royalty agreement. In
2011, the BLM issued policy to establish
Unleased Lands Accounts for a
consistent, nationwide procedure
between the BLM and the Office of
Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) for
collecting royalty payments for unleased
Federal minerals included in a
producing Secondary Unit Agreement, a
unit participating area containing
unleased lands, or a CA. However, this
approach does not provide the ONRR
with an enforcement mechanism for
collections of unpaid royalties.
The MLA, like the Department’s
regulations, does not preclude the BLM
from using a compensatory royalty
agreement (CRA) to prevent drainage
solely for lands that are unleasable. In
30 U.S.C. 226(j), Congress gave the
Secretary of the Interior authority to
negotiate CRAs whenever operators are
draining lands owned by the U.S. of oil
or gas through wells drilled on adjacent
lands. The Secretary may negotiate
CRAs under which the United States
will be compensated for any drainage of
Federal oil or gas. When a secondary
unit, a unit participating area, or a
producing communitization agreement
contains unleased Federal minerals that
are leasable and subject to drainage, the
BLM will negotiate a CRA with the
operator and include a clause for
automatic termination once a Federal
lease is issued and becomes effective.
With this proposed change, the CRA
would enable ONRR to establish a
revenue account for earned royalty
payments with a formal agreement in
place for enforcement.
14. Section-by-Section Discussion for
Changes to 43 CFR Subpart 3134.1
E.O. 14270 directs the BLM to
incorporate a sunset provision into
regulations promulgated under FLPMA.
While the Department’s oil and gas
leasing regulations reference FLPMA for
land use planning decisions, these

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regulations are primarily established
under the MLA and its authority for
promulgating regulations. As a result,
the BLM did not include a sunset date
for these oil and gas leasing regulations
and proposes to remove reference to the
FLPMA citation from the authority
statement for part 3130.
The proposed rule would not revise
the existing 43 CFR 3134.1 heading. The
purpose of updating this section is to
make this section consistent with 43
CFR subpart 3104. In addition, the
existing term ‘‘shall’’ would be replaced
with the words ‘‘must,’’ ‘‘will,’’ or
‘‘may,’’ as appropriate, for better clarity
and to reduce any confusion.
Section 3134.1 Bonding
The proposed rule would correct the
citation in paragraph (a) from ‘‘§ 3104.1’’
to the correct citation of ‘‘§ 3104.10’’ for
bond obligations describing the different
ways a bond can be secured. The
proposed rule would also remove
references to nationwide bonds. If the
BLM decides to reinstate nationwide
bonds, the BLM would not modify this
Section to remove the nationwide bond
discussion. Paragraph (a) would now
state that prior to issuance of an oil and
gas lease, the successful bidder must
furnish the authorized officer a surety or
personal bond in accordance with the
provisions of § 3104.10 of this title in
the sum of $100,000 conditioned on
compliance with all the lease terms and
conditions, including rentals and
royalties, and any stipulations. The
bond will not be required if the bidder
already maintains or furnishes a bond in
the sum of $300,000 conditioned on
compliance with the terms, conditions,
and stipulations of all oil and gas leases
held by the bidder within NPR–A.
The proposed rule would also revise
paragraph (b) to remove references to
nationwide bonds. Paragraph (b) would
now state that a bond in the sum of
$100,000 or $300,000, may be provided
by an operating rights owner (sublessee)
or operator in lieu of a bond furnished
by the lessee, and must assume the
responsibilities and obligations of the
lessee for the entire leasehold in the
same manner and to the same extent as
though they were the lessee.
The proposed rule would correct the
citations in paragraph (e) from
‘‘§ 3104.2’’ to the correct citation of
‘‘§ 3104.20’’ which covers individual
lease bonds, and ‘‘§ 3104.3(a)’’ to the
correct citation of ‘‘§ 3104.30’’ which
covers statewide bonds.
15. Section-by-Section Discussion for
Changes to 43 CFR Subpart 3140
The proposed rule would not revise
any section headings in the existing 43

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CFR subpart 3140 regulations. E.O.
14270 directs the BLM to incorporate a
sunset provision into regulations
promulgated under FLPMA. While the
Department’s oil and gas leasing
regulations reference FLPMA for land
use planning decisions, these
regulations are primarily established
under the MLA and its authority for
promulgating regulations. As a result,
the BLM did not include a sunset date
for these oil and gas leasing regulations
and proposes to remove reference to the
FLPMA citation from the authority
statement for part 3140.

the reorganization of the acreage
limitations as previously discussed.

Section 3140.14 Other Provisions
The proposed rule would update the
citations from ‘‘43 CFR 3101.21 or
3101.22’’ in paragraph (a) to ‘‘43 CFR
3102.51 or 3102.52’’ consistent with the
reorganization of the acreage limitations
as previously discussed.
The proposed rule would update the
royalty rate in paragraph (c)(2) from
16.67 percent to 12.5 percent to comply
with the requirements of the OBBB for
combined hydrocarbon leases. This
change has minimal practical impact
because the application period for these
leases closed on November 15, 1983,
and only three applications remain
pending. The BLM has continued
processing these applications while
completing land use planning for the
special tar sand areas and preparing the
necessary NEPA analysis to support
conversion to combined hydrocarbon
leases. Although the BLM finalized a
rule on April 29, 2026 (91 FR 23017),
revising royalty rates as required by the
OBBB, the agency inadvertently did not
update the corresponding provision in
part 3140 due to the limited number of
remaining applications. The proposed
revision would correct this oversight to
ensure consistency with the already
published rule. Due to the limited scope
of this change, the BLM did not analyze
or monetize the effects to Federal
revenues and operators from the three
pending applications.

The proposed rule would correct the
citation from ‘‘43 CFR 3120.60’’ in
paragraph (a) to ‘‘43 CFR 3120.51.’’
The proposed rule would correct the
citation from ‘‘43 CFR 3120.62’’ in
paragraph (b)(2) to ‘‘43 CFR 3120.52.’’

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Section 3140.70 Lands Within the
National Park System
The proposed rule would correct the
citation from ‘‘43 CFR 3100.3(h)(4)’’ in
the section to ‘‘43 CFR 3100.3(g)(4).’’
16. Section-by-Section Discussion for
Changes to 43 CFR Subpart 3141
The proposed rule would not revise
any of the headings to the existing
subpart 3141 regulations.
Section 3141.10 General
The proposed rule would update the
citation ‘‘43 CFR 3101.21’’ in paragraph
(h) to ‘‘43 CFR 3102.51’’ consistent with

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Section 3141.53 Royalties and Rentals
The proposed rule would update the
royalty rate in paragraph (a) from 16.67
percent to 12.5 percent to conform to
the requirements of the OBBB to address
the royalty rate for these combined
hydrocarbon leases.
The proposed rule would correct the
citation from ‘‘43 CFR 3103.20 and
3103.30’’ in paragraph (e) to ‘‘43 CFR
3103.’’
Section 3141.63

Conduct of sales

17. Section-by-Section Discussion for
Changes to 43 CFR Subpart 3152
The proposed rule would not change
or revise the existing 43 CFR 3152.3
heading. E.O. 14270 directs the BLM to
incorporate a sunset provision into
regulations promulgated under FLPMA.
While the Department’s oil and gas
leasing regulations reference FLPMA for
land use planning decisions, these
regulations are primarily established
under the MLA and its authority for
promulgating regulations. As a result,
the BLM did not include a sunset date
for these oil and gas leasing regulations
and proposes to remove reference to the
FLPMA citation from the authority
statement for part 3150.
Section 3152.3
Permit

Renewal of Exploration

The proposed rule would remove the
filing fee requirement for exploration
permit renewals in Alaska. As
previously discussed, this fee is rarely
collected and removing this fee would
be in keeping with policy directives in
recently issued E.O.s and Presidential
Memoranda to eliminate unnecessary or
obsolete regulations.
18. Section-by-Section Discussion for
Changes to 43 CFR Subpart 3165
The proposed rule would not change
or revise the existing 43 CFR 3165.1
heading. E.O. 14270 directs the BLM to
incorporate a sunset provision into
regulations promulgated under FLPMA.
While the Department’s oil and gas
leasing regulations reference FLPMA for
land use planning decisions, these
regulations are primarily established
under the MLA and its authority for
promulgating regulations. As a result,
the BLM did not include a sunset date
for these proposed oil and gas leasing

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regulations and proposes to remove
reference to FLPMA from the authority
statement for part 3140.
Section 3165.1 Relief From Operating
and/or Producing Requirements
The purpose of this section is to
describe the requirements for lease
suspension applications. Federal oil and
gas lessees benefit from lease
suspensions in two ways: (1) They
provide financial relief by temporarily
halting rental payments while the lease
is suspended; and (2) They protect
lessees’ rights by ensuring they retain
their leases without the risk of
expiration while the lease is in
suspension. The BLM proposes to revise
this section by removing requirements
that are not mandated by the MLA.
The proposed rule would remove the
existing paragraph (c), which currently
states the BLM will not approve a
suspension application for a lease in
circumstances where an APD on the
subject lease is filed less than 90
calendar days before the expiration date
of the lease. The BLM’s rationale for
removing paragraph (c) is that lessees
and operating rights owners are entitled
to the full primary term of the lease but
are also responsible for timely filing
required plans and necessary
applications. This change would
provide the BLM with the flexibility to
consider suspensions for operators who
have been diligently working with the
BLM and other State and Federal
agencies but are unable to get the APD
submitted within this timeframe due to
reasons beyond their control.
This change would benefit the public
by ensuring that valuable oil and gas
leases are not prematurely cancelled
due to administrative delays or
unforeseen issues, thereby allowing for
continued development of domestic
energy resources. By enabling the BLM
to grant suspensions in appropriate
cases, the proposed rule would foster a
more efficient leasing process that could
adapt to the realities of the industry.
This increased flexibility would not
only help to maximize the use of
Federal lands for energy production but
would also contribute to enhancing
domestic energy supply, ultimately
benefiting consumers and promoting
energy independence. In a time when
the demand for domestic energy is
critical, this rule would support timely
development while ensuring that
operators could fulfill their obligations
without being hindered by rigid
timelines.
The proposed rule would then
redesignate existing paragraph (d) to
paragraph (c) and remove the phrase ‘‘of
operations and production’’ from the

