[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 112 (Monday, June 11, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34368-34371]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-14116]


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

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

U.S. Energy Information Administration


Agency Information Collection Extension

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

ACTION: Agency information collection activities: information 
collection extension with change; comment request.

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

SUMMARY: This notice replaces the notice published April 11, 2012 at 77 
FR 21756 regarding the extension of the collection of information for 
the Petroleum Supply Reporting System. The EIA, pursuant to the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, intends to extend for three years with 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) the Petroleum Supply 
Reporting System. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall 
have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of 
the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance 
the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; 
and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
respondents, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.

DATES: Comments must be filed by August 10, 2012. If you anticipate 
difficulty in submitting comments within that period, contact the 
person listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Ms. Sylvia Norris at U.S. Energy 
Information Administration, Office of Petroleum and Biofuels 
Statistics, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Ave., SW., EI-
25, Washington, DC 20585. To ensure receipt of the comments by the due 
date, submission by email ([email protected]) is recommended. 
Alternatively, Ms. Norris may be contacted by telephone at 202-586-
6106.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of any forms and instructions should be directed to Ms. Sylvia 
Norris at the contact information listed above. The proposed forms and 
instructions are available on the Internet at: http://www.eia.gov/survey/#petroleum

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    This information collection request contains:
    (1) OMB No.: 1905-0165;
    (2) Information Collection Request Title: Petroleum Supply 
Reporting System. The survey forms included in this system are:
Form EIA-800 ``Weekly Refinery Report''
Form EIA-802 ``Weekly Product Pipeline Report''
Form EIA-803 ``Weekly Crude Oil Report''
Form EIA-804 ``Weekly Import Report''
    Form EIA-805 ``Weekly Bulk Terminal and Blender Report''
Form EIA-809 ``Weekly Oxygenate Report''
Form EIA-22M ``Monthly Biodiesel Production Survey''
Form EIA-810 ``Monthly Refinery Report''
Form EIA-812 ``Monthly Product Pipeline Report''
Form EIA-813 ``Monthly Crude Oil Report''
Form EIA-814 ``Monthly Import Report''
    Form EIA-815 ``Monthly Bulk Terminal and Blender Report''
Form EIA-816 ``Monthly Natural Gas Plant Liquids Report''
Form EIA-817 ``Monthly Tanker and Barge Movements Report''
Form EIA-819 ``Monthly Oxygenate Report''
Form EIA-820 ``Annual Refinery Report'';
    (3) Type of Request: Three-year extension with changes;
    (4) Purpose:
    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.
    Weekly petroleum and biofuels supply surveys (Forms EIA-800, 802, 
803, 804, 805, and 809) are used to gather data on petroleum refinery 
operations, blending, biofuels production, inventory levels, and 
imports of crude oil, petroleum products, and biofuels from a sample of 
operating companies. Data from weekly surveys appear in EIA reports 
including the Weekly Petroleum Status Report, http://www.eia.gov/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/weekly_petroleum_status_report/wpsr.html Short-Term Energy Outlook, http://www.eia.gov/forecasts/steo/
; This Week in Petroleum, http://www.eia.gov/forecasts/steo/; Monthly 
Energy Review, http://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/monthly/, and 
others.
    Monthly petroleum and biofuels supply surveys (Forms EIA-810, 812, 
813, 814, 815, 816, 817, 819, and 22M) are used to gather data on 
petroleum refinery operations, blending, biofuels production, natural 
gas plant liquids production, inventory levels, imports, inter-regional 
movements, and storage capacity for crude oil, petroleum products, and 
biofuels. Crude oil production data and petroleum and biofuels export 
data from the U.S. Census Bureau are integrated with data from EIA 
petroleum supply surveys to create a comprehensive statistical view

