[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 91 (Wednesday, May 11, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29257-29259]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-11070]


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

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Energy Information Administration


Agency Information Collection Extension

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

ACTION: Notice and Request for OMB Review and Comment.

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

SUMMARY: The EIA has submitted an information collection request to the 
OMB for extension under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995. The information collection requests a three-year extension of 
its Petroleum Supply Reporting System, OMB Control Number 1905-0165. 
The proposed collection will produce data used in statistical 
analytical reports as well as forecasts produced by the U.S. Energy 
Information Administration. Reports and forecasts are essential to 
accomplish the agency's mission to promote sound policy making, 
efficient markets, and public understanding of energy and its 
interactions with the economy and the environment. Users of the data 
include government officials, industry and financial analysts, and the 
public. EIA proposes one change to Form EIA-812, Form EIA-813, and Form 
EIA-803 and no other changes to:

 Form EIA-22M, ``Monthly Biodiesel Production Survey''
 Form EIA-800, ``Weekly Refinery and Fractionator Report''
 Form EIA-802, ``Weekly Product Pipeline Report''
 Form EIA-803, ``Weekly Crude Oil Stocks Report''
 Form EIA-804, ``Weekly Imports Report''
 Form EIA-805, ``Weekly Bulk Terminal and Blender Report''
 Form EIA-809, ``Weekly Oxygenate Report''
 Form EIA-810, ``Monthly Refinery Report''
 Form EIA-812, ``Monthly Product Pipeline Report'' (proposed 
change)
 Form EIA-813, ``Monthly Crude Oil Report''
 Form EIA-814, ``Monthly Imports Report''
 Form EIA-815, ``Monthly Bulk Terminal and Blender Report''
 Form EIA-816, ``Monthly Natural Gas Plant Liquids Report''

[[Page 29258]]

 Form EIA-817, ``Monthly Tanker and Barge Movement Report''
 Form EIA-819, ``Monthly Oxygenate Report''
 Form EIA-820, ``Annual Refinery Report.''

    EIA proposes to discontinue biannually collecting information on 
Form EIA-812 on petroleum product tank storage capacity and related 
biannual separate reporting of stocks held in those tanks and to 
discontinue collection of crude oil lease stocks on Form EIA-813 and 
Form EIA-803. EIA currently uses Parts 5, 6, and 7 of Form EIA-812 to 
collect petroleum product storage capacity and related stock data in 
those tanks from pipeline companies twice a year (as of March 31 and 
September 30). Collecting biannual tank storage capacity and related 
stocks in those tanks by product pipelines did not provide useful 
information for assessing available petroleum supplies. Product 
pipeline inventories held in tanks are used for operational purposes, 
not commercial purposes. EIA will still collect pipeline linefill 
stocks along with stocks and biannual storage capacity data for 
petroleum products held at terminals and refineries. Discontinuing the 
biannual collection of storage capacity and related tank stocks on Form 
EIA-812 will eliminate confusion in analyzing storage capacity 
utilization, stock levels, improve the quality of petroleum storage 
data and reduce reporting burden on this form.
    EIA will discontinue collecting lease inventories on Form EIA-813, 
``Monthly Crude Oil Report'' and Form EIA-803, ``Weekly Crude Oil 
Stocks Report.'' Lease inventories are inventories stored at crude oil 
production sites. The purpose of stocks held on oil and gas producing 
leases (lease stocks) is to facilitate oil and gas production 
operations. Lease stocks are typically held only long enough for oil to 
be picked up by trucks or otherwise removed from production sites. 
While the total number of barrels held as lease stocks is significant, 
the barrels are widely dispersed at producing sites with only small 
quantities at any given location. For these reasons, we have determined 
that continued tracking of lease stocks on Form EIA-803 and Form EIA-
813 has limited value for assessment of crude oil supplies available to 
markets. In addition, our research has shown that some or all of the 
barrels reported by respondents as lease stocks are actually outside of 
the U.S. and regional crude oil balances developed by EIA. This affects 
estimates that are calculated to assess supply because barrels may be 
recorded as crude oil production, which is the first supply component 
of our balance, only after the barrels are withdrawn from lease stocks. 
EIA will create and publish historical data series of crude oil stocks 
excluding lease stocks in order to meet analyst requirements for crude 
oil inventory data that are consistent over time.

