[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 107 (Wednesday, June 3, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34186-34187]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-11973]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Energy Information Administration


Agency Information Collection Extension

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

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: DOE submitted an information collection request for extension 
as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The information 
collection requests a three-year extension of DOE's Form FE-746R, 
Import and Export of Natural Gas under OMB Control Number 1901-0294. 
Form FE-746R collects information from import and export authorization 
holders that enables DOE's Office of Fossil Energy (FE) to monitor 
natural gas trade under the United States Mexico Canada Agreement 
(USMCA) and other trade activity falling outside the parameters of 
USMCA, and supports various market and regulatory analyses done by FE.

DATES: Comments on this information collection must be received no 
later than July 6, 2020. Written comments and recommendations for the 
proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of 
publication of this notice to https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting 
``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using 
the search function. Send a copy of your comment to DOE by email to: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Request for additional information or 
copies of the forms and instructions should be directed to Mr. Marc 
Talbert at (202) 586-7991, or by email [email protected]. The 
forms are available online at https://www.energy.gov/fe/articles/changes-fe-746-data-collection. Additional information is available at 
https://www.energy.gov/fe/services/natural-gas-regulation.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This information collection request 
contains:
    (1) OMB No.: 1901-0294;
    (2) Information Collection Request Title: Natural Gas Import and 
Export Data Submissions;
    (3) Type of Request: Three-year extension with changes;
    (4) Purpose: DOE's Office of Fossil Energy (FE) has the delegated 
authority to regulate natural gas imports and exports under section 3 
of the Natural Gas Act of 1938, 15 U.S.C. 717b. To carry out its 
delegated responsibility, FE requires individuals seeking to import or 
export natural gas to file an application providing basic information 
on the scope and nature of the import/export activity. Once an importer 
or exporter receives authorization from FE, they are required to submit 
monthly reports of their natural gas import and export transactions on 
Form FE-746R. In addition, a subset of authorization holders--including 
those that hold long-term import authorizations from any source, long-
term export authorizations to both countries that do and do not have a 
free trade agreement with the United States requiring national 
treatment of natural gas and with which trade is not prohibited by U.S. 
law or policy (FTA and non-FTA countries), and short-term 
authorizations to export to non-FTA countries--must file additional 
information beyond the required filings on FE-746R. This additional 
information, including supply and delivery contracts, changes in 
control or ownership, and semi-annual reports that provide information 
on the status of the relevant proposed or existing LNG export 
facilities, provides input DOE needs to assess both the state of the 
U.S. import and export markets and the adequacy of energy resources to 
meet near and long term domestic demands. This information also assists 
FE in determining whether authorization holders are complying with the 
terms and conditions of their authorization.
    Together with the data reported on FE-746R and the additional 
information required for certain types of authorization holders 
outlined above, DOE is able to perform market and regulatory analyses 
to improve the capability of industry and the government to respond to 
any future energy-related supply problems, and to keep the general 
public informed on international natural gas trade.
    (4a) Proposed Changes to Information Collection: FE seeks to 
include supplementary data reporting items under OMB Control Number 
1901-0294. FE proposes to collect this additional information from both 
long-term import and export authorization holders that have authority 
to import or export to

[[Page 34187]]

both FTA and non-FTA countries, and short-term authorization holders 
that have authority to export non-FTA countries. The additional 
information FE seeks to collect from this subset of natural gas import 
and export authorization holders includes: Long-term contracts 
associated with the supply and sales of natural gas, including 
compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and associated products; 
changes in control of authorization holders; registrations of agents 
who import and export natural gas; and, for long-term LNG export 
authorization holders, semi-annual reports providing information on the 
status of the relevant proposed or existing LNG export facility, and 
the date the proposed LNG facility is expected to commence first 
exports of LNG (where applicable).
    (5) Annual Estimated Number of Respondents: 396 respondents.
    (6) Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses: 4,752.
    (7) Annual Estimated Number of Burden Hours: 14,256 hours.
    (8) Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: 
$1,142,476 (14,256 annual burden hours multiplied by $80.14 per hour); 
FE estimates that respondents will have no additional costs associated 
with the data proposed for collection other than burden hours.
    Statutory Authority: 15 U.S.C. 772(b) and Section 3 of the Natural 
Gas Act of 1938, codified at 15 U.S.C. 717b.

Signing Authority

    This document of the Department of Energy was signed on May 29, 
2020, by Shawn Bennett, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Oil and 
Natural Gas, Office of Fossil Energy, pursuant to delegated authority 
from the Secretary of Energy. That document with the original signature 
and date is maintained by DOE. For administrative purposes only, and in 
compliance with requirements of the Office of the Federal Register, the 
undersigned DOE Federal Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to 
sign and submit the document in electronic format for publication, as 
an official document of the Department of Energy. This administrative 
process in no way alters the legal effect of this document upon 
publication in the Federal Register.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on May 29, 2020.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2020-11973 Filed 6-2-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6450-01-P