[Federal Register: April 23, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 79)]
[Notices]
[Page 22019-22025]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr23ap04-60]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Energy Information Administration
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request
AGENCY: Energy Information Administration (EIA), Department of Energy
(DOE).
ACTION: Agency information collection activities: proposed collection;
comment request.
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SUMMARY: The EIA is soliciting comments on a proposed new Form EIA-914,
``Monthly Natural Gas Production Report.''
DATES: Comments must be filed by June 22, 2004. If you anticipate
difficulty in submitting comments within that period, contact the
person listed below as soon as possible.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to Barry Yaffe. To ensure receipt of the
comments by the due date, submission by FAX (202-586-9739) or e-mail
barry.yaffe@EIA.doe.gov) is recommended. The mailing address is Office
of Oil and Gas, EI-40, Forrestal Building, U.S. Department of Energy,
Washington, DC 20585. Alternatively, Barry Yaffe may be contacted by
telephone at 202-586-4412.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information
should be directed to Barry Yaffe at the address listed above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
II. Current Actions
III. Request for Comments
I. Background
The Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974 (Pub. L. 93-275, 15
U.S.C. 761 et seq.) and the DOE Organization Act (Pub. L. 95-91, 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 demand.
The EIA, as part of its effort to comply with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35), provides
the public and government agencies with opportunities to comment on
collections of energy information conducted by or in conjunction with
the EIA. Any comments received help the EIA to prepare data requests
that maximize the utility of the information collected and to assess
the impact of collection requirements on the public. Later, the EIA
plans to seek approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
under Section 3507(a) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
EIA is proposing a new sample survey, Form EIA-914, ``Monthly
Natural Gas Production Report.'' Using Form EIA-914, EIA's ability to
reliably estimate and disseminate timely monthly natural gas production
data for the United States and its top producing areas would improve
significantly. The applicable elements of the natural gas production
activity stream are shown in Figure 1; the associated definitions are
shown in Table 1.
The primary quantity to be measured by the survey is ``natural gas
lease production.'' Similar volumes are sometimes referred to as
``sales production'' or ``gas available for sales.'' This quantity
indicates the net amount of produced gas that leaves the lease, going
either to natural gas processing plants or directly to end-users. Other
quantities to be reported are ``gross withdrawals (wet)'' (i.e., full-
bore wellstream gas minus lease condensate, oil and water), gas used as
fuel on leases, gas used for repressuring and reinjection, quantities
vented and flared on leases, and nonhydrocarbons removed on leases.
Gross withdrawals (wet) is sometimes referred to as ``wet gas after
lease separation.'' The proposed survey form and instructions are
available at http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/fwd/proposed.html.
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
[[Page 22020]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR23AP04.013
BILLING CODE 6450-01-C
[[Page 22021]]
Table 1. Definitions
Wellhead: The point at which the natural gas exits the ground.
Lease separation facility (lease separator): A facility installed
at the surface for the purpose of (a) separating gases from produced
crude oil and water at the temperature and pressure conditions set by
the separator and/or (b) separating gases from that portion of the
produced natural gas stream that liquefies at the temperature and
pressure conditions set by the separator.
Natural gas processing plant: A surface installation designed to
separate and recover natural gas liquids from a stream of produced
natural gas through the processes of condensation, absorption,
adsorption, refrigeration, or other methods and to control the quality
of natural gas marketed and/or returned to oil or gas reservoirs for
pressure maintenance, repressuring, or cycling.
Gross withdrawals (wet): Full well stream volume, including all
natural gas plant liquid and nonhydrocarbon gases, but excluding lease
condensate, oil and water. Also includes amounts delivered as royalty
payments or consumed in field operations.
Lease condensate: A mixture consisting primarily of pentanes and
heavier hydrocarbons that is recovered as a liquid from natural gas in
lease or field separation facilities. This category excludes natural
gas plant liquids, such as butane and propane, which are recovered at
natural gas processing plants or facilities.