[[Page 34369]]

of U.S. petroleum supplies that is unavailable from any other source.
    Monthly petroleum and biofuels supply surveys support weekly 
surveys by providing a complete set of in-scope petroleum and biofuels 
supply data from which weekly survey samples are drawn. In addition, 
monthly surveys provide data elements that are not collected on weekly 
reports such as production of natural gas plant liquids and refinery 
processing gain. Data from monthly petroleum and biofuels supply 
surveys appear in EIA reports including Petroleum Supply Monthly, 
http://www.eia.gov/petroleum/supply/monthly/ Petroleum Supply Annual, 
http://www.eia.gov/petroleum/supply/annual/volume1/; Monthly Energy 
Review, http://www.eia.gov/petroleum/supply/annual/volume1/ Annual 
Energy Review, http://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/annual/ Short-Term 
Energy Outlook, http://www.eia.gov/forecasts/steo/; Annual Energy 
Outlook, http://www.eia.gov/forecasts/aeo/er/, and others. Monthly 
survey data provide input for reports in the EIA State Energy Data 
System, and provide U.S. data submitted to the International Energy 
Agency.
    Further, Section 1508 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT 2005) 
(42 U.S.C. 7135(m)) requires the EIA to conduct a survey which collects 
the quantity of renewable fuels produced, blended, imported, and 
demanded on a monthly basis, as well as market price data on a monthly 
basis. The EIA-22M collects these data in order to fulfill this 
mandate.
    Form EIA-820 ``Annual Refinery Report'' provides plant-level data 
on refinery capacities as well as national and regional data on fuels 
consumed by refineries, natural gas consumed as hydrogen feedstock, and 
crude oil receipts by method of transportation for operating and idle 
petroleum refineries (including new refineries under construction), and 
refineries shutdown during the previous year. The information collected 
appears in the Refinery Capacity Report, http://www.eia.gov/petroleum/refinerycapacity/ Annual Energy Review, http://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/annual/, and other reports available electronically from the EIA 
web site at http://www.eia.gov.
    (4a) Proposed Changes to Information Collection:
    The EIA proposes to discontinue Form EIA-801 ``Weekly Bulk Terminal 
Report'' and collect that same information by adding data elements to 
Form EIA-805 ``Weekly Bulk Terminal and Blender Report'' so that Form 
EIA-805 will be used to collect bulk terminal inventory data that were 
collected on Form EIA-801 as well as gasoline and other blending 
operations data. The Form EIA-805 would collect stocks of products 
which can be viewed below and on the draft form (see FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section for instructions about how to obtain 
proposed survey material). Reporting on Form EIA-805 will continue to 
be by each terminal site. The following are proposed modifications to 
Form EIA-805.
     Add stocks of total natural gas plant liquids (NGPL) and 
liquefied refinery gases (LRG).
     Add stocks of propane and propylene (a subset of total 
NGPL and LRG).
     Add stocks of nonfuel propylene (a subset of propane/
propylene stocks).
     Add stocks of residual fuel oil.
     Add stocks of unfinished oils.
     Add stocks of products currently listed on Form EIA-805 
including
--Fuel Ethanol
--Finished Motor Gasoline, Reformulated, blended with Fuel Ethanol
--Finished Motor Gasoline, Reformulated, Other
--Finished Motor Gasoline, Conventional, blended with Fuel Ethanol, 