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first sentence. Removing this phrase
would make it clear that this section
applies to both types of suspensions
allowed under sections 17 and 39 of the
MLA. ‘‘Section 39’’ suspensions of the
MLA suspend both operations and
production, 30 U.S.C. 209. ‘‘Section 17’’
suspensions of the MLA include a
suspension of operations or a
suspension of production, 30 U.S.C.
226(i). The BLM proposes to remove
this phrase because the criteria in the
existing paragraph (d) applies to all
types of suspensions. The proposed rule
would also remove the second and third
sentences of existing paragraph (d),
which currently state that approved
suspensions will not exceed 1 year,
unless, if circumstances warrant, all
operating rights owners, or the operator
on behalf of the operating rights owners,
submit a request to extend the
suspension prior to the end of the
suspension. The BLM is also proposing
to remove existing paragraph (e), which
states that BLM-directed suspensions
may exceed 1 year. In keeping with
current E.O.s and Presidential
Memoranda, BLM is proposing to
remove existing provisions that are not
clearly grounded in statutory authority.
The proposed changes would revise this
section so that suspensions, when
authorized, would remain in effect until
the circumstances warranting the
suspension no longer exist. This change
would enable the BLM to grant
suspensions for appropriate periods
related to the reason for the suspension.
This increased flexibility would not
only help maximize the use of Federal
lands for energy production but would
also contribute to enhancing domestic
energy supply, ultimately benefiting
consumers and promoting energy
independence. In a time when the
demand for domestic energy is critical,
this proposed rule would support timely
development while ensuring that
operators can fulfill their obligations
without being hindered by rigid
timelines.
The proposed rule would redesignate
paragraph (f) to become paragraph (d)
due to the proposed changes discussed
above.
The proposed rule would add a new
paragraph (e) stating that the BLM may
grant a suspension of operations and
production or a suspension of
operations at any time in a lease’s term
but may only grant a suspension of
production after a lease begins
production. The BLM proposes this
change to allow additional flexibility for
granting warranted suspensions. Section
17(i) of the MLA (30 U.S.C. 226(i))
stipulates that no lease issued under
this section shall expire because

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operations or production is suspended
under any order, or with the consent, of
the Secretary. The Department’s
implementing regulations at 43 CFR
3103.42(a) specify that a suspension of
operations only or a suspension of
production only may be directed or
consented to by the authorized officer in
cases where the lessee is prevented from
operating on the lease or producing
from the lease, despite the exercise of
due care and diligence, by reason of
force majeure, that is, by matters beyond
the reasonable control of the lessee.
The IBLA decision, Savoy Energy, LP,
178 IBLA 313 (2010), adopted a narrow
construction of the suspension of
operations provision by stating that it
applies only to leases that have a well
capable of production, and it does not
apply to leases on which there has been
no drilling. The holding of Savoy Energy
presents a challenge to the BLM’s
effective management of oil and gas
leases where lessees are unable to
commence operations due to
circumstances beyond their reasonable
control. Examples of these
circumstances include, but are not
limited to, an avalanche, a pandemic,
waiting on a State-required permit,
weather conditions, and litigation. The
holding of Savoy Energy does not align
with provisions of section 17(i) of the
MLA, the regulations at 43 CFR
3103.42(a), or ‘‘Oil & Gas Lease
Suspension,’’ M–36953, 92 I.D. 293,
299–301 (1985). Therefore, the BLM is
proposing to add new paragraph (e) that
does clearly comply with section 17(i)
of the MLA.

Section 3183.4
Agreement

19. Section-by-Section Discussion for
Changes to 43 CFR Subpart 3181
The proposed rule would not change
or revise the existing 43 CFR subpart
3181 heading.

E.O. 12866 provides that the Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs
(OIRA) within the OMB will review all
significant rules. The OIRA has
determined that this proposed rule is
significant.
E.O. 13563 reaffirms the principles of
E.O. 12866 while calling for
improvements in the Nation’s regulatory
system to promote predictability, to
reduce uncertainty, and to use the best,
most innovative, and least burdensome
tools for achieving regulatory ends. The
E.O. directs agencies to consider
regulatory approaches that reduce
burdens and maintain flexibility and
freedom of choice for the public where
these approaches are relevant, feasible,
and consistent with regulatory
objectives. E.O. 13563 emphasizes
further that regulations must be based
on the best available science and that
the rulemaking process must allow for
public participation and an open
exchange of ideas. We have developed
this rule in a manner consistent with
these requirements.

Section 3181.1 Preliminary
Consideration of Unit Agreement
The proposed rule would revise this
section to remove the reference to
appendix A as currently found under 43
CFR subpart 3186, as the rule proposes
to remove the model forms from the
CFR and instead maintain the forms on
the BLM’s forms web page at https://
www.blm.gov/services/electronic-forms.
As discussed below, this rule proposes
to remove 43 CFR subpart 3186.
20. Section-by-Section Discussion for
Changes to 43 CFR Subpart 3183
The proposed rule would not change
or revise the existing 43 CFR 3183.4
heading. The existing term ‘‘shall’’
would be replaced with the words
‘‘must,’’ ‘‘will,’’ or ‘‘may,’’ as
appropriate, to reduce confusion.

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Approval of Executed

The proposed rule would revise this
section to remove the reference to
appendix A as currently found under 43
CFR subpart 3186, as the rule proposes
to move the model forms to the BLM’s
forms web page. In addition, the
proposed rule would correct the
regulatory citation to 43 CFR subpart
3107.
21. Section-by-Section Discussion for
Changes to 43 CFR Subpart 3186
The proposed rule would remove
subpart 3186 to remove all of the
appendices in the existing subpart 3186
regulations in their entirety, and move
them to the BLM’s forms web page
(https://www.blm.gov/services/
electronic-forms) as these are examples
of a model onshore unit agreement
(appendix A), with an example Exhibit
A (appendix B), an example Exhibit B
(appendix C), an example model
designation of successor unit operator
(appendix D), and an example model
change in unit operator (appendix E).
Removing these model forms from the
regulations would allow the BLM to
keep these examples up to date in a
timely manner and is consistent with
the policy direction in recent E.O.s to
remove unnecessary requirements.
These are form documents and should
not be in the CFR.
VI. Procedural Matters
A. Regulatory Planning and Review
(E.O. 12866, E.O. 13563)

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This proposed rule would revise the
BLM’s current rules governing oil and
gas leasing, which are contained in 43
CFR parts 3000, 3100, 3110, 3120, 3130,
3140, 3150, 3160, and 3180. The BLM
developed this proposed rule in a
manner consistent with the
requirements in E.O. 12866, Regulatory
Planning and Review, and E.O. 13563,
Improving Regulation and Regulatory
Review. Consistent with these Executive
Orders, the BLM evaluated the potential
economic impact of the proposed rule,

including non-monetized effects. The
BLM determined that the proposed rule
would generate net cost savings of $6.13
to $12.2 million per year (in 2025
dollars). Further, the proposed rule
would affect transfer payments totaling
$3.1 million per year (in 2025 dollars).
Table 2 shows the estimated Net Present
Value (NPV) of the cost savings and
transfer payments over a 20-year period
of analysis (in 2025 dollars).
The BLM determined that most
proposed changes in the rule are

administrative and do not result in
direct environmental effects. However,
reducing the minimum bonding
amounts could delay reclamation of
orphaned wells by an estimated 1,440 to
2,400 days annually, leading to
nonmonetized environmental costs such
as postponed improvements in soil
stability, water quality, and habitat
recovery. The BLM reflects these nonmonetized costs in Table 2.

For more detailed information, refer
to the regulatory impact analysis (RIA)
prepared for this proposed rule. The
RIA has been posted in the docket for
the proposed rule on the Federal
eRulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. In the Searchbox,
enter ‘‘BLM–2025–0037’’, click the
‘‘Search’’ button, open the Docket
Folder, and look under Supporting
Documents.

number of entities fitting those size
standards as reported by the U.S.
Census Bureau in the Economic Census.
The number of small businesses in
States where there are existing Federal
oil and gas leases is estimated to be
5,107 for the Crude Petroleum
Extraction and Natural Gas Extraction
industries (North American Industry
Classification System (NAICS) codes
211120 and 211130, respectively). The
BLM concludes that the vast majority of
entities operating in the relevant sectors
are small businesses as defined by the
SBA.
The BLM estimates that the per-entity
economic impact of the proposed rule
would be less than 1 percent of the
annual receipts for small businesses of
any size. Because the final rule will not
have a ‘‘significant economic impact on
a substantial number of small entities,’’
an initial regulatory flexibility analysis
is not required. Please refer to the RIA
for more information.
Therefore, the Secretary of the Interior
certifies under 5 U.S.C. 605(b) that this
proposed rule would not have a
significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities.

C. Unleashing Prosperity Through
Deregulation (E.O. 14192)
DOI has examined this proposed
rulemaking and has tentatively
determined that it is consistent with the
policies and directives outlined in E.O.
14192, ‘‘Unleashing Prosperity Through
Deregulation.’’ This proposed rule, if
finalized as proposed, would promote
prudent financial management and
alleviate unnecessary regulatory
burdens. Therefore, it is expected to be
an E.O. 14192 deregulatory action, as
the proposed rule is expected to result
in present value cost savings of $65 to
$129 million (2025$) discounted at 7%,
primarily from reduced bonding and
lease application costs for oil and gas
operators.

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act

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38107

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5
U.S.C. 601 et seq.) (RFA) requires that
Federal agencies prepare a regulatory
flexibility analysis for rules subject to
the notice-and-comment rulemaking
requirements under the Administrative
Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 500 et seq.) if
the rule would have a significant
economic impact, whether detrimental
or beneficial, on a substantial number of
small entities. Refer to 5 U.S.C. 601–
612. Congress enacted the RFA to
ensure that government regulations do
not unnecessarily or disproportionately
burden small entities. Small entities
include small businesses, small
governmental jurisdictions, and small
not-for-profit enterprises.
The BLM reviewed the Small
Business Administration’s (SBA) size
standards for small businesses and the

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D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
(UMRA)
This proposed rule would not impose
an unfunded mandate on State, local, or
Tribal governments, or the private sector
of more than $100 million per year.
While the proposed rule includes
several changes to the Federal oil and
gas leasing program, the only provision
anticipated to affect the financial
resources flowing to States is the return
of noncompetitive leasing. As described
in the regulatory impact analysis, this
change is expected to result in a modest

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reduction in bonus bid revenue,
approximately $955,000 annually, due
to a shift in how certain parcels are
leased.
Because States receive approximately
50 percent of bonus bid revenues from
Federal lease sales, this reduction
would result in a proportional decrease
in revenue shared with States. However,
this impact is limited in scale and does
not reflect a change in royalty payments,
which are based on production. The
return of noncompetitive leasing is not
expected to affect royalty revenues, as
only 1 percent of noncompetitive leases
issued between 2003 and 2019 began
producing within their primary term.
These leases likely would have been
issued competitively in the absence of a
noncompetitive option.
Accordingly, the financial impact on
States is expected to be minimal and
limited solely to the reduction in bonus
bid revenue associated with
noncompetitive leasing. In addition, the
proposed rule would not have a
significant or unique effect on State,
local, or Tribal governments or the
private sector. The proposed rule
contains no requirements that would
apply to State, local, or Tribal
governments. The proposed rule would
revise requirements that would
otherwise apply to the private sector
participation in a voluntary Federal
program. The costs that the proposed
rule would impose on the private sector
are below the monetary threshold
established at 2 U.S.C. 1532(a). A
statement containing the information
required by the Unfunded Mandates
Reform Act (UMRA) (2 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.) is therefore not required for the
proposed rule. This proposed rule is
also not subject to the requirements of
section 203 of UMRA because it
contains no regulatory requirements that
might significantly or uniquely affect
small governments, apply to such
governments, or impose obligations
upon them.
E. Governmental Actions and
Interference With Constitutionally
Protected Property Right—Takings (E.O.
12630)
This proposed rule would not cause a
taking of private property or otherwise
have takings implications under E.O.
12630. Therefore, a takings implication
assessment is not required. The
proposed rule would update the BLM’s
current rules governing oil and gas
leasing, which are contained in 43 CFR
parts 3100 through 3180. The proposed
provisions in this rule would not cause
a taking of private property because the
operations that would be subject to
these rules are already subject to

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existing lease terms, which expressly
require that subsequent lease activities
must be conducted in compliance with
subsequently adopted Federal laws and
regulations.
This proposed rule conforms to the
terms of the existing leases and
applicable statutes and, as such, the rule
is not a government action capable of
interfering with constitutionally
protected property rights. Therefore, the
BLM has determined that the rule
would not cause a taking of private
property or require further discussion of
takings implications under E.O. 12630.

policy and under the criteria in E.O.
13175 to identify possible effects of the
rule on federally recognized Indian
Tribes. Since the proposed changes to
leasing only apply to Federal lands, the
proposed rule will not impact the
leasing of Indian minerals.
The BLM is providing an opportunity
for Tribal consultation. The Tribes may
request individual government-togovernment consultation regarding the
proposed rule throughout the
rulemaking process.

