Federal Drilling Permit Paperwork Gets Another Routine Review
Published Date: 10/16/2026
Notice
Summary
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement wants to renew the paperwork needed to apply for drilling permits. This affects companies drilling for oil and gas, who will keep submitting updated forms and info. You’ve got until November 16, 2026, to share your thoughts, and this renewal aims to keep the process smooth without adding extra costs or delays.
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 3 costs, 0 mixed.
Permit Application Fee Burden
The notice shows a non-hour cost burden that includes a $2,458 fee applied to 122 permit applications, totaling $299,876 in fees. The table explicitly lists "$2,458 fee x 122 = $299,876."
APD Paperwork Renewal and Annual Burden
BSEE proposes to renew the paperwork for permits to drill using Forms BSEE-0123 and BSEE-0123S. The agency estimates about 555 potential respondents, 10,820 annual responses, 49,446 total annual burden hours, and that each response takes between 1 and 20 hours to complete.
Information Used to Ensure Safe Drilling
BSEE says it uses the APD and Supplemental APD information to ensure safe drilling operations and to protect the human, marine, and coastal environment. The forms are used to evaluate casing design, drilling fluids, cementing, blowout preventer systems, H2S detection and crew training.
Public Release of Submitted APD Information
BSEE states that, except for proprietary data, it is required by the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) to make certain information submitted on Forms BSEE-0123 and BSEE-0123S available to the public. Proprietary data are excluded.
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
Related Federal Register Documents
2026-15953, Oil and Gas and Sulfur Operations on the Outer Continental Shelf-Revisions to the Requirements for Exploratory Drilling on the Arctic Outer Continental Shelf
The Department of the Interior (DOI or Department), acting through BSEE and BOEM (collectively, "the Bureaus"), is proposing to revise its existing regulations for exploratory drilling and related operations on the Arctic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), to reduce unnecessary burdens on stakeholders while ensuring that energy exploration on the Arctic OCS is safe and environmentally responsible.\1\ This proposed rule would revise certain requirements promulgated through the rule entitled, Oil and Gas and Sulfur Operations on the Outer Continental Shelf--Requirements for Exploratory Drilling on the Arctic Outer Continental Shelf ("2016 Arctic Exploratory Drilling Rule") (see 81 FR 46478). This proposed rule would modify existing Arctic OCS blowout preventer (BOP) real-time monitoring requirements and add new provisions to BSEE's regulations pertaining to requirements for crane operations on artificial islands, suspensions of operations (SOO), and suspensions of production (SOP). This proposed rule would also revise certain parts of the Exploration Plan (EP) and Development and Production Plan (DPP) regulations implemented by BOEM. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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2026-20337, Agency Information Collection Activities; General
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement wants to renew a paperwork form that companies and people involved in offshore safety must fill out. They’re asking for public comments by December 4, 2026, to make sure the forms aren’t too much work and still get the job done. This renewal won’t cost extra but helps keep safety info up to date and easy to handle.
2026-19293, Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Decommissioning Activities
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement wants to keep collecting info about decommissioning activities, which means safely shutting down oil and gas sites. This affects companies involved in these activities and asks for public feedback by October 22, 2026. There’s no new cost or big changes, just a renewal to keep things running smoothly.
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The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement wants to renew its paperwork rules for measuring oil and gas production, mixing surface outputs, and keeping things secure. This affects companies involved in oil and gas production, who need to keep reporting info just right. Comments on these rules are open until October 19, 2026, with no new costs expected, just smoother info sharing.
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