[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 178 (Tuesday, September 15, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55347-55349]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-23136]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Energy Information Administration


Proposed Agency Information Collection

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

ACTION: Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Extension 
with Changes; Notice and Request for Comments.

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SUMMARY: The EIA invites public comment on the proposed three-year 
extension of the following Oil and Gas Reserves System Survey Forms 
that EIA is developing for submission to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995: Revision 
of Form EIA-23L, Annual Survey of Domestic Oil and Gas Reserves, Field 
Level Report; extension without changes of Form EIA-64A, Annual Report 
of the Origin of Natural Gas Liquids Production; and continued 
suspension of Form EIA-23S, Annual Survey of Domestic Oil and Gas 
Reserves, Summary Level Report.
    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 November 16, 2015. If you anticipate 
difficulty in submitting comments within that period, contact the 
person listed in the below ADDRESSES Section as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be sent to Mr. Steven Grape, EI-24, U. 
S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington DC 
20585, by fax at (202) 586-4420, or by email at [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
should be directed to Mr. Grape, as listed above. The information 
collection instrument and instructions are available on the EIA Web 
site at: Form EIA-23L, http://wwwdev.eia.gov/survey/#eia-23l, Form EIA-
23S, http://wwwdev.eia.gov/survey/#eia-23s, Form EIA-64A, http://wwwdev.eia.gov/survey/#eia-64a.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Comments and feedback are requested on the 
following topics directly related to the proposed changes to Form EIA-
23L:
     Field versus County Level Data Detail--EIA currently 
collects data on a field level basis, but publishes reserves estimates 
on a State and State subdivision level. Reporting burden to respondents 
may be reduced, depending on existing record keeping practices, if 
operators report proved reserves and production data aggregated at a 
county level. EIA is able to make accurate State and State subdivision 
level reserves estimates if proved reserves are reported at a county 
level. Abandoning field-level detail will result in some loss of detail 
for reserve estimates; however, it will increase the utility of the 
data by facilitating the matching of other economic data that are only 
published at the county level.
     Well Counts (by County)--EIA does not currently collect 
the number of producing wells on Form EIA-23L. EIA proposes to collect 
well counts by county on Form EIA-23L to assist data quality validation 
of the production data reported on the form. Collecting well count data 
by county is consistent with commercially-available production data 
that is based on well-level reporting in many States and will 
facilitate data comparisons and data quality evaluations.
     Type Code--EIA is considering deleting the Type Code 
``CH'' for Chalk from Schedule B. EIA has Type Codes for certain 
reservoir types: CV for Conventional, SH for Shale, CB for Coalbed, CH 
for Chalk, and LP for Other Low Permeability Reservoirs. CH is 
currently underutilized and EIA proposes to delete Chalk as a reservoir 
Type Code. The two codes SH and LP have been used interchangeably by 
operators for tight oil reserves estimates and may be combined for 
crude oil into

[[Page 55348]]