Wet natural gas: A mixture of hydrocarbon compounds and small
quantities of various nonhydrocarbons existing in the gaseous phase or
in solution with crude oil in porous rock formations at reservoir
conditions. The principal hydrocarbons normally contained in the
mixture are methane, ethane, propane, butane, and pentane. Typical
nonhydrocarbon gases that may be present in reservoir natural gas are
water vapor, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen and trace
amounts of helium. Under reservoir conditions, natural gas and its
associated liquefiable portions occur either in a single gaseous phase
in the reservoir or in solution with crude oil and are not
distinguishable at the time as separate substances. Note: The
Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Accounting
Standards Board refer to this product as natural gas.
Dry natural gas: Natural gas which remains after: (1) The
liquefiable hydrocarbon portion has been removed from the gas stream
(i.e., gas after lease, field, and/or plant separation); and (2) any
volumes of nonhydrocarbon gases have been removed where they occur in
sufficient quantity to render the gas unmarketable. Note: Dry natural
gas is also known as consumer-grade natural gas. The parameters for
measurement are cubic feet at 60 degrees Fahrenheit and 14.73 pounds
per square inch absolute.
Repressuring and reinjection: The injection of gas into oil or gas
formations to effect greater ultimate recovery.
Vented and flared: Gas that is disposed of by releasing (venting)
or burning (flaring).
Extraction loss: The reduction in volume of natural gas due to the
removal of natural gas liquid constituents such as ethane, propane, and
butane at natural gas processing plants.
Nonhydrocarbon Gases: Typical nonhydrocarbon gases that may be
present in reservoir natural gas, such as carbon dioxide, hydrogen
sulfide, helium, nitrogen and water vapor.
Marketed production (wet): Gross withdrawals (wet) less gas used
for repressuring and reinjection, quantities vented and flared,
nonhydrocarbon gases removed in treating or processing operations, and
gas used as fuel on lease. Includes all dry natural gas plus quantities
of gas consumed in lease and processing plant operations. Natural Gas
Lease Production is equal to the sum of marketed wet production (to
processing plants) and marketed wet production going directly to end-
users (no further processing).
A. EIA's Current Method to Generate Estimates of Natural Gas Production
Currently the EIA publishes monthly estimates of natural gas
production in the Natural Gas Monthly [by State, Gulf of Mexico and
total United States] and the Monthly Energy Review [total United
States], and annually in the Natural Gas Annual [by State, Gulf of
Mexico and total United States] and Annual Energy Review [total United
States]. EIA obtains data from the following sources:
(1) State-level natural gas production data submitted voluntarily
by many producing States to the EIA on Form EIA-895, ``Monthly and
Annual Quantity and Value of Natural Gas Production Report,''
(2) Other State-level natural gas production information obtained
from agencies in various States (directly or from their Web sites), and
(3) Information on offshore natural gas production collected and
released by the Minerals Management Service (MMS) in the Department of
Interior.
Although EIA obtains data from these sources, the data are subject
to reporting lags and non-reporting. The incomplete nature of the more
recent data causes EIA to have to create estimates for a substantial
share of recent production activity.
The States and MMS gather natural gas production information for
various reasons, often for revenue, taxing or conservation purposes.
Most State and MMS production data for a given report month are not
considered to be reliable for 12-18 months after the close of a report
month and may not be considered ``final'' (i.e., no further revisions)
for 2-3 years. The EIA has developed estimation methodologies that
operate on the preliminary data from the States with larger production
volumes and on the data from MMS, and EIA uses statistical imputation
techniques for the States with relatively less production. EIA
generates estimates of monthly natural gas production that are
considered adequate for release about 120 days after the close of a
report month. These methodologies are described in the report, ``How
EIA Estimates Natural Gas Production,'' at http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/natural_gas/analysis_publications/ngprod/ngprod.pdf
.
B. Other Alternatives to Generate Timely, Reliable and More Precise
Estimates of Natural Gas Production
The monthly natural gas production estimates that EIA publishes 120
days following the close of a report month have been found, on average,
to match ``final'' values (no further revisions) to within 3% or less
at the national level of aggregation. While a 120-day information lag
is a vast improvement over the timeliness of the State and MMS-provided
source data, it is still too long for the information to be useful in
determining near and intermediate term supplies, especially during
natural gas peak demand periods. Also, a 3% error band is too large to
accurately discern if production has risen or declined in a given
month, because the monthly production variations are sometimes within
that order of magnitude. Consequently, EIA investigated alternative
methods to determine if there are better ways to obtain timelier and
more precise national and State-level monthly natural gas production
data.