F. Federalism (E.O. 13132)
Under the criteria in section 1 of E.O.
13132, this proposed rule does not have
sufficient federalism implications to
warrant the preparation of a federalism
summary impact statement. A
federalism impact statement is not
required.
The proposed rule would not have a
substantial direct effect on the States, on
the relationship between the Federal
Government and the States, or on the
distribution of power and
responsibilities among the levels of
government. It would not apply to
States or local governments or State or
local governmental entities. The rule
would affect the relationship between
operators, lessees, and the BLM, but it
would not directly impact the States.
Therefore, in accordance with E.O.
13132, the BLM has determined that
this proposed rule would not have
sufficient federalism implications to
warrant preparation of a federalism
assessment.

The Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)
(44 U.S.C. 3501–3521) generally
provides that an agency may not
conduct or sponsor and, not
withstanding any other provision of
law, a person is not required to respond
to, a collection of information, unless it
displays a currently valid OMB control
number. Collections of information
include any request or requirement that
persons obtain, maintain, retain, or
report information to an agency, or
disclose information to a third party or
to the public (44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5
CFR 1320.3(c)).
This proposed rule contains
information-collection requirements
that are subject to review by OMB under
the PRA. OMB has approved the
existing information collection
requirements contained in the
regulations that would be affected by
this proposed rule under the OMB
Control Number 1004–0185 (§§ 3100,
3103.41, 3106, 3120, and subpart 3162).
See the Section-by Section Discussion
for further information on the proposed
changes to each section of this proposed
rule; including proposed changes to
sections that contain information
collection requirements. The
information collection requirements are
also discussed in detail in the
information collection request
submitted to OMB in association with
this proposed rule.

G. Civil Justice Reform (E.O. 12988)
This proposed rule complies with the
requirements of E.O. 12988. More
specifically, this proposed rule meets
the criteria of section 3(a), which
requires agencies to review all
regulations to eliminate errors and
ambiguity and to write all regulations to
minimize litigation. This proposed rule
also meets the criteria of section 3(b)(2),
which requires agencies to write all
regulations in clear language with clear
legal standards.
H. Consultation and Coordination With
Indian Tribal Governments (E.O. 13175
and Departmental Policy)
The Department strives to strengthen
its government-to-government
relationship with Indian Tribes through
a commitment to consultation with
Indian Tribes and recognition of their
right to self-governance and Tribal
sovereignty.
The BLM evaluated this proposed rule
under the Department’s consultation

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I. Paperwork Reduction Act

Proposed Changes Impacting OMB
Control Number 1004–0185
Currently, there are 16,340 annual
responses, 29,410 annual burden hours,
and $3,766,184 annual non-hour cost
burdens inventoried under OMB
Control Number 1004–0185. The BLM
projects that the new estimated burdens
under this OMB control number would
be 14,956 annual responses, 18,359
annual burden hours and $1,793,788
annual non-hour cost burdens. The
proposed rule would rescind and revise
information collection requirements and
move other information collection
requirements to new sections within the

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proposed rule. These proposed changes
are summarized as follows.

2. Revised Information Collection
Requirements

1. Rescinded Information Collection
Requirements

43 CFR 3120.43 and 3000.120—
Protest fee per page after 50 pages.
Proposed revisions to 43 CFR 3000.120
and 3120.43 would introduce a $1.00
per page fee for protest filings that
exceed 50 pages in length, including
exhibits. This fee is proposed to
discourage overly lengthy and
administratively burdensome protest
filings. This proposed revision is
estimated to result in an additional
$2,604 annual non-hour cost burdens to
protestors.
The proposed rule would also move
43 CFR 3120.13 Protests to 43 CFR
3120.43 under the discussion of the
Notice of Competitive Lease Sale to
consolidate topics and enhance
readability since protests are filed after
the BLM publishes the Notice of
Competitive Lease Sale.

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43 CFR 3100.31(b)—Notice of Option
Statement. The removal of this
information collection requirement
would result in the reduction of 1
annual response and 1 annual burden
hour.
43 CFR 3100.33—Option Statement.
The removal of this information
collection requirement would result in
the reduction of 2 annual response and
2 annual burden hours.
The BLM proposes to rescind the
regulatory sections covering options
because industry has never filed options
with the BLM. The BLM has not
previously received option statements
from industry and cannot prohibit
options. However, the BLM would
continue to accept option statements for
the lease file, which is a public record.

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43 CFR 3120.41—Expression of
Interest $5 Per Acre Fee. Section
50101(d)(3) the One Big Beautiful Bill
Act (30 U.S.C. 226) removed the EOI fee.
This revision would reduce annual nonhour cost burden by $1,975,000.
3. Moved Information Collection
Requirements
43 CFR 3101.24(a)—Proof of acreage
reduction and Excess acreage petition.
These information collection
requirements would be moved from 43
CFR 3101.24(a) to 43 CFR 3102.54 and
the information collection requirements
would remain substantively unchanged
from the current requirements.
3. Summary
The net burden changes that would
result from the revised and rescinded
information collection requirements as
contained in the proposed rule are
summarized in the below table:
BILLING CODE 4331–29–P

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BILLING CODE 4331–29–C

The new estimated total burdens for
OMB Control Number 1004–0185 are as
follows.
Title of Collection: Onshore Oil and
Gas Leasing and Drainage Protection (43
CFR part 3100).
OMB Control Number: 1004–0185.
Form Numbers: 3000–3 and 3000–3a
(OMB No. 1004–0034).

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Type of Review: Revision of a
currently approved collection.
Respondents/Affected Public: Holders
of onshore oil and gas lease and public
lands and Indian lands (except on the
Osage Reservation), operators of such
leases, and holders of operating rights
on such leases.
Respondent’s Obligation: Required to
Obtain or Retain a Benefit.
Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

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Estimated Completion Time per
Response: Varies from 30 minutes to 24
hours, depending on activity.
Number of Respondents: 14,956.
Annual Responses: 14,956.
Annual Burden Hours: 18,359.
Annual Burden Cost: $1,793,788.
The complete information collection
request is available at www.reginfo.gov/
public/do/PRAMain. You can find this
information collection by selecting

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Federal Register / Vol. 91, No. 120 / Wednesday, June 24, 2026 / Proposed Rules
‘‘Currently under Review—Open for
Public Comments’’ or by using the
search function. If you want to comment
on the information-collection
requirements of this proposed rule,
please send your comments and
suggestions on this informationcollection by the date indicated in the
DATES and ADDRESSES sections as
previously described.

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J. National Environmental Policy Act
A detailed environmental analysis
under NEPA is not required because the
proposed rule will be covered by a
categorical exclusion (see 43 CFR
46.205). This proposed rule meets the
criteria set forth at 43 CFR 46.210(i) for
a Departmental categorical exclusion in
that this proposed rule is ‘‘of an
administrative, financial, legal,
technical, or procedural nature.’’ We
have also determined that the proposed
rule does not involve any of the
extraordinary circumstances listed in 43
CFR 46.215 that would require further
analysis under NEPA.
K. Actions Concerning Regulations That
Significantly Affect Energy Supply,
Distribution, or Use (E.O. Order 13211)
Under E.O. 13211, agencies are
required to prepare and submit to OMB
a Statement of Energy Effects for
significant energy actions. This
statement is to include a detailed
statement of ‘‘any adverse effects on
energy supply, distribution, or use
(including a shortfall in supply, price
increases, and increase use of foreign
supplies)’’ for the action and reasonable
alternatives and their effects.
Section 4(b) of E.O. 13211 defines a
‘‘significant energy action’’ as ‘‘any
action by an agency (normally
published in the Federal Register) that
promulgates or is expected to lead to the
promulgation of a final rule or
regulation, including notices of inquiry,
advance notices of proposed
rulemaking, and notices of proposed
rulemaking: (1)(i) that is a significant
regulatory action under E.O. 12866 or
any successor order, and (ii) is likely to
have a significant adverse effect on the
supply, distribution, or use of energy; or
(2) that is designated by OIRA as a
significant energy action.’’
Any incremental changes in oil or gas
production estimated to result from the
rule’s enactment would constitute a
small fraction of total U.S. gas
production, and any potential and
temporary deferred production of oil
would likewise constitute a small
fraction of total U.S. oil production. For
these reasons, we do not expect that the
proposed rule would significantly
impact the supply, distribution, or use

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of energy. As such, the rulemaking is
not a ‘‘significant energy action’’ as
defined in E.O. 13211.
L. Clarity of this Regulation (E.O.s
12866, 12988, and 13563)
We are required by E.O.s 12866
(section 1(b)(12)), 12988 (section
3(b)(1)(B)), and 13563 (section 1(a)), and
by the Presidential memorandum of
June 1, 1988, to write all rules in plain
language. This means that each rule
must:
(a) Be logically organized;
(b) Use the active voice to address
readers directly;
(c) Use common, everyday words and
clear language rather than jargon;
(d) Be divided into short sections and
sentences; and
(e) Use lists and tables wherever
possible.
If you feel that we have not met these
requirements, send us comments by one
of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES
section. To better help the BLM revise
the proposed rule, your comments
should be as specific as possible. For
example, you should tell us the
numbers of the sections or paragraphs
that you find unclear, which sections or
sentences are too long, the sections
where you feel lists or tables would be
useful, etc.
M. Ensuring Lawful Governance (E.O.
14219)
E.O. 14219 requires agencies to
prioritize the executive branch’s limited
enforcement resources on regulations
that are authorized by constitutional
Federal statutes. In accordance with this
directive, the BLM conducted a review
of its regulations and concluded that the
proposed changes to the oil and gas
leasing regulations comply with the
MLA and do not undermine the national
interest.
N. Zero-Based Regulatory Budgeting
(E.O. 14270)
E.O. 14270 requires the BLM to
incorporate a sunset provision into
regulations promulgated under the
Mining Act of 1872, the FLPMA, and
the Energy Policy Act of 2005. While the
BLM’s oil and gas leasing regulations
reference FLPMA for land use planning
decisions, these regulations are
primarily established under the MLA
and its authority for promulgating
regulations. As a result, the BLM did not
include a sunset date for its oil and gas
leasing regulations and proposes to
remove any reference to FLPMA from
these parts. The BLM recognizes that the
BLM promulgated the fixed filing fees
under 43 CFR 3000.120 based on
FLPMA and is requesting comments on

