[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 108 (Thursday, June 5, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30846-30847]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-14712]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Energy Information Administration
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request
AGENCY: Energy Information Administration, DOE.
ACTION: Agency information collection activities: Proposed collection;
comment request.
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SUMMARY: The Energy Information Administration (EIA) is soliciting
comments concerning proposed revisions to the Forms EIA-23, EIA-23P,
and EIA-64A, ``Oil and Gas Reserves Surveys.''
DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before July 7, 1997. 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,
you should advise the contact listed below of your intention to do so
as soon as possible.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to Mr. Paul Chapman, Energy Information
Administration, (EI-443), Dallas Field Office, 1999 Bryan Street, Room
1110, Dallas, Texas 75201-6801, telephone (214) 720-6195, e-mail
(pchapman@eia.doe.gov), and FAX (214) 720-6155.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or
copies of the form and instructions should be directed to Mr. Chapman
at the address listed above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
II. Current Actions
III. Request for Comments
I. Background
In order to fulfill its responsibilities under the Federal Energy
Administration Act of 1974 (Pub. L. No. 93-275) and the Department of
Energy Organization Act (Pub. L. No. 95-91), the Energy Information
Administration (EIA) is obliged to carry out a central, comprehensive,
and unified energy data and information program. As part of this
program, EIA collects, evaluates, assembles, analyzes, and disseminates
data and information related to energy resource reserves, production,
demand, and technology, and related economic and statistical
information relevant to the adequacy of energy resources to meet
demands in the near and longer term future for the Nation's economic
and social needs.
The EIA, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and
respondent burden (required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(Pub. L. 104-13)), conducts a presurvey consultation program to provide
the general public and other Federal agencies with an opportunity to
comment on proposed and/or continuing reporting forms. This program
helps to: prepare data requests in the desired format, minimize
reporting burden, develop clearly understandable reporting forms, and
assess the impact of collection requirements on respondents. Also, EIA
will later seek approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
for the collections under Section 3507(h) of the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995 (Pub. L. No. 104-13, Title 44, U.S.C. Chapter 35).
Operators of crude oil and natural gas wells are the target
respondents of the Forms EIA-23 and EIA-23P, while operators of natural
gas plants are the target respondents of the Form EIA-64A. The amounts
of crude oil, associated-dissolved and nonassociated natural gas, and
lease condensate production and reserves by field are requested
annually of large and intermediate size producers on Form EIA-23. Small
operators are required to submit Form EIA-23 which is less detailed
information and most are not asked to report each year. A selected
sample of small operators provides information on production and
reserves of crude oil, natural gas and lease condensate at a State
level on the Form EIA-23.
Form EIA-23P is a postcard form used to collect information on
possible oil and gas well operators that may be included in future EIA-
23 surveys. Form EIA-64A collects information on the amount of natural
gas processed, natural gas liquids produced, the resultant shrinkage of
the natural gas, and the amount of natural gas used in processing from
natural gas plant operators.
In accordance with Section 657 of Public Law 95-91, estimates of
United States oil and gas reserves are to be reported annually. These
estimates are essential to the development, implementation, and
evaluation of energy policy and legislation. Data will be published in
the annual U.S. Crude Oil, Natural Gas, and Natural Gas Liquids
Reserves, and incorporated in a number of other publications and
analyses. Secondary publications which use the data include the Annual
Energy Review, Annual Energy Outlook, Petroleum Supply Annual, and
Natural Gas Annual.
[[Page 30847]]
II. Current Actions
This notice is for a proposed three-year extension through December
31, 2000, of the Forms EIA-23, ``Annual Survey of Domestic Oil and Gas
Reserves,'' EIA-23P, ``Oil and Gas Well Operator List Update Report,''
and EIA-64A, ``Annual Report of the Origin of Natural Gas Liquids
Production.'' Both Forms EIA-23P and EIA-64A will be extended without
modification. For operators reporting on Form EIA-23, the definitions
of proved reserves used for reporting will be modified to conform to
the new ``Society of Petroleum Engineers'' (SPE) and ``World Petroleum
Congress'' (WPC) definitions for proved reserves. These proposed
modifications reflect the recent adoption by the SPE and the WPC of new
definitions for proved reserves. The EIA strongly supported the
adoption of the new definitions and feels that their adoption will
allow the use of new estimation techniques. The new definitions are
also expected to lead to improvements in the interpretation of U.S.
proved reserves and their reliability.
In addition, respondents will be required to report the average
price used in the estimates of proved reserves and production. Because
knowledge of the oil and gas prices at the field level is essential to
successful profitable operations, it is assumed that field level price
data are readily available to large and intermediate size operators.
EIA is interested in whether small operators can report price
information at the State level. In conjunction with requesting the
price reporting, the average annual survey size will be reduced by 42
percent by surveying small operators less frequently.
III. Request for Comments
Prospective respondents and other interested parties should comment
on the actions discussed in item II. The following guidelines are
provided to assist in the preparation of responses. Please indicate to
which form(s) your comments apply.
General Issues
A. Is the proposed collection of information necessary for the
proper performance of the functions of the agency? Does the information
have practical utility. Practical utility is defined as the actual
usefulness of information to or for an agency, taking into account its
accuracy, adequacy, reliability, timeliness, and the agency's ability
to process the information it collects.
B. What enhancements can EIA make to the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be collected?
As a Potential Respondent
A. Are the instructions and definitions clear and sufficient? If
not, which instructions require clarification?
B. Can data be submitted by the due date?
C. Public reporting burden for these collections is estimated to
average: for Form EIA-23, 8 hours for small operators, 62 hours for
intermediate operators, and 333 hours for large operators; 15 minutes
for operators reporting on Form EIA-23P; and 6 hours for natural gas
plants reporting on Form EIA-64A. Burden includes the total time,
effort, or financial resources expended to generate, maintain, retain,
or disclose or provide the information.
Please comment on (1) the accuracy of our estimates and (2) how the
agency could minimize the burden of the collection of information,
including the use of information technology.
D. EIA estimates that respondents will incur no additional costs
for reporting other than the hours required to complete the collection.
What is the estimated: (1) Total dollar amount annualized for capital
and start-up costs, and (2) recurring annual costs of operation and
maintenance, and purchase of services associated with this data
collection?
E. Do you know of any other Federal, State, or local agency that
collects similar data? If you do, specify the agency, the data
element(s), and the methods of collection.
As a Potential User
A. Can you use data at the levels of detail indicated on the form?
B. For what purpose would you use the data? Be specific.
C. Are there alternate sources of data and do you use them? If so,
what are their deficiencies and/or strengths?
D. For the most part, information is published by EIA in U.S.
customary units, e.g., cubic feet of natural gas, short tons of coal,
and barrels of oil. Would you prefer to see EIA publish more
information in metric units, e.g., cubic meters, metric tons, and
kilograms? If yes, please specify what information (e.g., coal
production, natural gas consumption, and crude oil imports), the metric
unit(s) of measurement preferred, and in which EIA publication(s) you
would like to see such information.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of the form. They also
will become a matter of public record.
Statutory Authority: Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. No. 104-13).
Issued in Washington, DC, May 30, 1997.
Jay H. Casselberry,
Agency Clearance Officer, Office of Statistical Standards Energy
Information Administration.
[FR Doc. 97-14712 Filed 6-4-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
