[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 200 (Wednesday, October 15, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61101-61103]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-24487]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Energy Information Administration


Solicitation of Comments on the Process and Technologies Used for 
Disseminating the Weekly Petroelum Status Report and the Weekly Natural 
Gas Storage Report

AGENCY: Energy Information Administration (EIA), Department of Energy 
(DOE).

ACTION: Solicitation of comments on the process and technologies used 
for disseminating the Weekly Petroleum Status Report and the Weekly 
Natural Gas Storage Report.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The EIA is requesting comments on the process and technologies 
used for disseminating weekly information regarding petroleum and 
natural gas stocks in the Weekly Petroleum Status Report (WPSR) and the 
Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report (WNGSR). EIA has attempted to develop 
its current dissemination processes and information technologies to 
meet its goal of providing fair access to any interested user, but has 
recently faced significant challenges in this area that may require 
changes in the process and/or technologies used for disseminating 
weekly data. This request is based on EIA's mandate for carrying out a 
central, comprehensive and unified energy data and information program 
responsive to users' needs for credible, reliable and timely energy 
information that will improve and broaden understanding of petroleum 
and natural gas supply in the United States.

DATES: Comments must be filed by November 14, 2008. If you anticipate 
difficulty in submitting comments within that period, contact the 
person listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be directed to Karen Robinson, Office of Oil 
and Gas. To ensure receipt of the comments by the due date, submission 
by FAX (202-586-9739) or e-mail ([email protected]) is 
recommended. The mailing address is Office of Oil and Gas, Energy 
Information Administration, EI-40, Forrestal Building, U.S. Department 
of Energy, 1000 Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20585. 
Alternatively, Karen Robinson may be contacted by telephone at (202) 
586-2585.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
should be directed to Karen Robinson as listed above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
I. Background
II. Issues with Dissemination of Weekly Reports
III. Request for Comments

I. Background

    Every week, the EIA's Office of Oil and Gas releases two reports, 
one on the previous week's U.S. petroleum supply and disposition and 
one on natural gas storage inventories. Together, these reports provide 
the industry, press, planners, policymakers, consumers, analysts, and 
State and local governments with a ready, reliable source of current 
information about petroleum and natural gas.
    The WPSR has provided timely information on supply and disposition 
of crude oil and principal petroleum products since April 1979. The 
WPSR was initiated to increase available information during a period of 
gasoline shortages arising from the repercussions of the revolution in 
Iran. The WPSR describes the supply and disposition of crude oil and 
petroleum products in the United States in major U.S. regions called 
Petroleum Administration for Defense Districts. The weekly data are 
used as preliminary estimates for the Petroleum Supply Monthly (PSM) 
and the Monthly Energy Review (MER). While more accurate and detailed 
data are presented in the PSM based on monthly surveys, those surveys 
do not capture sudden or rapid changes in petroleum market conditions 
nor do they provide data that are timely enough to be useful in a 
shortfall situation.
    The WNGSR has provided weekly estimates of working natural gas 
volumes held in underground storage facilities at the national and 
regional levels since May 2002. Weekly estimates of working natural gas 
in storage were first provided by the American Gas Association (AGA) 
starting in 1994. EIA picked up the report when the AGA announced that 
it would discontinue its survey. The WNGSR relies on weekly survey data 
from a sample of operators of underground storage facilities. These 
data are used to prepare regional and national estimates for all 
underground storage. In September 2007 the WNGSR was designated by the 
Office of Management and Budget as DOE's first Principal Federal 
Economic Indicator.
    Over time, interest in both the WPSR and the WNGSR has increased. 
Weekly WPSR and WNGSR results are routinely predicted by analysts, and 
deviations from analysts' expectations are often cited as moving 
futures markets in petroleum and natural gas.
    As one part of its response to a problem that arose in the release 
of WPSR data on May 29, 2008, press releases issued on May 29, 2008 and 
June 2, 2008, announced EIA's intention to open a dialogue to discuss 
the technical and process challenges facing EIA in this area with users 
interested in accessing weekly data, including the press, trading 
organizations and other parties. This Federal Register notice initiates 
that dialogue. Following the exchange of information with stakeholders, 
EIA will develop a specific proposal for a comprehensive release 
process that is both fair and takes account of changing technologies 
and post that proposal in the Federal Register for comment. After 
considering comments, EIA will decide on and publicly announce its 
revised comprehensive release process before any changes are 
implemented.

