§203.31. If I have a qualified phase 2 or qualified phase 3 ultra-deep well, what royalty relief would that well earn for my lease?
30 C.F.R. § 203.31
Subject to the administrative requirements of § 203.35 and the price conditions in § 203.36, your qualified well earns your lease an RSV shown in the following table in billions of cubic feet (BCF) or in thousands of cubic feet (MCF) as prescribed in § 203.33:
This paragraph applies if your lease:
Has produced gas or oil from a deep well with a perforated interval the top of which is less than 18,000 feet TVD SS;
Was issued in a lease sale held between January 1, 2004, and December 31, 2005; and
The terms of your lease expressly incorporate the provisions of §§ 203.41 through 203.47 as they existed at the time the lease was issued.
Subject to the administrative requirements of § 203.35 and the price conditions in § 203.36, your qualified well earns your lease an RSV shown in the following table in BCF or MCF as prescribed in § 203.33:
Lessees may request a refund of or recoup royalties paid on production from qualified phase 2 or phase 3 ultra-deep wells that:
Occurs before December 18, 2008, and
Is subject to application of an RSV under either § 203.31 or § 203.41.
The following examples illustrate how this section applies. These examples assume that your lease is located in the GOA west of 87 degrees, 30 minutes West longitude and in water less than 400 meters deep (see § 203.30(a)), has no existing deep or ultra-deep wells and that the price thresholds prescribed in § 203.36 have not been exceeded.
Notes, amendments, and revision history
Amendments
[76 FR 64462, Oct. 18, 2011, as amended at 90 FR 44325, Sept. 15, 2025]
Authority
Authority: 25 U.S.C. 396 et seq.; 25 U.S.C. 396a et seq.; 25 U.S.C. 2101 et seq.; 30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.; 30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.; 30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.; 30 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 42 U.S.C. 15903-15906; 43 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.; 43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.; and 43 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Source
Source: 76 FR 64462, Oct. 18, 2011, unless otherwise noted.
Amendments
[76 FR 64462, Oct. 18, 2011, as amended at 90 FR 44325, Sept. 15, 2025]