The alternatives considered were: (1) Use of Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) 10-K and 10-Q submissions, (2) a survey of
natural gas pipeline operators, (3) use of data from natural gas
processors, and (4) a survey of well operators. The survey of well
[[Page 22022]]
operators was determined to be the only alternative that could satisfy
EIA's requirement for more reliable and more timely natural gas
production data.
1. SEC 10-K and 10-Q Submissions
Companies with more than $10 million in assets (whose securities
are registered on a national securities exchange and are held by more
than 500 owners) must file annual and other periodic financial and
business reports with the SEC. SEC forms are easily accessible online
through the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval (EDGAR)
system. Because the data are publicly available, the EIA would not be
required to obtain permission from any entity prior to publishing data
from the SEC. Some industry analysts use the information that companies
file with the SEC to assess natural gas production issues. The EIA
investigated this approach as a way to obtain reliable monthly natural
gas production information.
The SEC Forms 10-K and 10-Q are the two key SEC forms from which
natural gas production volume information may be obtained. The annual
10-K is the principal document used by most public companies to
disclose corporate information to shareholders. It is usually a
``state-of-the-company'' report containing financial data, results of
continuing operations, market segment information, new product plans,
subsidiary activities and research and development activities for
future programs. In most cases, the 10-K is to be filed 90 days after
the end of the fiscal year covered by the report. The EIA reviewed the
SEC Form 10-Ks filed by a selection of natural gas producers, chosen
based on their operator ranking in EIA's ``U.S. Crude Oil, Natural Gas
and Natural Gas Liquids Reserves 2002 Annual Report,'' (http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/natural_gas/data_publications/crude_oil_natural_gas_reserves/cr.html
). While all of the selected producers
reported a sales volume on their SEC 10-Ks, far fewer of the selected
producers reported either production volume or provided a regional
breakdown of the data on their Form 10-K, information that would be
essential if used by the EIA to estimate total United States and
regional natural gas production.
Additionally, even when sales volume information existed on the
selected 10-Ks, not all data were comparable across producers because
of inherent definitional differences. For example, production reported
on the 10-Ks may be either gross withdrawals or marketed production.
These volumes differ by more than 10 percent on average for the U.S.
Reliable production estimates based on the 10-Ks would require
resolution of definitional inconsistencies because of the significant
impact they can have on accuracy of the results. Another problem in
using the SEC data as a source for natural gas volume information is
that the SEC respondents, as producers, report only their equity
ownership portion of their natural gas production and sales, which in
aggregate was only about 70 percent of the natural gas volumes for
which they were operators. A problem related to the reporting of equity
interests is that production changes between reports will reflect any
action that changes a company's equity interests, including sales or
purchases of producing reserves. Changes in these measures do not
necessarily serve as a reliable proxy for changes in aggregate
production. The quarterly SEC 10-Qs are another potential source of
natural gas volume information, but the selected producers provided
less information on production and sales on their 10-Qs than they did
on their 10-Ks and the quarterly submission schedule doesn't provide
the timely monthly data on natural gas production that are needed.
In summary, SEC information is not timely enough and poses a number
of problems for estimation. The SEC allows companies to report volumes
on the basis of sales or production. When production is reported, there
are potential definitional differences. Volumes also are affected by
changes in equity positions unrelated to exploration and development
activities. For these reasons, the use of SEC 10-K and 10-Q submissions
to estimate aggregate and regional production volumes in a timely
fashion was determined not to be a viable alternative.
