[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 134 (Wednesday, July 15, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34318-34320]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-16822]


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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 
extension of the Oil and Gas Reserves System Survey Forms: Form EIA-23L

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Annual Survey of Domestic Oil and Gas Reserves, Field Level Report; 
Form EIA-23S Annual Survey of Domestic Oil and Gas Reserves, Summary 
Level Report; and EIA-64A Annual Report of the Origin of Natural Gas 
Liquids Production.

DATES: Comments must be filed by September 14, 2009. If you anticipate 
difficulty in submitting comments within that period, contact the 
person listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES:  Send comments to Mr. Steven Grape at U.S. Department of 
Energy, Energy Information Administration, Reserves and Production 
Division, 1999 Bryan Street, Suite 1110, Dallas, Texas 75201-6801. To 
ensure receipt of the comments by the due date, submission by e-mail 
([email protected]) or fax (214-720-6155) is recommended. 
Alternatively, Mr. Grape may be contacted by telephone at (214-720-
6174).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of any forms and instructions should be directed to Mr. Grape as 
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 EIA-23 
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 Form EIA-23. There are two versions of Form EIA-23. 
Field level information is requested from large and intermediate 
operators. Large operators (those that produce 1.5 million barrels or 
more of crude oil or 15 billion cubic feet or more of natural gas per 
year) and intermediate operators (those that produce at least 400,000 
barrels of crude oil or 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per year, 
but less than large operators) file Form EIA-23L, field level. 
Respondents report volumes of crude oil, associated-dissolved natural 
gas, non-associated natural gas, lease condensate, production, 
reserves, revisions to previous year reports, discoveries, extensions, 
sales, acquisitions, and non-producing reserves for each individual 
operated field without regard to interest ownership. A selected sample 
of small operators (those that produce less than intermediate 
operators) are requested to submit the less detailed Form EIA-23S, 
summary level. These operators provide production and available 
reserves information for crude oil, total natural gas, and lease 
condensate at a State or geographic subdivision level. The majority of 
small operators are not asked to report annually on Form EIA-23.
    Operators of natural gas plants are the target respondents of the 
Form EIA-64A. The volumes 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. 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 presents annual reserves 
data in EIA Web reports to meet this requirement. 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, and is second only to 
the IRS in generating Federal revenue. 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.
    The Government also uses the resulting information to develop 
national and regional estimates of proved reserves of domestic crude 
oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids to facilitate national energy 
policy decisions. These estimates are essential to the development, 
implementation, and evaluation of energy policy and legislation. Data 
are used directly in EIA web reports concerning U.S. crude oil, natural 
gas, and natural gas liquids reserves, and are incorporated into a 
number of other Web reports and analyses. Secondary reports that 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 3-year extension of Form EIA-23L Annual Survey 
of Domestic Oil and Gas Reserves, Field Level Report; Form EIA-23S 
Annual Survey of Domestic Oil and Gas Reserves, Summary Level Report; 
and EIA-64A Annual Report of the Origin of Natural Gas Liquids 
Production.
    There are no changes being proposed to the current Forms EIA-23L, 
Form EIA-23S, and Form EIA-64A.

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. (If the notice 
covers more than one form, add ``Please indicate to which form(s) your 
comments apply.'')
    As a Potential Respondent to the Request for Information:
    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?

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    B. What actions could be taken to help ensure and maximize the 
quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of the information to be 
collected?
    C. Are the instructions and definitions clear and sufficient? If 
not, which instructions need clarification?
    D. Can the information be submitted by the respondent by the due 
date?
    E. Public reporting burden for this collection is estimated to 
average:
    Form EIA-23S: 4 hours (small operators)
    Form EIA-23L: 32 hours (intermediate operators); 160 hours (large 
operators)
    Form EIA-64A: 6 hours (natural gas plant operators).
    The estimated burden includes the total time necessary to provide 
the requested information. In your opinion, how accurate is this 
estimate?
    F. 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?
    G. 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.
    H. 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. Is the proposed collection of information necessary for the 
proper performance of the functions of the agency and does the 
information have practical utility?
    B. What actions could be taken to help ensure and maximize the 
quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of the information 
disseminated?
    C. Is the information useful at the levels of detail to be 
collected?
    D. For what purpose(s) would the information be used? Be specific.
    E. Are there alternate sources for the information and are they 
useful? If so, what are their weaknesses 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.

     Statutory Authority:  Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974 
(15 U.S.C. 761 et seq.), and the DOE Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 
7101).

    Issued in Washington, DC, July 9, 2009.
Stephanie Brown,
Director, Statistics and Methods Group, Energy Information 
Administration.
[FR Doc. E9-16822 Filed 7-14-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P