Ed55 and lower
--Finished Motor Gasoline, Conventional, blended with Fuel Ethanol, 
Greater than Ed55
--Finished Motor Gasoline, Conventional, Other
--Motor Gasoline Blending Components, Reformulated Blendstock for 
Oxygenate Blending (RBOB)
--Motor Gasoline Blending Components, Conventional Blendstock for 
Oxygenate Blending (CBOB)
--Motor Gasoline Blending Components, Gasoline Treated as Blendstock 
(GTAB)
--Motor Gasoline Blending Components, All Other
--Kerosene-Type Jet Fuel
--Distillate Fuel Oil by Sulfur Category (15 ppm sulfur and under, 
Greater than 15 ppm to 500 ppm sulfur (inclusive), and Greater than 500 
ppm sulfur)
    Eliminating Form EIA-801 and the proposed changes to Form EIA-805 
will make weekly bulk terminal reporting consistent with current survey 
reporting on monthly surveys and will provide more useful and accurate 
data for weekly analysis and assessment of U.S. inventories and 
blending of petroleum products and biofuels.
    EIA originally proposed to discontinue using Form EIA-801 for 
weekly bulk terminal reporting and consolidate all petroleum terminal 
reporting on Form EIA-805 as part of our 2009 survey form changes. The 
2009 proposal was later withdrawn because of concern about increased 
reporting burden due to the large number of weekly responses that were 
expected to be needed by Form EIA-805 in order to achieve the necessary 
sample coverage (the estimate was for an increase from 445 to 968 
weekly responses), as well as a concern about the feasibility of 
processing all of the responses in a timely manner. EIA has implemented 
an electronic data collection method called the Excel Data Extraction 
System (EDES) that allows us to process a larger volume of reports. 
Further assessment of the sample requirement, including examination of 
changes in the terminal industry, resulted in reduction in the estimate 
of the required responses to 750 per week, an increase of 215 weekly 
responses from the current 535 weekly responses for collecting blending 
data on Form EIA-805. When balanced against a reduction of 187 weekly 
responses from eliminating Form EIA-801, this results in an estimated 
net increase of only 28 weekly responses. We believe there are 
sufficient benefits in terms of data utility and quality to be derived 
from consolidation of weekly bulk terminal reporting to justify this 
relatively minor increase in the number of weekly responses.
    EIA proposes to change the data protection policy regarding monthly 
atmospheric crude oil distillation capacity reported on Form EIA-810 
``Monthly Refinery Report.'' EIA proposes to no longer protect monthly 
atmospheric crude oil distillation reported on Form EIA-810. EIA 
proposes to release these data as public information in identifiable 
form. Atmospheric crude oil distillation capacity data collected on 
Form EIA-820 ``Annual Refinery Report,'' are released each year in 
identifiable form, by company and refinery site. These data appear in 
the Refinery Capacity Report available at http://www.eia.gov/petroleum/refinerycapacity/from the EIA web site. Protecting the atmospheric 
crude oil distillation capacity data that is collected monthly on Form 
EIA-810 is inconsistent with the public release of this same 
information that is reported annually on Form EIA-820. EIA is only 
proposing to no longer protect the identifiability of atmospheric crude 
oil distillation capacity reported on Form EIA-810. All other 
information reported on Form EIA-810 will continue to be protected to 
the extent that it satisfies the criteria for exemption under the

