43 C.F.R. § 3179.83 – Emergencies.

(a) An operator may flare or, if flaring is not feasible due to the emergency situation, vent gas royalty-free under § 3179.41(b)(5) for no longer than 48 hours during an emergency situation. For purposes of this subpart, an “emergency situation” is a temporary, infrequent, and unavoidable situation in which the loss of gas is necessary to avoid a danger to human health, safety, or the environment.
(b) The following examples do not constitute emergency situations for the purposes of royalty assessment:
1. (1) Recurring failures of a single piece of equipment;
2. (2) The operator's failure to install appropriate equipment of a sufficient capacity to accommodate the production conditions;
3. (3) Failure to limit production when the production rate exceeds the capacity of the related equipment, pipeline, or gas plant, or exceeds sales contract volumes of oil or gas;
4. (4) Scheduled maintenance; or
5. (5) A situation caused by operator negligence.
(c) Within 45 days of the start of the emergency, the operator must estimate and report to the AO by a Sundry Notice the volumes flared or vented beyond the timeframe specified in paragraph (a) of this section, and details describing the emergency event, measures taken to prevent the emergency event, and actions taken to control the emergency event so that the BLM is able to determine if the loss of oil or gas is an unavoidable loss pursuant to § 3179.41.