a new reservoir Type Code title ``Tight.'' EIA requests comments on the 
proposal to delete Type Code ``CH'' for Chalk, and combine reservoir 
Type codes ``SH'' and ``LP'' into a single category ``Tight for crude 
oil only.''
     Fuel Types--EIA tracks the proved reserves of four fuel 
types--two types of liquids; crude oil and lease condensate; and two 
types of natural gas proved reserves; nonassociated (aka gas well gas) 
and associated-dissolved (aka casinghead or oil well gas). EIA proposes 
to continue collecting proved reserves estimates by these four types, 
instead of combining them into Total Liquids and Total Natural Gas.
     Producing versus Nonproducing Reserves--Currently 
operators report both producing and nonproducing proved reserves by 
field on Form EIA-23L. EIA requests comments on the ability to report 
these data on a county level basis.
     Extensions, New Field Discoveries, and New Reservoir 
Discoveries in Old Fields--EIA requests comments on the utility of 
collecting and publishing these three components of Total Discoveries 
or whether it is more useful to report and publish these components 
under one data category such as ``County level Discoveries.'' EIA also 
requests comments on the burden of reporting these three components 
separately.
     Field Code Master List--EIA proposes to delete the EIA 
Field Code Master List that is currently used to report data at the 
field level. Changing the reporting on Form EIA-23L from Field to 
County level would eliminate the need to publish or maintain the EIA 
Field Code Master List.
    All of the proposed changes that are described above are shaded the 
color yellow on the draft Form EIA-23L to illustrate and facilitate the 
review of the data elements that are affected by these proposed 
changes.
    This information collection request contains:
    (1) OMB No. 1905-0057;
    (2) Information Collection Request Title: Oil and Gas Reserves 
System.
    (3) Type of Request: Revision of the currently approved Form EIA-
23L; extension without changes of the currently approved Form EIA-64A; 
and continued suspension of collection of the currently approved Form 
EIA-23S (suspended).
    (4) Purpose: 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 U.S. Energy Information 
Administration (EIA), Department of Energy; Bureau of Ocean Energy 
Management (BOEM), 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. EIA has a 
congressional mandate to provide accurate annual estimates of U.S. 
proved crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids reserves, and 
EIA presents annual reserves data in EIA Web reports to meet this 
requirement. The BOEM 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. Accurate reserve estimates are important, as the BOEM 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 provide public investors with 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.
    EIA proposes to make the following changes to Form EIA-23L, Annual 
Survey of Domestic Oil and Gas Reserves, Field Level Report:
     Change the title of Form EIA-23L to Annual Survey of 
Domestic Oil and Gas Reserves, County Level Report;
     Change the title of Schedule A to Operated Proved 
Reserves, Production, and Related Data by County;
     Operators will be instructed to file their proved reserves 
by county rather than by field. Line Item 2.0 will be named ``County 
Data (operated basis);''
     Line Item 2.1.4 ``Field Code'', will be changed to 
``County Name;''
     Line Item 2.1.5 ``MMS Code'' will be changed to ``Type 
Code;''
     Line Item 2.1.6. ``Field Name'' will be changed to 
``Field, Play, or Prospect Name (Optional);''
     Line Items 2.1.9 ``water depth'' and 2.1.10 ``field 
discovery year'' will be replaced with 2.1.9 ``# of producing wells'', 
2.1.10 ``# of wells added [in survey year];'' and
     Line Item 2.1.11, ``Prospect Name (optional) will be 
replaced with ``# of wells sold [in survey year].''
    Comments and Feedback are requested on these proposed changes to 
Form EIA-23L.
    Secondary reports that use the data include EIA's Annual Energy 
Review, Annual Energy Outlook, Petroleum Supply Annual, and Natural Gas 
Annual;
    (5) Annual Estimated Number of Respondents:
    Forms EIA-23L/23S/64A: 1,450.
    (6) Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses:
    Forms EIA-23L/23S/64A: 1,450.
    (7) Annual Estimated Number of Burden Hours: 41,210.
    Form EIA-23L Annual Survey of Domestic Oil and Gas Reserves, County 
Level Report: 38 hours (420 intermediate-size operators); 110 hours 
(160 large operators); 15 hours (270 small operators): 37,610 hours.
    Form EIA-23S Annual Survey of Domestic Oil and Gas Reserves, 
Summary Level Report: 4 hours (small operators): 0 hours (Currently 
suspended)
    Form EIA-64A Annual Report of the Origin of Natural Gas Liquids 
Production: 6 hours (600 natural gas plant operators): 3,600 hours.
    (8) Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden:
    Forms EIA-23L/23S/64A: EIA estimates that there are no capital and 
start-up costs associated with this data collection. The information is 
maintained in the normal course of business. The cost of burden hours 
to the respondents is estimated to be $2,965,884 (41,210 burden hours 
times $71.97 per hour). Therefore, other than the cost of burden hours, 
EIA estimates that there are no additional costs for generating, 
maintaining and providing the information.

    Statutory Authority: Section 13(b) of the Federal Energy 
Administration Act of 1974, Public Law 93-275, codified at 15 U.S.C. 
772(b).


[[Page 55349]]


    Issued in Washington, DC, September 9, 2015.
Nanda Srinivasan,
Director, Office of Survey Development and Statistical Integration, 
U.S. Energy Information Administration.
[FR Doc. 2015-23136 Filed 9-14-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6450-01-P