DATES: Comments regarding this proposed information collection must be 
received on or before June 10, 2016. If you anticipate that you will be 
submitting comments, but find it difficult to do so within the period 
of time allowed by this notice, please advise the DOE Desk Officer at 
OMB of your intention to make a submission as soon as possible. The 
Desk Officer may be telephoned at 202-395-4718.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to the DOE Desk Officer, 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 
Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10102, 735 17th Street NW., 
Washington, DC 20503, and to Robert Meriam, [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument and instructions should 
be directed to Robert Merriam, 1000 Independence Ave. SW., Washington, 
DC 20585. The forms and instructions are available on EIA's Web site 
at: http://www.eia.gov/survey/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This information collection request 
contains: (1) OMB No. 1905-0165; (2) Information Collection Request 
Title: Petroleum Supply Reporting System; (3) Type of Request: Three 
year extension; (4) Purpose: The Federal Energy Administration Act of 
1974 (15 U.S.C. 761 et seq.) and the DOE Organization Act (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 and to promote sound policymaking, efficient markets, 
and public understanding of energy and its interaction with the economy 
and the environment.
    The EIA, as part of its effort to comply with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.), 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.
    The weekly petroleum supply surveys (Forms EIA-800, EIA-802, EIA-
803, EIA-804, EIA-805 and EIA-809) are designed to provide an early, 
initial estimate of weekly petroleum refinery and fractionator 
operations, inventory levels, and imports of selected petroleum 
products in a timely manner. The information appears in the 
publications listed below and is also available electronically on EIA's 
Web site at http://www.eia.doe.gov/.
    Publications: Internet only publications are the Weekly Petroleum 
Status Report (http://www.eia.gov/petroleum/supply/weekly/), Short-Term 
Energy Outlook (http://www.eia.gov/forecasts/steo/), and This Week in 
Petroleum (http://www.eia.gov/petroleum/weekly/).
    The monthly petroleum supply surveys (Forms EIA-22M, EIA-810, EIA-
812, EIA-813, EIA-814, EIA-815, EIA-816, EIA-817, and EIA-819) are 
designed to provide statistically reliable and comprehensive monthly 
information to EIA, other Federal agencies, and the private sector for 
use in forecasting, policy making, planning, and analysis activities. 
The information appears in the publications listed below and is also 
available electronically on EIA's Web site at http://www.eia.doe.gov/.
    Publications: Internet only publications are the Petroleum Supply 
Monthly (http://www.eia.gov/petroleum/supply/monthly/), Company-Level 
Imports (http://www.eia.gov/petroleum/imports/companylevel/), the 
Petroleum Supply Annual, Volume 1 (http://www.eia.gov/petroleum/supply/annual/volume1/), the Annual Energy Outlook (http://www.eia.gov/forecasts/aeo/index.cfm); and the Monthly Biodiesel Production Report 
(http://www.eia.gov/biofuels/biodiesel/production/).
    The annual refinery survey (Form EIA-820) provides data on refinery 
capacities, fuels consumed, 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 appears in the Refinery Capacity Report (http://www.eia.gov/petroleum/refinerycapacity/) and the Refinery Outage Report 
(http://www.eia.gov/petroleum/refinery/outage/).
    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

[[Page 29259]]

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) Annual Estimated Number of Respondents: 4,472; (6) 
Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses: 101,833; (7) Annual 
Estimated Number of Burden Hours: 211,257; (8) Annual Estimated 
Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $6,100,000. The cost of the 
burden hours is estimated to be $15,214,729 (211,257 burden hours times 
$72.02 per hour). 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).

    Issued in Washington, DC, on May 5, 2016.
Nanda Srinivasan,
Director, Office of Survey Development and Statistical Integration, U. 
S. Energy Information Administration.
[FR Doc. 2016-11070 Filed 5-10-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6450-01-P