Valid Period of Approved Applications for Permit to Drill

As stated in 43 CFR 3171.14(a), the valid period for an APD approved after June 22, 2024, is three years from the date of approval or until lease expiration, whichever occurs first. The Automated Fluid Minerals Support System (AFMSS) will populate the expiration date of an approved APD with a date three years after the date of approval. If the expiration date is an earlier date due to lease expiration or categorical exclusion limits (refer to Appendix 2 of H-1790-1 – National Environmental Policy Act Handbook (Rel. 1-1710)), offices should manually adjust the populated date in the well data screen in AFMSS to the correct expiration date.

The updated regulations also removed any authority to extend an APD’s validity. Therefore, APDs approved after June 22, 2024, regardless of received date or status (e.g., deferred), are not eligible for an extension. APDs approved before June 22, 2024, however, are still eligible for an extension of up to two additional years in accordance with the regulations in effect at the time of APD approval. Offices must continue to follow the guidance provided in BLM IM No. 2023-011 – Approved Application for Permit to Drill Extensions, when evaluating APD extension requests.

The updated regulations also set requirements for wells not yet drilled to the approximate total measured depth prior to the expiration of the APD. The BLM added the provisions in 43 CFR 3171.14(b) to address partially drilled and uncompleted wells and to require operators to comply with the approved APD prior to the permit’s expiration date. Prior to the updated regulations, operators could spud wells shortly before the APD’s expiration date and set conductor or surface casing. The operator could then extend the APD’s primary term and delay reclamation of the disturbed land by arguing that it would return and drill to total measured depth in the future. The BLM added language to prevent this practice and encourage operators to pursue diligent development of leased lands. If the APD expiration date passes and the operator has not satisfied the requirements in 43 CFR 3171.14(b), the operator must either comply with all applicable plugging, abandonment, and reclamation requirements or submit a new APD to continue drilling the well. If the operator created any surface disturbance prior to the APD expiration, the operator must complete earthwork for reclamation within 6 months of APD expiration (weather permitting).

The updated regulations also address the valid period for an approved APD on a lease suspended under 43 CFR 3103. The BLM will adjust the valid period for an approved APD on a suspended lease to account for the suspension. Beginning on the date the suspension lifts, the BLM will extend the valid period of the approved APD by the time that was remaining on the term of the approved APD on the effective date of the suspension. For example, if the lease suspension was effective one year after the date the BLM approved the APD, there would be two years remaining on the valid period of the APD. When the suspension lifts, the BLM will extend the valid period of the approved APD by two years, thus providing the operator the full three-year valid period of the approved APD to drill the well. When the BLM approves an APD, AFMSS will populate the Expiration Date field of the approved APD with a date three years from the date of approval. Offices should not adjust this date for an approved APD on a suspended lease, except in the situation when the suspension is still in effect on the APD’s expiration date. Once the lease is no longer suspended, offices must enter the date the suspension lifted in the Extension Approved Date field in the well data screen in AFMSS and enter the new APD expiration date in the Extension Expiration Date field (refer to Figure 1).

Figure 1

This will allow the BLM to identify APDs extended due to suspended leases as this will be the only time BLM populates these fields for APDs approved after June 22, 2024. Offices should also include this updated approved APD expiration date in the letter informing the operator/lessee of the suspension lifting date.

In situations where the suspension does not lift prior to the original expiration date of the approved APD, offices should extend the date in the Expiration Date field in AFMSS by one year. If the suspension does not lift prior to the updated date in the Expiration Date field in AFMSS, offices should continue to extend the date each year in one-year increments until the suspension lifts. This will allow AFMSS and any AFMSS reports to show that the APD is still valid. When the suspension lifts, offices should set the date in the Expiration Date field in AFMSS to the original expiration date, enter the date the suspension lifted in the Extension Approval Date field in AFMSS, and enter the updated expiration date in the Updated Expiration Date field in AFMSS.