2. Survey of Natural Gas Pipeline Companies
EIA investigated surveying natural gas pipeline companies in lieu
of well operators to obtain natural gas production information. There
are about 60 major interstate pipelines, 30 non-major interstate
pipelines and 113 intrastate pipelines operating in the United States,
as compared to more than 15,000 active well operators. (Interstate
pipeline counts are based on Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
(FERC) information on companies that filed FERC Form 2 and Form 2A in
2002. Seventeen other companies are required to file a Form 2 or Form
2A, but they operated liquefied natural gas (LNG) or storage
facilities, not pipelines. The intrastate count was based on company
self-identification of primary business type in response to Form EIA-
176, ``Annual Report of Natural and Supplemental Gas Supply and
Disposition.'') In addition to these primary pipelines, there also are
many gathering lines and connecting lines to interstate and intrastate
pipelines that transport natural gas.
While pipeline companies do collect and maintain daily volumetric
data on receipts and deliveries of natural gas, the EIA's review
revealed that it would not be practical to use their information to
generate timely and accurate estimates of natural gas production. The
principal issues of concern include avoiding multiple counting of
volumes, identifying the type or quality of gas being transported on
the pipeline (see Table 1), identifying appropriate pipelines for the
frame, identifying appropriate collection and reporting points on the
pipeline, the large number of potential data measurement points, and
assuring data quality and timeliness.
A serious problem to overcome in such a survey would be ensuring
that the pipeline survey would collect only produced natural gas and
would exclude volumes received from other pipeline systems, stored gas
and other sources for which the gas may have been previously accounted
for. A pipeline operator could not simply report on all volumes
received or metered. It would be necessary to target those receipt
points that are significantly closer to the producing fields because as
pipelines receive natural gas further downstream from the point of
production, there is an increasing number of interconnections with
other pipelines, which increases the likelihood that the volumes
received would include volumes previously recorded elsewhere.
As volumes are reported for points upstream on any given pipeline,
the number of receipt points and, therefore, measurement points
escalates. For example, according to EIA data, there are 1,107 receipt
points within Texas associated with 20 major interstate pipelines.
There are an additional 33 intrastate and non-major interstate
pipelines in Texas for which EIA would have to collect receipt data in
preparation for this survey. Further, either the respondent or EIA
would have to differentiate among a pipeline's receipt points to
identify those that are appropriate for the survey, and those for which
reported volumes potentially are distorted by double-counting of
production. Although the number of companies relevant to the proposed
[[Page 22023]]
pipeline survey might seem to be a reasonable count, the magnitude of
the actual reporting burden would be relatively large because of the
large number of data measurement points. The initial determination of
the set of reporting points, along with maintenance of the proper
reporting frame, represents a significant technical challenge.
Accuracy would become a serious problem because, while some
pipeline companies have fairly accurate systems to measure and collect
receipt volumes, other pipeline companies rely on the accuracy of the
metering facilities of pipelines that they deliver natural gas to, and
``back into'' or balance volumetric receipts based on measured
deliveries. This method could result in multiple volume allocation
revisions over time and degrade the accuracy of monthly data. Also,
while the pipelines would report flow information, it is likely they
would not be able to identify the nature of the flow volumes with
respect to the EIA definitions. The volumes reported likely would
represent a mixture of gas at various stages of the supply process ``
gross withdrawals, or wet or dry marketed production. The lack of
precision would degrade the accuracy of EIA's estimates of natural gas
monthly production.
For the reasons presented above, a survey of pipeline operators was
not determined to be a viable alternative for reliably estimating
natural gas production.
3. Use of Data From Natural Gas Processors
In 2003 EIA began collecting monthly data from operators of natural
gas processing plants on Form EIA-816 (Monthly Natural Gas Liquids
Report). The form (see http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/petroleum/survey_forms/pet_survey_forms.html
) collects information on the
supply and disposition of natural gas liquids from operators of natural
gas processing plants (which extract liquid hydrocarbons from a natural
gas stream) and fractionators (which separate a liquid hydrocarbon
stream into its component products.) The natural gas liquids
information consists of beginning stocks, receipts, production, inputs,
shipments, fuel use, losses, and ending stocks. Because the information
collected includes the volumes of natural gas received during the month
at all natural gas processing plants, EIA considered the use of these
data to estimate monthly national and regional natural gas production.