II. Issues With Dissemination of Weekly Reports

    EIA's interest is in providing fair access to any interested user, 
regardless of the nature of their interest, whether that interest is 
commercial, journalistic, academic, policy or general interest. EIA's 
dissemination process and information technologies attempt to meet that 
goal.
    EIA's current practice is to load the WPSR and WNGSR on its Web 
site prior to the scheduled release time, behind a software ``gate'' 
that prevents access to the reports before the release time. At the 
release time, the gate is removed, and interested parties have access 
to the information.
    Because oil and natural gas market participants respond extremely 
quickly to the information, the commercial value of the information is 
high but decays extremely quickly. The use of automated retrieval 
programs known as ``robots'' to access online data in combination with 
the ability to program trading based on data received by robots through 
electronic interfaces in oil and natural gas commodities markets (both 
futures and over-the-counter swaps) creates a situation where small 
time

[[Page 61102]]

differences in access to this information can have commercial 
implications.
    Consistent with the intense immediate interest and the quick decay 
in the commercial value of the information, demand on EIA servers 
increases significantly over just a few seconds around release times. 
For example, during the first half of 2008, attempts to access the Web 
site for the WPSR at about the time of release rose from fewer than 100 
hits per second to a typical peak between 1,000 and 5,000 hits per 
second. One hour before or after the release, hits per second are at 
much lower levels. The immediate reason for the surge in hits on the 
EIA web site is the more active use of robots. In EIA's experience, 
although most robots have not performed at excessive levels, some 
robots have been designed to submit requests so rapidly that their load 
has reduced overall server performance and impaired access to others.
    EIA has attempted to manage this weekly demand for WPSR data and, 
to a lesser degree, the WNGSR, through the application of a new process 
and technologies designed to meet the goal of providing fair access to 
any interested user. However, in a Web environment, strategies used by 
EIA's customers evolve constantly, requiring continuous refinement of 
EIA's process and information technologies to meet its goal of 
providing all EIA customers with fair access to our data. Two recent 
experiences illustrate the challenges faced by EIA in this area.
    On May 29, 2008, petroleum data published in the WPSR for the week 
ending May 23, 2008, was briefly made available on the public EIA Web 
site prior to its scheduled release time of 10:30 a.m. (Eastern Time) 
due to a combination of procedural and information technology errors 
involving the process and technologies deployed in response to the rise 
in robot activity. EIA reviewed what happened on May 29, 2008, and took 
significant actions to stabilize its systems and strengthen its 
processes. In a press release on the day of the incident, EIA provided 
information on initial indications of the problem and stated that 
interim changes necessary to avoid a recurrence would be made available 
no later than June 2, 2008, two days ahead of the next scheduled weekly 
data release. The May 29, 2008, press release and another one issued on 
June 2, 2008, announced EIA's intention to open a dialogue with 
customers on the process and technologies for dissemination of the 
weekly data. The June 2, 2008, press release also outlined the 
following interim changes:
    1. Temporary process changes, including a delay in WNGSR and WPSR 
data releases until 10:35 a.m., to assure the inaccessibility of data;
    2. Release of WNGSR and WPSR 30 minutes apart when releases are 
scheduled to occur on the same day during weeks with a Federal holiday 
on a Monday;
    3. Immediate implementation of a policy to block robots that are 
accessing the Web site in any way that EIA considers excessive or 
malicious or that do not contain contact or identifying information; 
and,
    4. A reminder that EIA may report robot activity in accordance with 
its Security Policy, which could result in criminal prosecution under 
