WASHINGTON – The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement today announced that a special case royalty relief (SCRR) option implemented in April 2020 has been discontinued.
BSEE developed the additional SCRR option in response to concerns raised in the low oil price environment of spring 2020 about the potential for premature abandonment and stranding of oil and gas reserves. Analysis of the effectiveness and administrability of the program has led to the conclusion that this SCRR, specific to non-drilling circumstances, is no longer necessary.
BSEE will continue to accept requests for royalty relief under the long-standing process and may grant SCRR when applicants meet requirements outlined in federal regulations.
The SCRR option being terminated received 110 requests for royalty relief and 70 requests were granted. Since April 2020, BSEE granted special case royalty relief requests on approximately 3.5 percent of all active leases on the Outer Continental Shelf.
Information on the application process can be viewed at the following link:
https://www.bsee.gov/sites/bsee.gov/files/special-case-royalty-relief-overview.pdf