Regulations Under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Governing the Movement of Natural Gas on Facilities on the Outer Continental Shelf

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is addressing the requests for rehearing of its final rule, Order No. 639, issued on April 10, 2000, implementing regulations under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA).\1\ The final rule was issued to ensure that natural gas is transported on an open and nondiscriminatory basis through pipeline facilities located on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The regulations require OCS gas transportation service providers to make available information regarding their affiliations and the conditions under which service is rendered. This information will assist the Commission and interested persons in determining whether OCS gas transportation services conform with the open access and nondiscrimination mandates of the OCSLA. By rendering offshore transactions transparent, the regulations' reporting requirements should provide a sound basis for implementing the uniformly applicable open access and nondiscrimination mandates of the OCSLA, thus resulting in greater efficiencies in this marketplace. This order clarifies and amends the regulations to grant, in part, the requests for rehearing of Order No. 639. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------