the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information 
Infrastructure Protection Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-294), (18 U.S.C. 
1030), or other applicable criminal laws.
    Internally, EIA thoroughly tested its software, both in regular 
operations and under stressed conditions, and eliminated all identified 
problems. EIA also has revised its process, increasing the 
communication across EIA staff before and during release to identify 
potential issues, proactively develop actions to minimize risk and 
assure that all employees act in accordance with written procedures.
    EIA's actions have materially reduced the likelihood of a repeated 
early release of the WPSR, but stress on the process and systems 
remains due to the increasing level of interest in the WPSR and WNGSR 
at release time. EIA's interim actions were primarily designed to 
stabilize and improve its process and system. In addition, the actions 
did remind those accessing WPSR and WNGSR data that EIA policy 
permitted more active EIA responses to manage certain types of 
behaviors.
    The most aggressive activity did subside for some time after the 
May 29, 2008, incident and the issuance of the May 29, 2008, and June 
2, 2008, press releases. More recently, however, the most aggressive 
visitors have increased their activity significantly. For example, on 
September 10, 2008, some parties attempting to reach the WPSR faced 
delays in access until after the release time directly because of the 
aggressive behavior of others. On that day, robots launched from 
several IP addresses impeded access to EIA's servers for several 
seconds by repeatedly downloading the same WPSR data--hundreds or 
thousands of times--without relinquishing their connections. This 
activity impaired other users' access to the data.
    EIA is continuing to explore technological alternatives to permit 
it to achieve its goal of providing fair access to WPSR and WNGSR data 
as close to simultaneously as possible to any interested user, 
regardless of the nature of their interest, whether it is commercial, 
journalistic, academic, policy or general interest. Since September 10, 
2008, EIA has more actively blocked robots from IP addresses with prior 
patterns of excessive attempts to download information. EIA is 
developing the ability to block real-time activity beyond predetermined 
thresholds. And, as indicated above, EIA has asserted its intent to 
report robot activity in accordance with its Security Policy, which 
could result in criminal prosecution under the Computer Fraud and Abuse 
Act of 1986 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act 
of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-294), (18 U.S.C. 1030), or other applicable 
criminal laws.
    The technical requirements to manage increasingly aggressive 
behavior by apparently increasing numbers of interested parties in a 
highly technological environment are extraordinary. The complexity is 
increased at the same time by EIA's and DOE's needs to manage cyber 
security in a Governmental context of tight budgets and very fast 
change. In some ways, the problem may be without precedent--the 
functional equivalent, whether intended or not, of a prescheduled 
denial-of-service attack twice a week. Incremental technology and 
process solutions may not be enough to assure that fair access to WPSR 
and WNGSR data is available to all interested users.

III. Request for Comments

    EIA is asking for public comment on the issues discussed in item 
II. In particular, EIA is seeking public comments on the following 
questions:
    A. EIA's interest is in providing fair access to any interested 
user, regardless of the nature of their interest, whether that interest 
is commercial, journalistic, academic, policy or general interest. EIA 
has attempted to develop its dissemination process and information 
technologies to meet that goal.
    1. EIA releases information it collects in the normal course of its 
business. Release of that information is for the public good, rather 
than for any particular commercial reason. The commercial value of the 
information to users underscores its importance, but is entirely 
outside of EIA's mandate. Other than protecting its own information 
technology infrastructure, should EIA be concerned over the 
accessibility of the

[[Page 61103]]

