[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 92 (Tuesday, May 13, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25587-25588]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-11886]
[[Page 25587]]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Energy Information Administration
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request
AGENCY: Energy Information Administration (EIA), Department of Energy
(DOE).
ACTION: Agency information collection activities: Proposed collection;
comment request.
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SUMMARY: The EIA is soliciting comments on the proposed three-year
extensions to the Oil and Gas Reserves Survey Forms EIA-23, EIA-23P and
EIA-64A. Form titles are ``Annual Survey of Domestic Oil and Gas
Reserves'' (EIA-23), ``Oil and Gas Well Operator List Update Report''
(EIA-23P) and ``Annual Report of the Origin of Natural Gas Liquids
Production'' (EIA-64A), respectively.
DATES: Comments must be filed by July 14, 2003. If you anticipate
difficulty in submitting comments within that period, contact the
person listed below as soon as possible.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to Rafi Zeinalpour. To ensure receipt of the
comments by the due date, submission by FAX (214-720-6155) or e-mail
[email protected] is recommended. The mailing address is U.
S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration, Reserves
and Production Division, 1999 Bryan Street, Suite 1110, Dallas, Texas
75201-6801. Alternatively, Mr. Zeinalpour may be contacted by phone at
(214) 720-6191.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or
copies of any forms and instructions should be directed to Rafi
Zeinalpour 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. 93-275, 15
U.S.C. 761 et seq.) and the DOE Organization Act (Pub. L. 95-91, 42
U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) require the 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) under Section 3507(a) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995.
Operators of crude oil and natural gas wells are the target
respondents of Forms EIA-23 and EIA-23P who should report volumes of
crude oil, associated-dissolved natural gas, non-associated natural gas
and lease condensate production and reserves along with revisions to
previous year reports, discoveries, extensions, sales and acquisitions,
and non-producing reserves for each operated field without regard to
interest ownership. Individual fields are requested from large and
intermediate size producers on Form EIA-23. Samples of small operators
are requested to submit less detailed information on a different
version of the form. The majority of small operators are not asked to
report annually on Form EIA-23. The selected sample of small operators
provide production and available reserves information for crude oil,
natural gas and lease condensate at a State or geographic sub-division
level on the Form EIA-23. Form EIA-23P is a postcard form used to
collect information on possible oil and gas well operators that may be
included in future EIA-23 surveys. Information obtained from Form EIA-
23P is used to confirm and/or update general operator information,
primarily about small companies with which no contact has been made in
the last few years.
Operators of natural gas plants are the target respondents of the
Form EIA-64A. The amount of natural gas processed, natural gas liquids
produced, resultant shrinkage of the natural gas and natural gas used
in processing are requested of all natural gas plant operators.
In response to Public Law 95-91 Section 657, estimates of U.S. oil
and gas reserves are to be reported annually. This a unique estimate
report that is utilized by many entities. These estimates are essential
to the development, implementation, and evaluation of energy policy and
legislation. Data are used directly in the EIA annual publication, U.S.
Crude Oil, Natural Gas and Natural Gas Liquids Reserves, and are
incorporated in a number of other publications and analyses. Secondary
publications, which use the data, include EIA's Annual Energy Review,
Annual Energy Outlook, Petroleum Supply Annual and Natural Gas Annual.
II. Current Actions
This notice is for a proposed three-year extension of Form EIA-23,
``Annual Survey of Domestic Oil and Gas Reserves'', Form EIA-23P, ``Oil
and Gas Well Operator List Update Report'', and Form EIA-64A, ``Annual
Report of the Origin of Natural Gas Liquids Production.''
Form EIA-23P will be extended without modification. Currently
available reliable State and other sources will be used to confirm and/
or update operator information thereby reducing the number of Form EIA-
23P mail-outs and thus the burden on respondents.
Form EIA-64A will also be extended without modification.
Maintaining the list of currently active gas plants will be aided by
reliable State and other sources thereby reducing the number of needed
contacts with plant operators.
