For the purposes of this subpart only:

Administrative proceeding means any process in which an order is issued by ONRR or a delegated State and is subject to appeal or has been appealed either to the ONRR Director or IBLA under 30 CFR 1290.105.

Assessment means any fee or charge levied or imposed by the Secretary or a delegated State other than:

1. (1) The principal amount of any royalty, minimum royalty, rental, bonus, net profit share or proceed of sale;
2. (2) Any interest; or
3. (3) Any civil or criminal penalty.

Delegated State means a State to which ONRR has delegated authority to perform royalty management functions under an agreement or agreements under 30 CFR part 1227.

Designee means the person designated by a lessee under 30 CFR 1218.52 to make all or part of the royalty or other payments due on a lease on the lessee's behalf.

IBLA means the Interior Board of Land Appeals.

Lease means any agreement authorizing exploration for or extraction of any mineral, regardless of whether the instrument is expressly denominated as a “lease,” including any:

1. (1) Contract;
2. (2) Net profit share arrangement; or
3. (3) Joint venture.

Lessee means any person to whom the United States issues a Federal oil and gas lease, or any person to whom all or part of the lessee's interest or operating rights in a Federal oil and gas lease has been assigned.

Monetary obligation means a lessee's, designee's or payor's duty to pay, or to compute and pay, any obligation in any order, or the Secretary's duty to pay, refund, offset, or credit the amount of any obligation that is the subject of a decision by the ONRR or a delegated State denying a lessee's, designee's, or payor's written request for the payment, refund, offset, or credit. To determine the amount of any monetary obligation, for purposes of the default rule of decision in § 4.906 and 30 U.S.C. 1724(h):

1. (1) If an order asserts a monetary obligation arising from one issue or type of underpayment that covers multiple leases or production months, the total obligation for all leases or production months involved constitutes a single monetary obligation;
2. (2) If an order asserts monetary obligations arising from different issues or types of underpayments for one or more leases, the obligations arising from each separate issue, subject to paragraph (1) of this definition, constitute separate monetary obligations; and
3. (3) If an order asserts a monetary obligation with a stated amount of additional royalties due, plus an order to perform a restructured accounting arising from the same issue or cause as the specifically stated underpayment, the stated amount of royalties due plus the estimated amount due under the restructured accounting, subject to paragraphs (1) and (2) of this definition, together constitutes a single monetary obligation.

Nonmonetary obligation means any duty of a lessee or its designee to deliver oil or gas in kind, or any duty of the Secretary to take oil or gas royalty in kind.

Notice of Order means the notice that ONRR or a delegated State issues to a lessee that informs the lessee that ONRR or the delegated State has issued an order to the lessee's designee.

Obligation means:

1. (1) A lessee's, designee's or payor's duty to:

   1. (i) Deliver oil or gas royalty in kind; or
   2. (ii) Make a lease-related payment, including royalty, minimum royalty, rental, bonus, net profit share, proceeds of sale, interest, penalty, civil penalty, or assessment; and

2. (2) The Secretary's duty to:

   1. (i) Take oil or gas royalty in kind; or
   2. (ii) Make a lease-related payment, refund, offset, or credit, including royalty, minimum royalty, rental, bonus, net profit share, proceeds of sale, or interest.

OHA means Office of Hearings and Appeals, Department of the Interior.

Order means any document or portion of a document issued by ONRR or a delegated State that contains mandatory or ordering language regarding any monetary or nonmonetary obligation under any Federal oil and gas lease or leases.

1. (1) Order includes:

   1. (i) An order to pay (Order to Pay) or to compute and pay (Order to Perform a Restructured Accounting); and
   2. (ii) An ONRR or delegated State decision to deny a lessee's, designee's, or payor's written request that asserts an obligation due the lessee, designee, or payor.

2. (2) Order does not include:

   1. (i) A non-binding request, information, or guidance, such as:

      1. (A) Advice or guidance on how to report or pay, including valuation determination, unless it contains mandatory or ordering language; and
      2. (B) A policy determination;
   2. (ii) A subpoena;
   3. (iii) An order to pay that ONRR issues to a refiner or other person involved in disposition of royalty taken in kind; or
   4. (iv) A Notice of Noncompliance or a Notice of Civil Penalty issued under 30 U.S.C. 1719 and 30 CFR part 1241, or a decision of an administrative law judge or of the IBLA following a hearing on the record on a Notice of Noncompliance or Notice of Civil Penalty.
   5. (v) A “Dear Payor,” “Dear Operator,” or “Dear Reporter” letter unless it explicitly includes the right to appeal in writing; or
   6. (vi) Any correspondence that does not include the right to appeal in writing.

Party means ONRR, any person who files a Notice of Appeal under 30 CFR part 290 in effect prior to May 13, 1999 and contained in the 30 CFR, parts 200 to 699, edition revised as of July 1, 1998, 30 CFR part 1290, or 43 CFR part 4, subpart E, and any person who files a Notice of Joinder in an appeal under 30 CFR part 1290.

Payor means any person responsible for reporting and paying royalties for Federal oil and gas leases.

[64 FR 26259, May 13, 1999, as amended at 79 FR 62051, 62052, Oct. 16, 2014; 88 FR 5794, Jan. 30, 2023; 90 FR 2427, Jan. 10, 2025]