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38111

the costs and benefits of the fixed filing
fees. If the BLM sunsets the fixed filing
fees, the BLM expects it will need
additional appropriated funds from
Congress to process these actions or
processing these actions will lag behind
other actions with sufficient funding.
The BLM invites comments on whether
any specific leasing sections should
include a sunset date. Please specify the
regulatory sections and provide your
reasons for including a sunset date.
Authors
The principal authors of this final rule
include: Peter Cowan, Senior Mineral
Leasing Specialist; Jennifer Spencer,
Mineral Leasing Specialist; William
Lambert, Petroleum Engineer in BLM
Headquarters; Natalie Eades, Attorney
Advisor in DOI Office of the Solicitor.
Technical support provided by: Scott
Rickard, Economist; Janna Simonsen,
Senior Natural Resource Specialist;
Faith Bremner, Regulatory Analyst; and
Darrin King, Senior Regulatory Analysts
in BLM Headquarters.
43 CFR Chapter II
List of Subjects
43 CFR Part 3000
Public lands-mineral resources,
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
43 CFR Part 3100
Government contracts, Mineral
royalties, Oil and gas reserves, Public
lands-mineral resources, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Surety
bonds.
43 CFR Part 3110
Government contracts, Oil and gas
exploration, Public lands-mineral
resources, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
43 CFR Part 3120
Government contracts, Oil and gas
exploration, Public lands-mineral
resources, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
43 CFR Part 3130
Alaska, Government contracts,
Mineral royalties, Oil and gas
exploration, Oil and gas reserves, Public
lands-mineral resources, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements, Surety
bonds.
43 CFR Part 3140
Government contracts, Hydrocarbons,
Mineral royalties, Oil and gas
exploration, Public lands-mineral
resources, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.

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43 CFR Part 3150
Administrative practice and
procedure, Alaska, Oil and gas
exploration, Public lands-mineral
resources, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Surety bonds.
43 CFR Part 3160
Administrative practice and
procedure, Government contracts,
Indians-lands, Mineral royalties, Oil and
gas exploration, Penalties, Public landsmineral resources, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
43 CFR Part 3180
Government contracts, Mineral
royalties, Oil and gas exploration,
Public lands-mineral resources,
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
For the reasons set out in the
preamble, the Bureau of Land
Management proposes to amend 43 CFR
parts 3000, 3100, 3110, 3120, 3130,
3140, 3150, 3160, and 3180 as follows:
PART 3000—MINERALS
MANAGEMENT: GENERAL
■ 1. The authority citation for part 3000

continues to read as follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.; 30
U.S.C. 181 et seq., 301–306, 351–359, and
601 et seq.; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 40 U.S.C. 471 et
seq.; 42 U.S.C. 6508; 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.;
and Pub. L. 97–35, 95 Stat. 357.
■ 2. Revise § 3000.5 to read as follows:

§ 3000.5

Definitions.

As used in 43 CFR Subchapter C,
Minerals Management (3000), the term:
Interest means ownership in a lease,
or prospective lease, of all or a portion
of the record title, working interest,
operating rights, overriding royalty,
payments out of production, carried
interests, net profit share or similar
instrument for participation in the
benefit derived from a lease. An interest
may be created by direct or indirect

ownership, including options. Interest
does not mean stock ownership,
stockholding or stock control in an
application, offer, competitive bid or
lease, except for purposes of acreage
limitations and qualifications of lessees
in 43 CFR subpart 3102.
Oil means all nongaseous
hydrocarbon substances other than
those substances leasable as coal, oil
shale or gilsonite (including all veintype solid hydrocarbons).
ONRR means the Office of Natural
Resources Revenue.
Party in interest means a party who is
or will be vested with any interest under
the lease as defined in this section. No
one is a sole party in interest with
respect to an application, offer,
competitive bid or lease in which any
other party has an interest.
Person means any individual, firm,
corporation, association, partnership,
consortium, or joint venture.
Proper BLM office means the Bureau
of Land Management state office having
jurisdiction over the lands subject to the
regulations in parts 3000 and 3100.
(See 43 CFR 1821.10 for office
location and area of jurisdiction of
Bureau of Land Management offices.)
Properly filed means a document or
form submitted to the proper BLM office
with all necessary information and
payments, as provided in 43 CFR
subpart 1822.
Public domain lands means lands,
including mineral estates, which never
left the ownership of the United States,
lands which were obtained by the
United States in exchange for public
domain lands, lands which have
reverted to the ownership of the United
States through the operation of the
public land laws and other lands
specifically identified by the Congress
as part of the public domain.
Secretary means the Secretary of the
Interior.
Surface managing agency means any
Federal agency, other than the BLM,

having management responsibility for
the surface resources that overlay
federally owned minerals.
§ 3000.10

[Removed]

■ 3. Remove § 3000.10.
■ 4. Amend § 3000.100 by revising

paragraph (d) to read as follows:
§ 3000.100

Fees in general.

*

*
*
*
*
(d) Timing of fee applicability. (1) For
a document that the BLM received
before [EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE
FINAL RULE], the BLM will not charge
a fixed fee or a case-by-case fee under
this subchapter for processing that
document, except for fees applicable
under then-existing regulations.
(2) For a document that the BLM
receives on or after [EFFECTIVE DATE
OF THE FINAL RULE], the applicant
must include the required fixed fees
with the documents filed, as provided
in § 3000.120(a) of this chapter, and the
applicant is subject to case-by-case
processing fees as provided in
§ 3000.110 and under other provisions
of this chapter.
■ 5. Revise § 3000.120 to read as
follows:
§ 3000.120

Fee schedule for fixed fees.

(a) The table in this section lists the
services that require payment of fixed
fees to the BLM. The fixed fee amounts
are posted on the BLM website (https://
www.blm.gov) and published in a
Federal Register notice. These fees are
nonrefundable and must be included
with documents filed under this
chapter. Fees will be adjusted annually
according to the change in the Implicit
Price Deflator for Gross Domestic
Product since the previous adjustment
and will subsequently be posted on the
BLM website (https://www.blm.gov) and
announced annually in the Federal
Register before October 1 each year.
Revised fees are effective each year on
October 1.

TABLE 1 TO PARAGRAPH (a)—PROCESSING AND FILING FEE TABLE

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Document or Action
Oil & Gas (parts 3100, 3120, 3130, 3150, 3160, and 3180):
Assignment and transfer of record title or operating rights
Designation of successor operator for all Federal agreements, except for contracted unit agreements that contain no Federal lands
Final application for Federal unit agreement approval, Federal unit agreement expansion, and Federal subsurface gas storage application
Geophysical exploration permit application—all States
Lease application
Lease consolidation
Lease reinstatement, Class I
Leasing and compensatory royalty agreements under right-of-way pursuant to subpart 3109
Name change; corporate merger; sheriff’s deed; dissolution of corporation, partnership, or trust; or transfer to heir/devisee
Overriding royalty transfer, payment out of production
Protest fee per page after 50 pages, including exhibits
Onshore Oil and Gas Operations and Production (parts 3160, 3170):
Application for Permit to Drill

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38113

TABLE 1 TO PARAGRAPH (a)—PROCESSING AND FILING FEE TABLE—Continued
Document or Action
Geothermal (part 3200):
Assignment and transfer of record title or operating rights
Assignment or transfer of site license
Competitive lease application
Lease consolidation
Lease reinstatement
Name change, corporate merger or transfer to heir/devisee
Nomination of lands
plus per acre nomination fee
Noncompetitive lease application
Site license application
Coal (parts 3400, 3470):
Exploration license application
Lease or lease interest transfer
License to mine application
Leasing of Solid Minerals Other Than Coal and Oil Shale (parts 3500, 3580):
Applications other than those listed below
Assignment, sublease, or transfer of operating rights
Extension of prospecting permit
Lease modification or fringe acreage lease
Lease renewal
Prospecting permit application amendment
Renewal of existing sand and gravel lease in Nevada
Shasta and Trinity hardrock mineral lease
Transfer of overriding royalty
Use permit
Public Law 359; Mining in Powersite Withdrawals: General (part 3730):
Notice of protest of placer mining operations
Mining Law Administration (parts 3800, 3810, 3830, 3860, 3870):
Adverse claim
Amendment of location
Application to open lands to location
Deferment of assessment work
Mineral patent adjudication
Notice of location *
Protest
Recording a notice of intent to locate mining claims on Stockraising Homestead Act lands
Recording an annual FLPMA filing
Transfer of mining claim/site
Oil Shale Management (parts 3900, 3910, 3930):
Application for assignment or sublease of record title or overriding royalty
Exploration license application
* To record a mining claim or site location, this processing fee along with the initial maintenance fee and the one-time location fee required by
statute 43 CFR part 3833 must be paid.

(b) The amount of a fixed fee is not
subject to appeal to the Interior Board of
Land Appeals pursuant to 43 CFR part
4, subpart E.
PART 3100—OIL AND GAS LEASING
■ 6. Revise the authority citation for part

3100 to read as follows:
Authority: 25 U.S.C. 396d and 2107; 30
U.S.C. 189, 306, 359, and 1751; and 42 U.S.C.
15801.
■ 7. Revise § 3100.5 to read as follows:

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§ 3100.5

Definitions.

As used in parts 3100, 3110, and
3120, the term:
Acreage for which expressions of
interest (EOI) have been submitted
means acreage that is identified in an
EOI received by the BLM, that has not
been proposed for leasing in any
pending sale or other EOI pending BLM

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disposition, and for which the BLM may
lawfully issue an oil and gas lease.
Acres offered for lease means all acres
that the BLM has offered for oil and gas
lease, regardless of whether those acres
are acreage for which expressions of
interest have been submitted.
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 a lessee’s record title
interest in a lease.
Available lands means those lands
that have been designated as open for
leasing under a land use plan developed
under section 202 of the Federal Land
Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43
U.S.C. 1712) and that have been
nominated for leasing through the
submission of an expression of interest,
are subject to drainage in the absence of

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leasing, or are otherwise designated as
available pursuant to regulations
adopted by the Secretary.
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-ofway.
Competitive auction means an inperson or internet-based bidding
process where leases are offered to the
highest bidder.

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Eligible lands means all lands that are
subject to leasing under the Mineral
Leasing Act of 1920 and are not
excluded from leasing by a statutory
prohibition.
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 BLMissued oil and gas lease.
Sublease means a transfer of a nonrecord 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.
■ 8. Revise § 3100.9 to read as follows:
§ 3100.9

Information collection.

(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 Department’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.
OMB control
No.

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43 CFR part or section
§§ 3100, 3103.41, 3106, 3120, and Subpart 3162 ..............................................................................................................................
§§ 3135, and 3216 ...............................................................................................................................................................................
Part 3130 .............................................................................................................................................................................................
Subpart 3195 .......................................................................................................................................................................................
§ 3150 ..................................................................................................................................................................................................
§§ 3160, * 3171, 3176, and 3177 ........................................................................................................................................................
§§ 3172, 3173, 3174, 3175 ..................................................................................................................................................................