[[Page 34370]]

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552, the Department of 
Energy (DOE) regulations, 10 CFR 1004.11 implementing the FOIA, and the 
Trade Secrets Act, 18 U.S.C. 1905.
    This change is proposed so that EIA may release reports and other 
analytical information products that contain statements related to 
atmospheric crude oil distillation capacity at specific refineries 
based on more current monthly data rather than relying solely upon 
annual data. Under the current disclosure limitation policy, we are 
only able to make refinery-specific statements about capacity based on 
data from Form EIA-820, but interest is often in more current data. The 
public release of monthly crude oil distillation capacity information 
reported on Form EIA-810 will assist State and local governments and 
other energy planners that use these data for energy emergency 
planning. EIA contends that the release of atmospheric crude oil 
distillation capacity reported on Form EIA-810 will not cause 
competitive harm because similar data are already publicly released by 
EIA in the Annual Refinery Capacity Report and refinery-specific 
capacity data are widely quoted in press reports.
    EIA proposes to discontinue collection of maximum sustainable fuel 
ethanol production capacity and change the data protection policy on 
Form EIA-819. Beginning with data collected for January 2013, EIA 
proposes to treat all information reported on fuel ethanol nameplate 
production capacity on Form EIA-819 as public information and release 
it on EIA's Web site. EIA will change the instructions on Form EIA-819 
to state that this information will be treated as public. The publicly 
available ethanol production capacity information would be identifiable 
by company and facility. The data protection policy for all other 
information reported on Form EIA-819 will remain the same and be 
protected to the extent that the information qualifies as confidential 
commercial information under the criteria for exemption in the Freedom 
of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552; the Department of Energy (DOE) 
regulations, 10 CFR part 1004, which implement the FOIA; and the Trade 
Secrets Act, 18 U.S.C. 1905. The proposed policy change 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 energy in the United States.
    EIA releases on its Web site, on an annual basis, the atmospheric 
crude oil distillation capacity and downstream charge capacity, by 
state, for each oil refinery in the Refinery Capacity Report. One 
important use of ethanol is for blending with gasoline. The publication 
of fuel ethanol plant production capacities by facility will provide 
comparable upstream information similar to refineries and will be 
useful to assess upstream gasoline market supply conditions. By 
providing capacity information at the facility level for ethanol 
production and other refined petroleum products, supply conditions 
within a region or state may be assessed in the event of a supply 
disruption.
    Fuel ethanol production capacities were previously collected by EIA 
on Form EIA-819A ``Annual Oxygenate Capacity Report'' from January 1, 
1993-1995 and released by company and facility in the Petroleum Supply 
Annual during that same time period. Form EIA-819A was discontinued in 
1996. The proposal to release fuel ethanol plant production capacity 
collected on Form EIA-819 beginning with data for January 2013, 
reference period is consistent with past EIA practices and will improve 
the utility of the data by permitting comparisons on the growth in 
capacity at the state level over the past twenty years.
    EIA does not anticipate the release of fuel ethanol plant nameplate 
production capacity data to cause competitive harm to respondents to 
Form EIA-819 because this type of information is currently publicly 
available from other exogenous sources through the Internet. The 
Renewable Fuels Association publishes nameplate ethanol production 
capacity as well as the actual operating production and under-
construction capacity at the facility level available at http://www.ethanolrfa.org/bio-refinery-locations. EIA is proposing only to 
release nameplate production capacity information at the facility level 
and will continue to protect all other information reported on Form 
EIA-819 from being released in identifiable form.
    EIA proposes to discontinue reporting of maximum sustainable fuel 
ethanol capacity. Maximum sustainable capacity was originally 
envisioned as a measure of surge capacity for fuel ethanol. However, 
the quantities reported for maximum sustainable fuel ethanol capacity 
were not useful for measuring surge capacity and EIA will be able to 
measure fuel ethanol surge capacity by using fuel ethanol production 
and nameplate capacity data reported on Form EIA-819.
    Beginning with data collected for January 2013, EIA proposes to 
treat all information reported on biodiesel production capacity on Form 
EIA-22M as public information that may be released EIA's Web site. EIA 
will signify this change by amending the instructions on Form EIA-22M 
to state that this information will be treated as public and be made 
available in a form identifiable by company and facility. This change 
will provide for protection policies for biodiesel production capacity 
data that are consistent with current EIA policies related to oil 
refinery capacity and the data protection policy proposed for fuel 
ethanol production capacity. Because biodiesel is increasingly used as 
a blending component in U.S. distillate fuel oil (including diesel fuel 
and heating oil), detailed production capacity at the plant level is 
important for assessment of upstream distillate fuel oil supply 
conditions. Biodiesel production capacities by plant are currently 
publicly available from the National Biodiesel Board web site at http://www.nbb.org/about-us/member-plants/nbb-member-plant-lists. We do not 
anticipate competitive harm to biodiesel producers from release of 
biodiesel production capacity data collected on Form EIA-22M.
    Finally, EIA proposes to further modify the data protection policy 
for monthly biodiesel production data reported on Form EIA-22M by not 
applying any disclosure limitation methodology to the published 
statistical aggregates for quantities of biodiesel production at the 
Petroleum Administration for Defense District (PADD) level. The 
existing data protection policy provides for application of disclosure 
limitation procedures to statistical data published from Form EIA-22M 
to minimize the risk of disclosure of company identifiable information 
in data aggregated to the national, regional, or state levels. Under 
the current program, aggregated production data may be withheld (i.e. 
aggregated data values are replaced by W) if the company data 
contributing to the aggregated data item is such that individual 
company data is effectively revealed. EIA proposes to discontinue 
application of disclosure limitation procedures to biodiesel production 
data, but these procedures would continue to be applied to other 
published statistical aggregates based on data collected on Form EIA-
22M.
    The change in data protection policy for production of biodiesel is 
necessary because EIA intends to incorporate biodiesel production in 
petroleum supply and disposition balance tables (with data for the U.S. 
and PADDs) published in the Petroleum Supply Monthly and Petroleum 
Supply Annual. Disclosure limitation procedures are not

