[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 93 (Friday, May 14, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26387-26388]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-12252]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Energy Information Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Energy Information Administration, DOE.

ACTION: Agency information collection activities: Proposed collection; 
comment request.

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SUMMARY: The Energy Information Administration (EIA) is soliciting 
comments on the proposed revision and extension to the Form EIA-28, 
``Financial Reporting System (FRS).''

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before July 13, 1999. 
If you anticipate difficulty in submitting comments within that period, 
contact the person identified below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Gregory P. Filas, Energy Information 
Administration (EI-62), Financial Analysis Team, Forrestal Building, 
U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC 20585. Alternately, Mr. Filas 
may be contacted by telephone (202) 586-1347; e-mail 
[email protected]; or FAX (202) 586-9753.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the form and instructions should be directed to Mr. Filas at 
the address listed above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
II. Current Actions
III. Request for Comments

I. Background

    The Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974 (Pub. L. No. 93-275, 
15 U.S.C. 761 et seq.) and the Department of Energy Organization Act 
(Pub. L. No. 95-91, 42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) require the Energy 
Information Administration (EIA) to carry out a centralized, 
comprehensive, and unified energy information program. This program 
collects, evaluates, assembles, analyzes, and disseminates information 
on energy resource reserves, production, demand, technology, and 
related economic and statistical information. This information is used 
to assess the adequacy of energy resources to meet near and longer term 
domestic demands.
    The EIA, as part of its effort to comply with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), provides 
the general public and other Federal agencies with opportunities to 
comment on collections of energy information conducted by or in 
conjunction with the EIA. Any comments received help the EIA to prepare 
data requests that maximize the utility of the information collected, 
and to assess the impact of collection requirements on the public. 
Also, the EIA will later seek approval by the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) of the collections under Section 3507(h) of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995.
    Under Pub. L. 95-91, section 205(h), the Administrator of the EIA 
is required to ``identify and designate'' the major energy companies 
who must annually

[[Page 26388]]

file Form EIA-28 to ensure that the data collected provide ``a 
statistically accurate profile of each line of commerce in the energy 
industry in the United States.'' Data collected on Form EIA-28 are 
published and used in analyses of the energy industry.

II. Current Actions

    EIA is proposing to revise the Form EIA-28 as well as to request 
OMB approval to use the revised form through December 31, 2002. To 
reduce the burden on respondent companies, EIA is proposing to 
discontinue collecting detailed data for completed oil, gas, and dry 
wells. This information is currently collected on Form EIA-28, Schedule 
5211. Historically, this detailed data have some reporting problems 
requiring significant EIA follow-up. After reviewing the need for these 
data, EIA has decided to discontinue collecting the information and to 
use information available from the private sector.
    There are an increasing number of FRS companies that have upstream 
oil and gas unconsolidated affiliates that do not meet the criterion of 
1 percent of total U.S. oil and gas for inclusion in the FRS survey. As 
a consequence, coverage of important upstream operational activities in 
oil and gas is deteriorating and the usefulness of the FRS data are 
declining. EIA is proposing to modify the EIA-28 such that if a company 
currently reports oil and gas reserves disclosure data in the aggregate 
for its unconsolidated affiliates, the company will be required to 
report a subset of the EIA-28 data disaggregated by FRS region. The 
requested data for unconsolidated affiliates will be: (1) All upstream 
activity contained in Schedule 5211; (2) production segment purchases 
and sales in Schedule 5212; (3) all exploration, development, and 
production statistics in Schedule 5241; and (4) all proved petroleum 
reserves statistics in Schedule 5246.

III. Request for Comments

    Prospective respondents and other interested persons are invited to 
comment on the actions discussed in item II. The following guidelines 
are provided to assist in the preparation of comments.

General Issues

    A. Is the proposed collection of information necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the agency and does the 
information have practical utility? Practical utility is defined as the 
actual usefulness of information to or for an agency, taking into 
account its accuracy, adequacy, reliability, timeliness, and the 
agency's ability to process the information it collects.
    B. What enhancements can be made to the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information to be collected?

As a Potential Respondent

    A. Are the instructions and definitions clear and sufficient? If 
not, which instructions require clarification?
    B. Can information be submitted by the due date?
    C. Public reporting burden for this collection is estimated to 
average 500 hours per response. The estimated burden includes the total 
time, effort, or financial resources expended to generate, maintain, 
retain, disclose and provide the information.
    Please comment on (1) the accuracy of the agency's estimate and (2) 
how the agency could minimize the burden of collecting this 
information, including the use of information technology.
    D. The agency estimates respondents will incur no additional costs 
for reporting other than the hours required to complete the collection. 
What is the estimated: (1) Total dollar amount annualized for capital 
and start-up costs; and (2) recurring annual costs of operation and 
maintenance, and purchase of services associated with this data 
collection?
    E. Does any other Federal, State, or local agency collect similar 
information? If so, specify the agency, the data element(s), and the 
method(s) of collection.

As a Potential User

    A. Is the information useful at the levels of detail indicated on 
the form?
    B. For what purpose(s) would the information be used? Be specific.
    C. Are there alternate sources for the information and are they 
useful? If so, what are their deficiencies and/or strengths?
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of the form. They also 
will become a matter of public record.

    Authority: Section 3506 (c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (Pub. L. No. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).

    Issued in Washington, D.C. May 10, 1999.
Jay H. Casselberry,
Agency Clearance Officer, Statistics and Methods Group, Energy 
Information Administration.
[FR Doc. 99-12252 Filed 5-13-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P