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1004–0185
1004–0034
1004–0196
1004–0179
1004–0162
1004–0220
1004–0137

Federal Register / Vol. 91, No. 120 / Wednesday, June 24, 2026 / Proposed Rules

38115
OMB control
No.

43 CFR part or section
§§ 3162.3–1, 3178.5, 3178.7, 3178.8, 3178.9 and Subpart 3179 * ....................................................................................................

1004–0211

* Information collection requirements for onshore oil and gas operations are generally accounted for under OMB Control Number 1004–0220;
however, information collection requirements pertaining to particular to waste prevention, production subject to royalties, and resource conservation are accounted for under OMB Control Number 1004–0211.
■ 9. Revise the undesignated center

heading following § 3100.22 to read as
follows:
Information
§§ 3100.31 through 3100.33

[Removed]

■ 10. Remove §§ 3100.31 through

3100.33.

Consultation With State or Charitable
Organizations

Subpart 3101—Issuance of Leases
■ 11. Revise § 3101.12 to read as

Subpart 3102—Qualifications of
Lessees

follows:
§ 3101.12

Surface use rights.

A lessee will have the right to use so
much of the leased lands as is necessary
to explore for, drill for, mine, extract,
remove and dispose of all the leased
resource in a leasehold subject to
applicable requirements, including
stipulations attached to the lease,
restrictions deriving from
nondiscretionary statutes, and such
reasonable mitigation measures as may
be required and detailed by the
authorized officer to mitigate adverse
impacts to other resource values, land
uses or users, as provided in the
approved resource management plan.
Such reasonable mitigation measures
may include, but are not limited to,
relocation or modification to siting or
design of facilities, timing of operations,
specification of interim and final
reclamation measures, and specification
of rates of development and production
in the public interest. At a minimum,
mitigation measures that are consistent
with lease rights include, but are not
limited to, requiring relocation of
proposed operations by up to 200
meters or prohibiting new surface
disturbing operations for a period of up
to 60 days in any lease year.
■ 12. Revise the undesignated center
heading following § 3101.14 to read as
follows:
Limitation on the Issuance of New
Leases

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§§ 3101.21 through 3101.25

[Removed]

■ 13. Remove §§ 3101.21 through

3101.25.
■ 14. Amend § 3101.52 by revising

paragraph (a) to read as follows:
§ 3101.52 Action by the Bureau of Land
Management.

(a) Where the surface managing
agency has consented to leasing with

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required stipulations, and the Secretary
decides to issue a lease, the authorized
officer will incorporate the stipulations
into any lease issued.
*
*
*
*
*
■ 15. Add an undesignated center
heading following § 3101.53 to read as
follows:

■ 16. Amend § 3102.20 by revising

paragraph (a) to read as follows:
§ 3102.20

Non-U.S. Citizens.

(a) Leases or interests therein may be
acquired and held by non-U.S. Citizens
only through stock ownership, holding
or control in a present or potential
lessee that is incorporated under the
laws of the United States or of any State
or territory thereof, and only if the laws,
customs, or regulations of their country
do not deny similar or like privileges to
citizens or corporations of the United
States. If it is determined that a country
has denied similar or like privileges to
citizens or corporations of the United
States, the country will be placed on a
list available from any BLM state office,
and citizens from those countries may
not hold an interest in a lease.
*
*
*
*
*
■ 17. Amend § 3102.40 by revising the
introductory paragraph to read as
follows:
§ 3102.40

Signature.

Signatures on all applications and
BLM forms certify acceptance of lease
terms and stipulations, as well as
compliance with the regulations under
43 CFR part 3100. Refer to § 3102.62 and
§ 3102.63 for certification of compliance
and evidence. The BLM also accepts
electronic signatures and submissions.
*
*
*
*
*
■ 18. Revise the undesignated center
heading following § 3102.40 to read as
follows:
Acreage Limitations
■ 19. Revise § 3102.51 to read as
follows:
§ 3102.51

Public domain lands.

(a) No person may take, hold, own or
control more than 246,080 acres of

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Federal oil and gas leases on public
domain lands in any one State at any
one time. No more than 200,000 acres of
such acres may be held under option.
(b) In Alaska, the acreage that can be
taken, held, owned, or controlled is
limited to 300,000 acres in the northern
leasing district and 300,000 acres in the
southern leasing district, of which no
more than 200,000 acres may be held
under option in each of the two leasing
districts. The boundary between the two
leasing districts in Alaska begins at the
northeast corner of the Tetlin National
Wildlife Refuge as established by
section 302(8) of the Alaska National
Interest Lands Conservation Act, at a
point on the boundary between the
United States and Canada, then
northwesterly along the northern
boundary of the refuge to the left limit
of the Tanana River (63°9′38″ north
latitude, 142°20′52″ west longitude),
then westerly along the left limit to the
confluence of the Tanana and Yukon
Rivers, and then along the left limit of
the Yukon River from said confluence to
its principal southern mouth.
■ 20. Revise § 3102.52 to read as
follows:
§ 3102.52

Acquired lands.

Separate from, and in addition to, the
limitation for public domain lands, no
person may take, hold, own or control
more than 246,080 acres of Federal oil
and gas leases on acquired lands in any
one State at any one time. No more than
200,000 acres of such acres may be held
under option. Where the United States
owns only a fractional interest in the
mineral resources of the lands involved
in a lease, only that part owned by the
United States will be charged as acreage
holdings. The acreage embraced in a
future interest lease will not be charged
as acreage holdings until the lease for
the future interest becomes effective.
■ 21. Revise § 3102.53 to read as
follows:
§ 3102.53

Excepted acreage.

(a) The following acreage will not be
included in computing acreage
limitations:
(1) Acreage under any lease any
portion of which is committed to any
federally approved oil and gas
agreement;
(2) Acreage under any lease for which
royalty (including compensatory royalty

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or royalty in-kind) was paid in the
preceding calendar year; and
(3) Acreage under leases subject to an
operating, drilling or development
contract approved by the Secretary, as
provided in 43 CFR subpart 3105.
(b) Acreage subject to offers to lease,
overriding royalties and payments out of
production will not be included in
computing acreage limitations.
■ 22. Add § 3102.54 to read as follows:
§ 3102.54

Excess acreage.

(a) Where, as the result of the
termination or contraction of an oil and
gas agreement or the elimination of a
lease from an operating, drilling, or
development contract, a party holds or
controls excess accountable acreage,
that party will have 90 calendar days
from the date of termination,
contraction or elimination, to reduce the
holdings to the prescribed limitation
and to file proof of the reduction in the
proper BLM office. Where, as a result of
a merger or the purchase of the
controlling interest in a corporation, a
party acquired acreage in excess of the
amount permitted, the party holding the
excess acreage will have 180 calendar
days from the date of the merger or
purchase to divest the excess acreage. If
additional time is required to complete
the divestiture of the excess acreage, a
petition requesting additional time,
along with a full justification for the
additional time, may be filed with the
authorized officer prior to the
termination of the 180 days provided
herein.
(b) If any person is found to hold
accountable acreage in violation of the
provisions of these regulations, lease(s)
or interests therein will be subject to
cancellation or forfeiture in their
entirety, until sufficient acreage has
been eliminated to comply with the
acreage limitation. Excess acreage or
interest will be cancelled in the inverse
order of acquisition.
■ 23. Add § 3102.55 to read as follows:
§ 3102.55

Computation.

The accountable acreage of a party
owning an undivided interest in a lease
will be the party’s proportionate part of
the total lease acreage.
■ 24. Add § 3102.61 to read as follows:

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§ 3102.61

Compliance.

Only responsible and qualified
bidders and lessees may own, hold, or
control an interest in a lease or
prospective lease. Responsible and
qualified bidders and lessees, including
corporations, and all members of

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associations, including partnerships of
all types, must, without exception, be
qualified and in compliance with the
Act. Compliance means that the persons
are:
(a) Citizens of the United States (see
§ 3102.10) or non-U.S. citizens who own
stock in a corporation organized under
State or Federal law (see § 3102.20);
(b) In compliance with the Federal
acreage limitations (see §§ 3102.51,
3102.52, 3102.53, and 3102.54);
(c) Not minors (see § 3102.30);
(d) Except for an assignment or
transfer under 43 CFR subpart 3106, in
compliance with section 2(a)(2)(A) of
the Act (30 U.S.C. 201(2)(A)), in which
case the signature on a bid or lease
constitutes evidence of compliance. A
lease issued to any person in violation
of this paragraph (d) will be subject to
the cancellation provisions of 43 CFR
3108.30.
(e) Not in violation of the provisions
of section 41 of the Act (30 U.S.C. 195);
and
(f) In compliance with section 17(g) of
the Act (30 U.S.C. 226(g)), in which case
the signature on an offer, lease,
assignment, or transfer constitutes
evidence of compliance that the
signatory and any subsidiary, affiliate,
or person, association, or corporation
controlled by or under common control
with the signatory, as defined in 43 CFR
3400.0–5(rr), has not failed or refused to
comply with reclamation requirements
with respect to all leases and operations
thereon in which such person has an
interest. A person is noncompliant with
section 17(g) of the Act when they fail
to comply with their reclamation
obligations or other standards
established under 30 U.S.C. 226 in the
time specified in a notice from the BLM.
A lease issued, or an assignment or
transfer approved, to any such person in
violation of this paragraph (f) may be
subject to the cancellation provisions of
43 CFR 3108.30, notwithstanding any
administrative or judicial appeals that
may be pending with respect to
violations or penalties assessed for
failure to comply with the prescribed
reclamation standards on any lease
holdings. Noncompliance will end upon
a determination by the authorized
officer that all required reclamation has
been completed and that the United
States has been fully reimbursed for any
costs incurred due to the required
reclamation.
(g) In compliance with 43 CFR
3106.10(d) and section 30A of the Act
(30 U.S.C. 187(a)). The authorized
officer may accept the signature on a

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request for approval of an assignment of
less than 640 acres outside of Alaska
(2,560 acres within Alaska) as
acceptable certification that the
assignment would further the
development of oil and gas, or the
authorized officer may apply the
provisions of 43 CFR 3102.63.
(h) Not excluded or disqualified from
participating in a transaction covered by
Federal non-procurement debarment
and suspension (2 CFR parts 180 and
1400), unless the Department explicitly
approves an exception for a transaction
pursuant to the regulations in those
parts.
■ 25. Add § 3102.62 to read as follows:
§ 3102.62

Certification of compliance.

Any party(s) seeking to obtain an
interest in a lease must certify that it is
in compliance with the Act as set forth
in 43 CFR 3102.61. A corporation or
publicly traded association, including a
publicly traded partnership, must
certify that constituent members of the
corporation, association or partnership
holding or controlling more than 10
percent of the instruments of ownership
of the corporation, association or
partnership are in compliance with the
Act. Execution and submission of a
competitive bid form or request for
approval of a transfer of record title or
of operating rights (sublease),
constitutes certification of compliance.
■ 26. Add § 3102.63 to read as follows:
§ 3102.63

Evidence of compliance.