Form EIA-23 will also be extended without modification. Large and
intermediate operators are provided a CD-ROM of the RIGS (Reserves
Information Gathering System) to aid in reducing the time needed to
complete the Field Level Survey form. Field description information and
ending reserves values from last years report can be maintained
electronically and automatically loaded into the current survey. In
addition, new field description information (State, Subdivision, County
Code, Field Code, MMS Code and Field Name) is available on a drop down
menu using only the field name thereby further reducing the number of
potential errors and the response time of these operators. The RIGS
program also has automatic error messages to aid in the accurate
completion of the survey data and reducing the time needed to check the
response submission for errors. In addition, the completed survey may
now be submitted electronically via e-mail further reducing the
handling and response time of operators.
Sampled small operators can now complete the survey using an
electronic version of the Summary Survey form potentially reducing
their response time. In addition, they can also submit the completed
survey electronically via
[[Page 25588]]
e-mail further reducing the handling and response time of the
operators.
Many U. S. government agencies have an interest in the definitions
of proved oil and gas reserves and the quality, reliability and
usefulness of estimates of reserves. Among these are the Energy
Information Administration (EIA), Department of Energy; Minerals
Management Service (MMS), Department of Interior; Internal Revenue
Service (IRS), Department of the Treasury; and the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC). Each of these organizations has specific
purposes for collecting, using, or estimating proved reserves. The EIA
has a congressional mandate to provide accurate annual estimates of
U.S. proved crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids reserves and
publishes an annual reserves report to meet this requirement. The MMS
is second only to the IRS in generating Federal revenue. The MMS
maintains estimates of proved reserves to carry out their
responsibilities in leasing, collecting royalty payments and regulating
the activities of oil and gas companies on Federal lands and water. For
the IRS, proved reserves and occasionally probable reserves are an
essential component of calculating taxes for companies owning or
producing oil and gas. The SEC requires publicly traded petroleum
companies to annually file a reserves statement as part of their 10-K
filing. The basic purpose of the 10-K filing is to give the investing
public a clear and reliable financial basis to assess the relative
value, as a financial asset, of a company's reserves, especially in
comparison to other similar oil and gas companies.
Respondents should use the same methods when estimating reserves
for the EIA as they do for the SEC. If there is an apparent conflict in
requirements and assumptions, give precedence to the methods used for
the SEC. Operators should note in the footnotes whether end of year or
annual average prices were used and whether probabilistic or
deterministic methods were utilized at the field level.
III. Request for Comments
Prospective respondents and other interested parties should comment
on the actions discussed in item II. The following guidelines are
provided to assist in the preparation of comments. Please indicate to
which form(s) your comments apply.
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 to the Request for Information
A. What actions could be taken to help ensure and maximize the
quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of the information to be
collected?
B. Are the instructions and definitions clear and sufficient? If
not, which instructions need clarification?
C. Can the information be submitted by the due date?
D. Public reporting burden for this collection is estimated to
average 4 hours for small operators, 32 hours for intermediate
operators, and 160 hours for large operators on Form EIA-23. For
operators reporting on Form EIA-23P, reporting burden is estimated at
15 minutes. For natural gas plant operators reporting on Form EIA-64A,
the reporting burden is estimated at 6 hours. The estimated burden
includes the total time necessary to provide the requested information.
In your opinion, how accurate is this estimate?
E. The agency estimates that the only cost to a respondent is for
the time it will take to complete the collection. Will a respondent
incur any start-up costs for reporting, or any recurring annual costs
for operation, maintenance, and purchase of services associated with
the information collection?
F. What additional actions could be taken to minimize the burden of
this collection of information? Such actions may involve the use of
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection
techniques or other forms of information technology.
G. Does any other Federal, State, or local agency collect similar
information? If so, specify the agency, the data element(s), and the
methods of collection.
As a Potential User of the Information To Be Collected
A. What actions could be taken to help ensure and maximize the
quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of the information
disseminated?
B. Is the information useful at the levels of detail to be
collected?
C. For what purpose(s) would the information be used? Be specific.
D. Are there alternate sources for the information and are they
useful? If so, what are their weaknesses and/or strengths?
Issued in Washington, DC, on May 7, 2003.
Nancy J. Kirkendall,
Director, Statistics and Methods Group, Energy Information
Administration.
[FR Doc. 03-11886 Filed 5-12-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P