[[Page 34371]]

applied to data in the Petroleum Supply Monthly and Petroleum Supply 
Annual. Therefore, it is possible that U.S. and PADD level totals 
reported in the Petroleum Supply Monthly and Petroleum Supply Annual 
may be dominated by data from one or two large companies thereby making 
it possible for a knowledgeable person to estimate information reported 
by a particular company. It is important to note that EIA is not 
proposing to explicitly report biodiesel production in company 
identifiable form, but only to discontinue application of disclosure 
limitation procedures to U.S. and PADD level biodiesel production 
totals calculated from data reported on Form EIA-22M. Applying 
statistical disclosure limitation procedures to biodiesel production 
data would potentially prevent EIA from accurately reporting data on 
distillate fuel oil supply, disposition, and demand including biodiesel 
especially at the PADD level. Disclosure limitation procedures will 
continue to be applied to the other data reported on Form EIA-22M.
    Please refer to the proposed forms and instructions for more 
information about the purpose, who must report, when to report, where 
to submit, the elements to be reported, detailed instructions, 
provisions for confidentiality, and uses (including possible 
nonstatistical uses) of the information. For instructions on obtaining 
materials, see the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
    (5) Estimated Number of Survey Respondents:

Weekly Survey Forms

EIA-800, 141 Respondents; EIA-802, 51 Respondents; EIA-803, 57 
Respondents; EIA-804, 104 Respondents; EIA-805, 750 Respondents; EIA-
809, 142 Respondents;

Monthly Survey Forms

EIA-22M, 150 Respondents; EIA-810, 153 Respondents; EIA-812, 80 
Respondents;
EIA-813, 167 Respondents; EIA-814, 391 Respondents; EIA-815, 1,476 
Respondents;
EIA-816, 451 Respondents; EIA-817, 34 Respondents; EIA-819, 203 
Respondents;

Annual Survey Forms

EIA-820, 148 Respondents.
    Total respondents for Petroleum Supply Reporting System: 4,498 
respondents. Many respondents report on multiple surveys and are 
counted for each survey they report. For example, the 104 respondents 
on the weekly Form EIA-804 are also included as a subset of the 391 
respondents reporting on the monthly Form EIA-814, so that the two 
surveys contribute a total of 495 respondents.
    (6) Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses:

Weekly Survey Forms (Respondents x 52)

EIA-800, 7,332 Responses; EIA-802, 2,652 Responses; EIA-803, 2,964 
Responses; EIA-804, 5,408 Responses; EIA-805, 39,000 Responses; EIA-
809, 7,384 Responses;

Monthly Survey Forms (Respondents x 12)

EIA-22M, 1,800 Responses; EIA-810, 1,836 Responses; EIA-812, 960 
Responses; EIA-813, 2,004 Responses; EIA-814, 4,692 Responses; EIA-815, 
17,712 Responses; EIA-816, 5,412 Responses; EIA-817, 408 Responses; 
EIA-819, 2,436 Responses;

Annual Survey Forms (Respondents x 1)

EIA-820, 148 Responses.
    Total annual responses for Petroleum Supply Reporting System: 
102,148 responses annually. EIA estimates that it will receive a total 
of 102,148 reports annually, not that each survey form will 
individually be reported 102,148 times annually.
    (7) Annual Estimated Number of Burden Hours:
EIA estimates the following burden hours per response for the Petroleum 
Supply Reporting System survey forms:

Weekly Survey Forms

EIA-800, 1.58 hours; EIA-802, 0.95 hours; EIA-803, 0.5 hours; EIA-804, 
1.75 hours; EIA-805, 1.6 hours; EIA-809, 1 hour;

Monthly Survey Forms

EIA-22M, 3 hours; EIA-810, 6 hours; EIA-812, 4.3 hours; EIA-813, 2.5 
hours; EIA-814, 2.55 hours; EIA-815, 5 hours; EIA-816, 0.95 hours; EIA-
817, 2.25 hours; EIA-819, 1.75 hours;

Annual Survey Forms

EIA-820, 2.00 hours.
    Based on these estimates and the estimates in (6), EIA estimates an 
annual total of 231,531 burden hours for the Petroleum Supply Reporting 
System.
    (8) Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: EIA 
estimates that there are no additional costs to respondents associated 
with the surveys other than the costs associated with the burden hours.

    Statutory Authority: Section 13(b) of the Federal Energy 
Administration Act of 1974, P.L. 93-275, codified at 15 U.S.C. 
772(b), and the DOE Organization Act of 1977, Public Law 95-91, 
codified at 42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on June 5, 2012.
Stephanie Brown,
Director, Office of Survey Development and Statistical Integration, U. 
S. Energy Information Administration.
[FR Doc. 2012-14116 Filed 6-8-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P