The authorized officer may request at
any time further evidence of compliance
and qualification from any party
holding or seeking to hold an interest in
a lease. Failure to comply with the
request of the authorized officer will
result in adjudication of the action
based on the incomplete submission.
Subpart 3103—Fees, Rentals and
Royalty
■ 27. Amend § 3103.1 by revising

paragraph (a) to read as follows:
§ 3103.1

Fiscal terms.

(a) The table in this section shows the
fiscal terms, that the BLM will adjust
every 4 years by a final rule. The BLM
will adjust the amounts according to the
change in the Implicit Price Deflator for
Gross Domestic Product since the
previous adjustment. The fiscal terms
displayed below are effective on June
22, 2024. The BLM will not adjust the
rental nor the minimum bonus bids
until after August 16, 2032.

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38117

TABLE 1 TO PARAGRAPH (a)—FISCAL TERMS TABLE
Oil and gas
(parts 3100, 3110, 3120, 3130,
3140)
Oil and gas, tar sand, and combined hydrocarbon leases.
Lease reinstatement, Class II .........
Combined hydrocarbon leases .......
Oil and gas and tar sand leases ....

*

*

*

*

Fiscal term
Rental of $3 per acre, or fraction thereof, per year during the first 2-year period beginning upon lease
issuance, $5 per acre per year, or fraction thereof, for the following 6 years, and then $15 per acre, or
fraction thereof, per year thereafter.
Rental of $20 per acre, or fraction thereof.
Minimum bonus bids of $25 per acre, or fraction thereof.
Minimum bonus bids of $10 per acre, or fraction thereof.

*

■ 28. Revise § 3103.11 to read as

follows:
§ 3103.11

Form of remittance.

Payments made to the BLM may be
made by electronic funds transfer, credit
card, or other digital payment options
when specifically authorized by the
BLM. In the case of payments made to
the ONRR, such payments may also be
made by electronic funds transfer.
Subpart 3104—Bonds

(2) Subject all leases covered by the
bond(s) to cancellation under the
provisions of 43 CFR 3108.30; and
(3) Result in the BLM referring the
bond obligor or principal to the
Department’s Suspension and
Debarment Program under 2 CFR part
1400 to determine if the person will be
suspended or debarred from doing
business with the Federal Government.
■ 31. Amend § 3104.10 by revising
paragraph (c) to read as follows:
§ 3104.10

Bond obligations.

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*

*
*
*
*
■ 29. Revise the heading of subpart 3104
(c) Personal bonds must be
to read as follows:
accompanied by a:
Subpart 3104—Performance Bonds.
(1) Certificate of deposit issued by a
financial institution, the deposits of
■ 30. Revise § 3104.1 to read as follows:
which are federally insured, explicitly
§ 3104.1 Bond amounts.
granting the Secretary full authority to
(a) The table in this section shows the demand immediate payment in case of
default in the performance of the terms
minimum bond amounts, that the BLM
will adjust every 10 years by a final rule. and conditions of the lease. The
certificate will explicitly indicate on its
The BLM will adjust the amounts
face, or through assignment, that
according to the change in the Implicit
Secretarial approval is required prior to
Price Deflator for Gross Domestic
redemption of the certificate of deposit
Product since the previous adjustment.
The minimum bond amounts displayed by any party;
(2) An electronic funds transfer to the
below are effective on [INSERT
BLM;
EFFECTIVE DATE OF FINAL RULE].
(3) Negotiable Treasury securities of
TABLE 1 TO PARAGRAPH (a)—MINIMUM the United States of a value equal to the
BOND AMOUNT TABLE
amount specified in the bond.
Negotiable Treasury securities must be
Oil and gas
Minimum accompanied by a proper conveyance to
(parts 3100, 3110, 3120, 3130,
bond
the Secretary of full authority to sell
3140)
amount
such securities in case of default in the
Lease Bond ..................................
$10,000 performance of the terms and conditions
Statewide Bond ............................
25,000 of a lease; or
(4) Irrevocable letter of credit issued
(b) The minimum bond amounts are
by a financial institution, for a specific
not subject to appeal to the Interior
term, identifying the secretary as sole
Board of Land Appeals pursuant to 43
payee with full authority to demand
CFR part 4, subpart E.
immediate payment in the case of
default in the performance of the terms
(c) Failure to increase or replace an
and conditions of a lease. Letters of
existing bond that does not meet the
credit must be subject to the following
minimum bond amount or any higher
amount set by BLM based on its policies conditions:
or 43 CFR 3104.50 may:
*
*
*
*
*
(1) Subject all wells covered by the
§ 3104.90 [Removed]
bond(s) to shut down under the
provisions of 43 CFR 3163.1(a)(3);
■ 32. Remove § 3104.90.

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Subpart 3105—Cooperative
Conservation Provisions
■ 33. Add § 3105.1 to read as follows:

§ 3105.1 Reporting and payment for
production.

(a) The lessee or its designee who is
a party to a unit or communitization
agreement must report and pay royalties
on oil and gas production for each
production month in accordance with
the terms of the proposed allocation of
production for the unit or
communitization agreement until the
BLM issues a decision on the proposed
agreement.
(b) To assist with accurate and
complete reporting, applicants for a
Federal participating area, secondary
recovery unit, or communitization
agreement must:
(1) Provide a list of wells with
existing production that would
contribute production to the area to be
included in the proposed agreement;
and
(2) As required under 43 CFR 3160.0–
9(c)(1), submit a completion report for
all wells that would contribute
production to the area included in the
proposed participating area, secondary
recovery unit, or communitization
agreement.
(c) This section does not apply to oil
and gas agreements containing Indian
lands.
■ 34. Add an undesignated center
heading following § 3105.44 to read as
follows:
Lease Consolidation
Subpart 3106—Transfers by
Assignment, Sublease, or Otherwise
■ 35. Amend § 3106.10 by revising

paragraph (e) to read as follows:
§ 3106.10

Transfers, general.

*

*
*
*
*
(e) An assignment of less than 640
acres outside Alaska or of less than
2,560 acres within Alaska will be
denied unless the assignment
constitutes the entire lease or is
demonstrated to further the

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development of oil and gas to the
satisfaction of the authorized officer.
Reference 43 CFR 3102.61(g) for
certification of compliance.
*
*
*
*
*
■ 36. Revise § 3106.20 to read as
follows:
§ 3106.20 Qualifications of assignees and
transferees.

Assignees and transferees must
comply with the provisions of 43 CFR
subpart 3102.34.
■ 37. Remove the undesignated center
heading following § 3106.30.
Subpart 3107—Continuation and
Extension
■ 38. Amend § 3107.10 by revising

paragraphs (a) and (b) to read as follows:
§ 3107.10

Extension by drilling.

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(a) Any lease on which actual drilling
operations were commenced prior to the
end of its primary term and which are
being diligently prosecuted at the end of
the primary term or any lease which is
part of an approved oil and gas
agreement upon which such drilling
takes place, will be extended for 2 years
subject to the rental being timely paid
as required by 43 CFR 3103.22, and
subject to the provisions of 43 CFR
3105.23 and 43 CFR part 3180, if
applicable. The BLM will not grant a
drilling extension for a lease in its
extended term.
(b) Actual drilling operations must be
conducted in a manner that a prudent
operator would be expected to make in
that particular area, given the existing
knowledge of geologic and other
pertinent facts. In drilling a new well on
a lease or for the benefit of a lease under
the terms of an approved agreement, it
must be taken to a depth sufficient to
penetrate at least one formation
recognized in the area as potentially
productive of oil or gas, or where an
existing well is reentered, it must be
taken to a depth sufficient to penetrate
at least one new and deeper formation
recognized in the area as potentially
productive of oil or gas. The authorized
officer may determine that further
drilling is unwarranted or
impracticable.
*
*
*
*
*
■ 39. Revise § 3107.32 to read as
follows:
§ 3107.32
in part.

Segregation of leases committed

(a) Any lease committed after July 29,
1954, to any unit agreement, which
covers lands within and lands outside
the area covered by the agreement, will
be segregated, as of the effective date of
commitment to the unit, into separate

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leases; one covering the lands
committed to the agreement, the other
lands not committed to the agreement.
For unproven areas, such segregation
will occur only when the public interest
requirement is satisfied pursuant to 43
CFR 3183.4(b). Upon satisfaction of the
public interest requirement, the BLM
will deem the segregation to have been
effective as of the date of commitment
of the lands to the unit.
(b)(1) The segregated lease covering
the non-unitized portion of the lands
will continue in force and effect for the
term of the lease or for 2 years from the
date of segregation, whichever is longer.
(2) If a lease committed in part is in
an extended term because of
production, the segregated, nonproducing lease will continue in effect
so long as the producing lease exists and
rentals are paid, and so long thereafter
as oil or gas is produced from the
committed lease.
§ 3107.52

[Removed]

■ 40. Remove § 3107.52.
■ 41. Add an undesignated center

heading after § 3107.53 to read as
follows:
Other Extension Types
■ 42. Amend § 3107.60 by revising the
introductory paragraph to read as
follows:
§ 3107.60

Extension of reinstated leases.

Where a reinstatement of a terminated
lease is granted under 43 CFR 3108.22
or 43 CFR 3108.23 and the authorized
officer finds that the reinstatement will
not afford the lessee a reasonable
opportunity to continue operations
under the lease, the authorized officer
may extend the term of such lease for a
period sufficient to give the lessee such
an opportunity. Any extension will be
subject to the following conditions:
*
*
*
*
*
■ 43. Remove the undesignated center
heading following § 3107.60.
Subpart 3108—Relinquishment,
Termination, Cancellation
■ 44. Remove the undesignated center

heading following § 3108.10.
■ 45. Amend § 3108.23 by revising

paragraph (a) to read as follows:
§ 3108.23 Reinstatement at higher rental
and royalty rates: Class II reinstatements.

(a) The authorized officer may, if the
requirements of this section are met,
reinstate a lease that was terminated by
operation of law for failure to pay rental
timely when the rental was not paid or
tendered within 20 calendar days of the
termination date, and it is shown to the
satisfaction of the authorized officer that

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such failure was justified or not due to
a lack of reasonable diligence, or no
matter when the rental was paid, it is
shown to the satisfaction of the
authorized officer that such failure was
inadvertent.
*
*
*
*
*
Subpart 3109—Leasing Under Special
Acts
■ 46. Add an undesignated center

heading following § 3109.15 to read as
follows:
Leasing Under Other Special Acts
■ 47. Amend § 3109.20 by revising
paragraph (b) to read as follows:
§ 3109.20
System.

Units of the National Park

*

*
*
*
*
(b) Any lease or permit respecting
minerals in units of the National Park
System may be issued only with the
consent of the Regional Director,
National Park Service. Such consent
will only be granted upon a
determination by the Regional Director
that the activity permitted under the
lease or permit will not have significant
adverse effect upon the resources or
administration of the unit pursuant to
the authorizing legislation of the unit.
Any lease or permit issued will be
subject to such conditions as may be
prescribed by the Regional Director to
protect the surface and significant
resources of the unit, to preserve their
use for public recreation, and to the
condition that site specific approval of
any activity on the lease will only be
given upon concurrence by the Regional
Director. All lease applications received
for reclamation withdrawn lands will
also be submitted to the Bureau of
Reclamation for review.
*
*
*
*
*
■ 48. Add part 3110 to read as follows:
PART 3110—NONCOMPETITIVE
LEASES
Sec.
3110.1 Lands accessible for noncompetitive
leasing.
3110.2 Application requirements.
3110.3 Priority.
3110.4 Action on application.
3110.5 Noncompetitive lease terms.
3110.6 Reversionary noncompetitive leases.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.; 30 U.S.C.
181 et seq. and 351–359; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 43
U.S.C. 1701 et seq.; and Public Law 97–35
Stat. 357; and the Attorney General’s Opinion
of April 2, 1941 (40 Op. Atty. Gen. 41).
§ 3110.1 Lands accessible for
noncompetitive leasing.