information it disseminates on its Web site if some users experience 
delays in accessing the weekly data?
    2. Disseminating information simultaneously over the web is not 
physically possible. Servers process information sequentially and 
communication connections to servers have physical limitations that 
mean, in absolute terms, the information does not move 
``simultaneously.'' However, very small time differences may not be 
material. In the case of release of the WPSR and WNGSR, do minor delays 
involving one to fifty seconds in accessing information undermine EIA's 
policy to promote fair access in operational terms?
    3. The value of WPSR and WNGSR information varies for different 
customers. With the development of electronic trading in oil and 
natural gas commodities--both futures and swaps--the ability to use 
software ``robots'' to access online data and the ability to automate 
trading based on data received by robots through electronic interfaces, 
a time difference in access to this information on the order of even a 
second or two could have implications for commercial users. Journalists 
and possibly certain consultants will want to communicate this 
information to commercial users as well, and very short-period access 
differences matter for these data users as well. Those with academic, 
policy or general interests may not need this information within 
seconds of its release. Should EIA consider possible technological 
solutions to provide access to this information on different time 
frames? Would treating different types of customers differently be a 
problem? If so, why and how?
    4. A registration system could permit registered customers to have 
the most immediate access to data in exchange for contact information 
and an agreement to access information using procedures and methods 
that do not put other customers at risk for delayed access. Should EIA 
require registration for customers needing immediate access to this 
data and what guidelines would be reasonable for users to follow?
    B. EIA's current practice is to load the WPSR and WNGSR on its Web 
site prior to the scheduled release time, behind a software ``gate'' 
that prevents access to the reports before the release time. At the 
release time, the gate is removed, and interested parties have access 
to the information. Currently, the releases occur at times when trading 
of energy futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange is open.
    1. Is a web release of information the best way to disseminate that 
information? Are there alternatives that would be more effective? For 
example, are there reliable ``push'' technologies that could come 
closer to simultaneous access--ways for EIA to send the information to 
interested parties rather than simply posting it?
    2. Are there particular technologies that EIA should be considering 
to (a) manage the brief, extraordinarily high loads associated with the 
WPSR and WNGSR releases, (b) block aggressive behaviors reducing 
service quality to others (inadvertently or intentionally), and (c) 
protect data after it is loaded onto the servers and before its 
release? Technologies could include software solutions, hardware and 
hardware configurations, etc.
    3. Should EIA consider moving the release times for the WPSR and 
WNGSR? Most other economic and commodity data is released either before 
or after major U.S. stock and commodity exchanges are open. With the 
advent of electronic trading, NYMEX regularly trades petroleum and 
natural gas futures from 6 p.m. to the next day at 5:15 p.m. every day 
except Saturday afternoon into Sunday. This schedule typically leaves 
only a 45-minute window when trades do not take place during the work 
week. Online trading in over-the-counter swaps effectively takes place 
continuously. Are there times for release of the WPSR and WNGSR that 
better align with trading activity?
    C. EIA has more actively blocked robots from IP addresses with 
prior patterns of extremely aggressive behavior. EIA is developing the 
ability to block activity by robots beyond pre-determined thresholds.
    1. Should EIA consider banning use of robots to access this data?
    2. Should EIA continue to block robots based on their level of 
activity? If so, what criteria should EIA use to block them? Historical 
behavior? Real-time behavior?
    3. Could EIA develop and distribute a standard robot designed to 
regulate traffic by managing how hard it hit the EIA Web site, allowing 
for blocking of non-standard designs and possibly identifying users to 
allow for more effective follow-up?
    D. EIA has asserted its intent to report robot activity in 
accordance with its Security Policy, which could result in criminal 
prosecution under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the 
National Information Infrastructure Protection Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 
104-294), (18 U.S.C. 1030), or other applicable criminal laws. At what 
point does tying-up access to EIA's servers for several seconds by 
repeatedly downloading the same without relinquishing connections 
data--hundreds or thousands of times--become effectively a cyber 
security attack? What standards should EIA apply to make that 
determination?
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be considered by 
EIA in the development of future dissemination policies, processes and 
systems. The comments will also become a matter of public record.
    After consideration of the comments, EIA will issue a description 
of revised policies, processes and technologies used for disseminating 
the WPSR and the WNGSR. The description will be announced in a Federal 
Register notice issued by EIA.

    Statutory Authority: 15 U.S.C. 764(b) and 790(a).

    Issued in Washington, DC, October 8, 2008.
Howard Gruenspecht,
Acting Administrator, Energy Information Administration.
[FR Doc. E8-24487 Filed 10-14-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P