[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 103 (Friday, May 30, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23046-23047]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-09780]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Energy Information Administration
Agency Information Collection Proposed Extension
AGENCY: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Department of
Energy (DOE).
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: EIA invites public comment on the proposed three-year
extension, with changes, to the Form EIA-64A, ``Annual Report of the
Origin of Natural Gas Liquids Production'' and Form EIA-23L, ``Annual
Report of Domestic Oil and Gas Reserves,'' and continued suspension of
Form EIA-23S, ``Annual Survey of Domestic Oil and Gas Reserves (Summary
Version),'' as required under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
DATES: EIA must receive all comments on this proposed information
collection no later than July 29, 2025. If you anticipate any
difficulties in submitting your comments by the deadline, contact the
person listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice as soon as
possible.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by OMB control number
1905-0057, by email at [email protected]. Include the OMB control
number listed in the subject line of the message.
[[Page 23047]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kenneth Pick, EIA Clearance Officer,
at (202) 586-5562. The forms and instructions are available on EIA's
website at www.eia.gov/survey/.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This information collection request
contains:
(1) OMB No.: 1905-0057;
(2) Information Collection Request Title: Oil and Gas Reserves
System;
(3) Type of Request: Three-year extension with changes;
(4) Purpose: The surveys included in the Oil and Gas Reserves
System collect information on U.S. proved crude oil, natural gas, and
natural gas liquids reserves. The surveys included in the Oil and Gas
Reserves System are the Form EIA-64A, ``Annual Report of the Origin of
Natural Gas Liquids Production,'' Form EIA-23L, ``Annual Report of
Domestic Oil and Gas Reserves,'' and Form EIA-23S, ``Annual Survey of
Domestic Oil and Gas Reserves, (Summary Version) (suspended).''
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. 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 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 waters. 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 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;
(4a) Proposed Changes to Information Collection:
Form EIA-23L, Annual Report of Domestic Oil and Gas Reserves (Change to
Instructions)
EIA proposes a minor modification to Form EIA-23L instructions to
align the disclosure language with other EIA surveys, without
substantially changing the intention of the disclosure language.
Form EIA-64A, Annual Report of the Origin of Natural Gas Liquids
Production (Change to Instructions)
EIA proposes six minor modifications to Form EIA-64A instructions
to clarify the data requested:
1. Page 1 of the instructions describing who must file the form
indicates that ``facilities'' refers to natural gas processing plants.
EIA proposes adding ``including gas sweetening plants'' to clarify the
respondent frame.
2. Page 4 of the instructions includes a diagram to assist
respondents when filling out Section 2 of the form. EIA proposes
defining residue gas as ``dry natural gas after liquids extraction'' in
the text describing the diagram. This is the first place EIA uses the
term residue natural gas other than in the Section title.
3. Page 4 of the instructions for Section 2.1 request the total
outlet of residue natural gas. EIA proposes clarifying the current
definition of residue natural gas from ``dry gas'' to ``dry natural gas
after liquids extraction.''
4. Page 4 of the instructions for Section 2.2 request the total
natural gas used on site as plant fuel. EIA proposes modifying the
current instruction to clarify that this data should include natural
gas that is used to generate electricity consumed by the plant.
5. EIA proposes changing all instances of ``residue gas'' to
``residue natural gas'' for consistency within the instructions.
6. Pages 6 and 7 of the instructions include a form glossary. EIA
proposes adding a definition to this glossary for gas sweetening
plants: ``A type of natural gas processing plant designed for removal
of impurities such as hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, sulfur, etc.
from sour gas to make it suitable for transport and use.''
(5) Annual Estimated Number of Respondents: 878;
(6) Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses: 878;
(7) Annual Estimated Number of Burden Hours: 15,768;
(8) Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden:
$1,497,802 (15,768 estimated burden hours times $94.99). EIA estimates
that respondents will have no additional costs associated with the
surveys other than the burden hours and the maintenance of the
information during the normal course of business.
Comments are invited on whether or not: (a) The proposed collection
of information is necessary for the proper performance of agency
functions, including whether the information will have a practical
utility; (b) EIA's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of
information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions
used, is accurate; (c) EIA can improve the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information it will collect; and (d) EIA can minimize
the burden of the collection of information on respondents, such as
automated collection techniques or other forms of information
technology.
Statutory Authority: 15 U.S.C. 772(b) and 42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.
Signed in Washington, DC, on May 23, 2025.
Samson A. Adeshiyan,
Director, Office of Statistical Methods and Research, U. S. Energy
Information Administration.
[FR Doc. 2025-09780 Filed 5-29-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P