Only lands that have been offered
competitively under part 3120 of this

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title, and for which no bid has been
received, will be accessible for
noncompetitive leasing. Such lands will
become accessible for noncompetitive
leasing for a period of 2 years beginning
on the first business day following the
last day of the competitive auction, or
the replacement auction that includes
the parcel, whichever is later. A lease
may be issued based on an application
properly filed any time within the 2year noncompetitive leasing period.
§ 3110.2

Application requirements.

(a) A noncompetitive lease
application must be made on a current
form approved by the Director. Copies
must be exact reproductions of the
official approved form, without
additions, omissions, or other changes,
or advertising. The noncompetitive
lease application must:
(1) Include the lease application filing
fee found in the fee schedule in
§ 3000.120 of this chapter.
(2) Include the first-year rental found
in the fiscal terms in § 3103.1 of this
chapter.
(3) Demonstrate the applicant’s
compliance with lessee qualifications
under subpart 3102.
(4) Provide the parcel number from
the Notice of Competitive Lease Sale in
which the parcel was offered and did
not sell. Each application must contain
only a single parcel.
(5) The legal land description of the
lease parcel of interest in the
noncompetitive lease application,
which must exactly match the parcel
land description of a parcel that was
offered in the competitive auction.
(b) A noncompetitive lease
application under this part may be
withdrawn by the applicant, unless the
BLM has signed the lease form.

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§ 3110.3

Priority.

(a) Applications filed for lands
accessible for noncompetitive leasing, as
specified in § 3110.1, will receive
priority as of the date and time of filing
as specified in 43 CFR 1821.11, except
that all noncompetitive offers will be
considered simultaneously filed if
received in the proper BLM office at any
time during the first business day
following the last day of the competitive
auction, or the replacement sale that
includes the parcel, whichever is later.
(b) If the BLM receives
simultaneously filed applications, the
BLM will select a single application, as
specified in 43 CFR 1822.18. If the
selected application does not result in
issuance of a lease, the BLM will offer
the lease to the next qualified applicant.
(c) Where a correction to an
application is needed or is made,

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whether at the option of the applicant
or at the request of the authorized
officer, its priority will be determined as
of the date the application has been
corrected and is complete. If the BLM
receives a complete application from
another party before the date on which
the initial applicant files the corrected
application, then the intervening
complete application will supersede the
corrected application.
§ 3110.4

Action on application.

(a) No lease will be issued before the
BLM takes final action on any prior
application to lease the lands or any
extension of, or petition for
reinstatement of, an existing or former
lease on the lands. If a noncompetitive
lease is issued under this section before
final action on a prior application,
extension, or reinstatement, the BLM
will cancel the noncompetitive lease to
be issued under this paragraph.
(b) The United States will indicate its
acceptance of the noncompetitive lease
application, in whole or in part, and the
issuance of the lease, by signature of the
authorized officer on the current lease
form. A signed copy of the lease will be
delivered to the applicant.
(c) Filing a noncompetitive lease
application on a lease form not
currently in use, unless the application
was filed before the Director declaring
such lease form obsolete, may be
allowed, on the condition that the
applicant is bound by the terms and
conditions of the lease form currently in
use.
(d) A noncompetitive lease
application that is not properly filed in
accordance with the regulations in this
chapter will be rejected, including a
noncompetitive lease application for
lands that have not been offered on a
competitive lease sale.
(e) A noncompetitive lease
application made for lands that have
been leased competitively will be
rejected.
§ 3110.5

Noncompetitive lease terms.

(a) All noncompetitive leases must be
for a primary term of 10 years.
(b) All noncompetitive leases will be
considered issued when signed by the
authorized officer.
(c) Noncompetitive leases will be
effective as of the first day of the month
following the date the leases are issued.
A lease may be made effective on the
first day of the month within which it
is issued if a written request for the
earlier effective date is made before the
authorized officer signs the lease.
Noncompetitive future interest leases, as
described under § 3120.72, will be

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38119

effective as of the date the mineral
interests vest in the United States.
§ 3110.6
leases.

Reversionary noncompetitive

(a) This section applies only to those
lands that are under the administration
of the Secretary of Agriculture where
the United States acquired an interest in
such lands pursuant to the Act of March
1, 1911 (36 Stat. 961 et. seq.).
(b) If the United States held a vested
future interest in a mineral estate that,
immediately prior to becoming a vested
present interest, was subject to a private
lease under which oil or gas was being
produced, or had a well capable of
producing, the holder of the private
lease may elect to continue the lease as
a noncompetitive lease.
(c) An election must be made before
the interest becomes a vested present
interest. If an election is made after the
time allowed, or if no election is made,
the BLM will reject the application and
offer the lands on the next competitive
lease sale.
(d) The lessees must comply with
lessee qualifications under subpart
3102.
(e) The lessee must provide an
acceptable bond before lease issuance.
PART 3120—COMPETITIVE LEASES
■ 49. Revise the authority citation for

part 3120 to read as follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.; 30 U.S.C.
181 et seq. and 351–359; 40 U.S.C. 471 et
seq.; Pub. L. 113–291, 128 Stat. 3762; and the
Attorney General’s Opinion of April 2, 1941
(40 Op. Atty. Gen. 41).
■ 50. Revise § 3120.11 to read as

follows:
§ 3120.11
leasing.

Lands offered for competitive

The BLM will consider the types of
lands described below for competitive
leasing under the MLA, including but
not limited to:
(a) Lands that were covered by
previously issued oil and gas leases that
have terminated, expired, been
cancelled or relinquished;
(b) Lands for which the authority to
lease has been delegated from the
General Services Administration to the
BLM;
(c) Lands from a cancelled lease or
interest in a lease that was acquired in
violation of any of the provisions of the
Act. When an underlying lease or
interest in a lease is cancelled or
forfeited through a bankruptcy or
otherwise to the United States and there
are valid interests therein that are not
subject to cancellation, forfeiture, or
compulsory disposition, such
underlying lease or interest may be sold

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to the highest responsible and qualified
bidder by competitive bidding under
this subpart, subject to all outstanding
valid interests therein. If less than the
whole interest in the lease, or interest is
cancelled or forfeited, such partial
interest may likewise be sold by
competitive bidding. If no satisfactory
bid is obtained as a result of the
competitive offering of such whole or
partial interests, such interests may be
sold in accordance with 30 U.S.C.
184(h)(2) by such other methods as the
authorized officer deems appropriate,
but on terms no less favorable to the
United States than those of the best
competitive bid received. Interest in
outstanding leases(s) so sold will be
subject to the terms and conditions of
the existing lease(s);
(d) Lands which are otherwise
unavailable for leasing but which are
subject to drainage (protective leasing);
(e) Lands included in any expression
of interest submitted to the authorized
officer; and
(f) Lands selected by the authorized
officer.
§ 3120.13

[Removed]

■ 51. Remove § 3120.13.
■ 52. Revise § 3120.22 to read as

follows:
§ 3120.22

Effective date of leases.

All competitive leases will be
considered issued when the authorized
officer signs them. Competitive leases,
except future interest leases issued
under § 3120.72, will be effective as of
the first day of the month following the
date the authorized officer signs the
leases on behalf of the United States. A
lease may be made effective on the first
day of the month within which it is
issued if the winning bidder makes a
written request before the date the
authorized officer signs the lease. Leases
for future interest will be effective as of
the date the mineral interests vest in the
United States.
■ 53. Revise 3120.31 to read as follows:

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§ 3120.31

Expression of interest process.

(a) A party submitting an expression
of interest in leasing land available for
disposition under section 17 of the
Mineral Leasing Act must include the
submitter’s name and address and must
submit the expression of interest
through the BLM’s online leasing
system.
(b) The expression must provide a
description of the lands identified by
legal land description, as follows:
(1) For lands surveyed under the
public land survey system, describe the
lands to the nearest aliquot part within
the legal subdivision, section, township,
range, and meridian;

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(2) For unsurveyed lands, describe the
lands by metes and bounds, giving
courses and distances, and tie this
information to an official corner of the
public land surveys, or to a prominent
topographic feature;
(3) For approved protracted surveys,
include an entire section, township,
range, and meridian. Do not divide
protracted sections into aliquot parts;
(4) For lands that have water
boundaries, describe the lands based on
the initial survey or deed acquiring
ownership;
(5) For lands where the acquiring
agency has assigned an acquisition or
tract number covering the lands applied,
submit the number in addition to any
description otherwise required by this
section. If the authorized officer
determines that the acquisition or tract
number, together with identification of
the State and county, constitutes an
adequate description, the authorized
officer may allow the description in this
manner in lieu of other descriptions
required by this section.
(c) A submitter may submit more than
one expression of interest, so long as
each expression separately satisfies the
requirements of this section.
(d) The BLM may offer for lease all or
some of the lands specified in an
expression of interest and may offer
those lands as part of a parcel that
includes lands not specified in the
expression of interest.
§§ 3120.32 and 3120.33

[Removed]

■ 54. Remove §§ 3120.32 and 3120.33.
■ 55. Revise § 3120.42 to read as

follows:
§ 3120.42

Posting timeframes.

(a) At least 45 calendar days prior to
conducting a competitive auction, the
BLM will make available to the public
a list of lands to be offered for
competitive lease sale in a Notice of
Competitive Lease Sale.
(b) After posting the Notice of
Competitive Lease Sale, the BLM will
provide a protest period, of not less than
10 calendar days, for public input on
the upcoming lease sale.
(c) The BLM will make available the
final National Environmental Policy Act
documents prior to issuing a lease from
the lease sale.
(d) The BLM will post a public notice
if it decides for any reason not to hold
a scheduled quarterly lease sale.
■ 56. Add § 3120.43 to read as follows:
§ 3120.43

Protests.

(a) The BLM will not suspend actions
pursuant to the regulations in this
subpart or under 43 CFR 4.21(a) due to
a protest filed against the authorized
officer’s notice to hold a lease sale.

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(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of
this section, the authorized officer may
suspend the offering of a specific parcel
while considering a protest against its
inclusion in a Notice of Competitive
Lease Sale.
(c) Only the Assistant Secretary for
Land and Minerals Management may
suspend a lease sale for good cause after
reviewing the reason(s) for a protest.
(d) The processing fee for filing
protests over 50 pages, inclusive of
exhibits, is listed in the fee schedule in
§ 3000.120 of this chapter.
■ 57. Amend § 3120.53 by revising
paragraph (a) to read as follows:
§ 3120.53

Award of lease.

