Code of Federal Regulations Title 30. Mineral Resources § 30.556.605 What are my rights and obligations as an operating rights owner?

(a) As an operating rights owner, you have the right to enter the leased area to explore for, develop, and produce oil and gas resources, except helium gas, contained within the aliquot(s) and depths within which you own operating rights, according to the lease terms, applicable regulations, and BOEM's approval of the sublease or subsequent assignment of the operating rights.

(b) Unless otherwise prohibited, you have the right to authorize another party to conduct operations on the part of the lease to which your operating rights appertain.

(c) An owner of operating rights who is designating a new designated operator must file a designation of operator under § 550.143 of this chapter.

(d) An operating rights owner is only liable for obligations arising from that portion of the lease to which its operating rights appertain and that accrue during the period in which the operating rights owner owned the operating rights.

(e) You are jointly and severally liable with other operating rights owners and the record title owners for all non-monetary lease obligations pertaining to that portion of the lease subject to your operating rights, which accrued during the time you held your operating rights interest.

(f) An operating rights owner that acquires its operating rights interests through assignment from a prior operating rights owner is also responsible, with subrogation rights against prior operating rights owners, for remedying existing environmental or operational problems, to the extent that such problems arise from that portion of the lease to which its operating rights appertain, on any lease in which it owns operating rights.

(g) You are primarily liable for monetary obligations pertaining to that portion of the lease subject to your operating rights, and the record title owners are secondarily liable. If there is more than one operating rights owner in a lease, each operating rights owner is primarily liable for its pro-rata share of the monetary obligations that pertain to the portion of the lease that is subject to its operating rights.