(a) A bid cannot be withdrawn and
will constitute a legally binding
commitment to execute the lease bid
form and accept a lease, including the
obligation to pay the bonus bid, first
year’s rental, and processing fee.
Execution by the high bidder of a
competitive lease bid form approved by
the Director constitutes certification of
compliance with 43 CFR subpart 3102,
will constitute a binding lease offer,
including all terms and conditions
applicable thereto, and must be
submitted when payment is made in
accordance with § 3120.52(b). Failure to
comply with § 3120.52(c) will result in
rejection of the bid and forfeiture of the
monies submitted under § 3120.52(b).
*
*
*
*
*
■ 58. Revise § 3120.60 to read as
follows:
§ 3120.60

Parcels not bid on at auction.

The BLM will hold a replacement sale
within 30 calendar days after a
competitive auction when 25 percent or
greater of the acreage offered does not
receive bids. Lands offered at the
competitive auction that received no
bids will become accessible for
noncompetitive leasing for a period of 2
years beginning on the first business day
following the last day of the competitive
auction, or the replacement auction that
includes the parcel, whichever is later,
as provided by 43 CFR part 3110.
■ 59. Amend § 3120.72 by revising
paragraph (b) to read as follows:
§ 3120.72 Future interest terms and
conditions.

*

*
*
*
*
(b) Upon vesting of the oil and gas
rights in the United States, the future
interest lease rental and royalty will be
as for any competitive lease issued
under this subpart, as provided in 43
CFR subpart 3103, and the acreage will
be chargeable in accordance with 43
CFR subpart 3102.
■ 60. Revise § 3120.73 to read as
follows:

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§ 3120.73 Compensatory royalty
agreements.

The terms and conditions of
compensatory royalty agreements
involving acquired lands in which the
United States owns a future or fractional
interest will be established on an
individual case basis. Such agreements
may be required when leasing is not
possible in situations where the interest
of the United States in the oil and gas
deposit includes both a present and a
future fractional interest in the same
tract containing a producing well. The
BLM may use such agreements until the
BLM issues a competitive lease for
unleased lands included in a
compensatory royalty agreement.
PART 3130—OIL AND GAS LEASING:
NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE,
ALASKA
■ 61. Revise the authority citation for

part 3130 to read as follows:
■ 62. Amend § 3134.1 by revising

paragraphs (a), (b), and (e) to read as
follows:

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Bonding.

(a) Prior to issuance of an oil and gas
lease, the successful bidder must
furnish the authorized officer a surety or
personal bond in accordance with the
provisions of § 3104.10 of this title in
the sum of $100,000, conditioned on
compliance with all the lease terms and
conditions, including rentals and
royalties, and any stipulations. The
bond will not be required if the bidder
already maintains or furnishes a bond in
the sum of $300,000, conditioned on
compliance with the terms, conditions,
and stipulations of all oil and gas leases
held by the bidder within NPR–A.
(b) A bond in the sum of $100,000 or
$300,000, may be provided by an
operating rights owner (sublessee) or
operator in lieu of a bond furnished by
the lessee, and must assume the
responsibilities and obligations of the
lessee for the entire leasehold in the
same manner and to the extent as
though they were the lessee.
*
*
*
*
*
(e) Except as provided in this subpart,
the bonds required for NPR–A leases are
in addition to any other bonds the
successful bidder may have filed or be
required to file under §§ 3104.20,
3104.30(a) and 3154.1 and subparts
3206 and 3209 of this title.
PART 3140—LEASING IN SPACIAL
TAR SANDS AREAS
■ 63. Revise the authority citation for

part 3140 to read as follows:

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■ 64. Amend § 3140.14 by revising

paragraphs (a) and (c)(2) to read as
follows:
§ 3140.14

Other provisions.

(a) A combined hydrocarbon lease
will be for no more than 5,760 acres.
Acreage held under a combined
hydrocarbon lease in a Special Tar Sand
Area is not chargeable to State oil and
gas limitations allowable in 43 CFR
3102.51 or 3102.52.
*
*
*
*
*
(c) * * *
(2) The royalty rate for a combined
hydrocarbon lease converted from a
valid claim based on a mineral location
will be 12.5 percent.
*
*
*
*
*
■ 65. Revise § 3140.70 to read as
follows:
§ 3140.70
System.

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 6508.

§ 3134.1

Authority: 30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.; 30 U.S.C.
351–359; Pub. L. 97–78, 95 Stat. 1070; 42
U.S.C. 15801, unless otherwise noted.

Lands within the National Park

The BLM stopped accepting
conversion applications on November
15, 1983. Conversions of existing oil and
gas leases and valid claims based on
mineral locations to combined
hydrocarbon leases within units of the
National Park System will be allowed
only where mineral leasing is permitted
by law and where the lands covered by
the lease or claim proposed for
conversion are open to mineral resource
disposition in accordance with any
applicable minerals management plan.
(See 43 CFR 3100.3(g)(4)). In order to
consent to any conversion or any
subsequent development under a
combined hydrocarbon lease requiring
further approval, the Regional Director
of the National Park Service must find
that there will be no resulting
significant adverse impacts on the
resources and administration of such
areas or on other contiguous units of the
National Park System in accordance
with 43 CFR 3109.20(b).

§ 3141.53

38121

Royalties and rentals.

(a) The royalty rate on all combined
hydrocarbon leases or tar sand leases is
12.5 percent of the value of production
removed or sold from a lease. The
ONRR will be responsible for collecting
and administering royalties.
*
*
*
*
*
(e) Except as explained in paragraphs
(a) through (c) of this section, all other
provisions of 43 CFR subpart 3103
apply to combined hydrocarbon leasing.
■ 68. Revise § 3141.63 to read as
follows:
§ 3141.63

Conduct of sales.

(a) Oil and gas leases. Lease sales for
oil and gas leases will be conducted
using the procedures for oil and gas
leases in 43 CFR 3120.51.
(b) Combined hydrocarbon leases and
tar sand leases. (1) Parcels will be
offered by competitive auction.
(2) The winning bid will be the
highest bid by a responsible and
qualified bidder, equal to the minimum
bonus bid amount as specified in
§ 3103.1 of this chapter or for
hydrocarbon leases, the minimum
bonus bid amount determined under
§ 3141.51, whichever is larger.
(3) Payments must be made as
provided in 43 CFR 3120.52.
PART 3150—ONSHORE OIL AND GAS
GEOPHYSICAL OPERATIONS
■ 69. Revise the authority citation for

part 3150 to read as follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 3150(b) and 668dd;
30 U.S.C. 189 and 359; 42 U.S.C. 6508.
■ 70. Revise § 3152.3 to read as follows:

§ 3152.3

Renewal of exploration permit.

Upon request by the permittee, an
exploration permit may be renewed for
a period not to exceed 1 year.
PART 3160—ONSHORE OIL AND GAS
OPERATIONS
■ 71. Revise the authority citation for

part 3160 to read as follows:

■ 66. Amend § 3141.10 by revising

Authority: 25 U.S.C. 396d and 2107; 30
U.S.C. 189, 306, 359, and 1751; and Sec. 107,
Pub. L. 114–74, 129 Stat. 599, unless
otherwise noted.

paragraph (h) to read as follows:

■ 72. Revise § 3165.1 to read as follows:

§ 3141.10

§ 3165.1 Relief from operating and/or
producing requirements.

Subpart 3141—Leasing in Special Tar
Sands Areas

General.

*

*
*
*
*
(h) The acreage of combined
hydrocarbon leases or tar sand leases
held within a Special Tar Sand Area
will not be charged against acreage
limitations for the holding of oil and gas
leases as provided in 43 CFR 3102.51.
*
*
*
*
*
■ 67. Amend § 3141.53 by revising
paragraphs (a) and (e) to read as follows:

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(a) Applications for relief from either
the operating or the producing
requirements of a lease, or both, must be
filed with the authorized officer, and
must include a full statement of the
circumstances that render such relief
necessary.
(b) The authorized officer will act on
applications submitted for a suspension

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of operations or production, or both,
filed pursuant to 43 CFR 3103.42. The
application for suspension must be filed
with the authorized officer prior to the
expiration date of the lease; must be
executed by all operating rights owners
or by the operator on behalf of the
operating rights owners; and must
include a full statement of the
circumstances that makes such relief
necessary.
(c) If approved, a suspension will be
effective on the first of the month in
which the completed application was
filed or the date specified by the
authorized officer in the approval.
(d) Suspensions will lift when the
basis provided for the suspension no
longer exists, when lifting the
suspension is in the public interest, or
as otherwise stated by the authorized
officer in the approval letter.
(e) The BLM may grant a suspension
of operations and production or a
suspension of operations at any time in
a lease’s term but may only grant a
suspension of production after a lease
begins production.
PART 3180—ONSHORE OIL AND GAS
UNIT AGREEMENTS: UNPROVEN
AREAS
■ 73. The authority citation for part

3180 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 30 U.S.C. 189.

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■ 74. Revise § 3181.1 to read as follows:

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§ 3181.1 Preliminary consideration of unit
agreement.

The model unit agreement, available
from the BLM’s form web page, is
acceptable for use in unproven areas.
Unique situations requiring special
provisions should be clearly identified,
since these and other special conditions
may necessitate a modification of the
model unit agreement. Any proposed
special provisions or other
modifications of the model agreement
should be submitted for preliminary
consideration so that any necessary
revision may be prescribed prior to
execution by the interested parties.
Where Federal lands constitute less than
10 percent of the total unit area, a nonFederal unit agreement may be used.
Upon submission of such an agreement,
the authorized officer will take
appropriate action to commit the
Federal lands.
■ 75. Revise § 3183.4 to read as follows:
§ 3183.4

Approval of executed agreement.

(a) A unit agreement may be approved
by the authorized officer upon a
determination that such agreement is
necessary or advisable in the public
interest and is for the purpose of more
properly conserving natural resources.
Such approval will be incorporated in a
Certification-Determination document
appended to the agreement, and the unit
agreement will not be deemed effective
until the authorized officer has executed
the Certification-Determination
document. No such agreement will be
approved unless the parties signing the

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agreement hold sufficient interests in
the unit area to provide reasonably
effective control of operations.
(b) The public interest requirement of
an approved unit agreement for
unproven areas will be satisfied only if
the unit operator commences actual
drilling operations and thereafter
diligently prosecutes such operations in
accordance with the terms of said
agreement. If an application is received
for voluntary termination of a unit
agreement for an unproven area during
its fixed term or such an agreement
automatically expires at the end of its
fixed term without the public interest
requirement having been satisfied, the
approval of that agreement by the
authorized officer and lease segregations
and extensions under 43 CFR subpart
3107 will be invalid, and no Federal
lease will be eligible for extensions
under 43 CFR subpart 3107.
(c) Any modification of an approved
agreement will require the prior
approval of the authorized officer.
Subpart 3186—Model Forms
[Removed]
■ 76. Remove subpart 3186—Model

Forms.
Lanny E. Erdos,
Director, Office of Surface Mining,
Reclamation, and Enforcement Exercising
Authority of the Assistant Secretary—Land
and Minerals Management.
[FR Doc. 2026–12734 Filed 6–23–26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331–29–P

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