Figure A1-2 in the report, ``How EIA Estimates Natural Gas
Production,'' (http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/natural_gas/analysis_publications/ngprod/ngprod.pdf
), shows that, in 2001,
approximately two-thirds of the natural gas produced in the United
States went through processing plants and the remaining one third was
sold to end-users without processing. Thus the EIA-816 natural gas
production information captures only a portion of total natural gas
production. In the future, as the EIA-816 production data series begin
to span several years, it may be possible to estimate total natural gas
production using the EIA-816 monthly data and data from annual surveys.
However currently and for the next few years, sufficient historical
data for such estimates do not exist and estimates of the quantity of
gas that doesn't go through processing plants based on the portion that
does cannot be made.
On the other hand, a direct method to determine the quantity of
natural gas not going through processing plants would be to survey
those companies that have gas that is sold to end-users without further
processing, but no method currently exists to identify these companies,
which in 2001 accounted for almost a third of natural gas produced. For
these reasons, using the new EIA-816 natural gas production data is not
considered a viable method to estimate total natural gas production at
this time.
4. Survey of Well Operators
Because natural gas may be bought and sold many times before it
reaches the final point of consumption, EIA investigated collecting
production information at a point ``early in the supply chain'' to
minimize the possibilities of multiple counting. EIA found that it
would be feasible to collect such information from companies operating
producing wells, as opposed to the producers. While a producer can be
defined as the owner (or partial owner) of the wells from which the
natural gas is produced, an operator (who may also be an owner) can be
defined as the entity that physically operates the producing wells and
field facilities on behalf of all owners.
Potential survey respondents would be operators of wells in the
United States that produce natural gas, including Federal and State
offshore well operators. EIA estimates that approximately 250-350
respondents would be sufficient to develop volume estimates releasable
at a national level (with a sampling error of about 1%) and for six
areas (Texas, Louisiana--both including State offshore, New Mexico,
Oklahoma, Wyoming and the Federal Gulf of Mexico) with a sampling error
of less than 5%. Marketed production (wet) in 2002 was about 16,660 bcf
(billion cubic feet) per month. In 2002, a 1% sampling error rate at
the national level would have corresponded to an error band of plus or
minus about 167 bcf of gas. This error band is considered precise
enough to accurately discern monthly production variations.
Respondents would be selected from the survey frame for Form EIA-
23, ``Annual Survey of Domestic Oil and Gas Reserves,'' which contains
more than 15,000 active oil and gas well operators. These operators
already report monthly well or field-level production information to
the States and to the MMS (for Federal offshore production).
Respondents to the EIA-914 survey would report monthly production
totals, not well or field-level data. The primary quantity to be
measured by the survey is ``natural gas lease production.'' Similar
volumes are sometimes referred to as ``sales production'' or ``gas
available for sales.'' This quantity indicates the net amount of
produced gas that leaves the lease, going either to natural gas
processing plants or directly to end-users. Other quantities to be
reported are ``gross withdrawals (wet)'' (i.e., full-bore wellstream
gas minus lease condensate, oil and water), gas used as fuel on leases,
gas used for repressuring and reinjection, quantities vented and flared
on leases, and nonhydrocarbons removed on leases. Gross withdrawals
(wet) is sometimes referred to as ``wet gas after lease separation.''
The proposed survey form and instructions are available at http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/fwd/proposed.html
.
The survey would be mandatory pursuant to the Federal Energy
Administration (FEA) Act of 1974, Public Law 93-275, and would be
subject to the provisions of the Confidential Information Protection
and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-347) (CIPSEA),
ensuring the confidentiality of the data and that the data would only
be used for exclusively statistical purposes unless respondents
provided informed consent for other uses. Because of the vital need for
timely data, respondents would be expected to submit their survey
responses 30 days after the end of the report month. However, EIA
recognizes that because some respondents may need some time to be able
to meet this requirement, for the first three months of the survey,
respondents would be allowed 45 days after the end of a report month to
report. The 30-day response requirement would go into effect for the
fourth data month. Data would be submitted to the EIA by email,
facsimile, or Internet with the secure file
[[Page 22024]]
transfer (SFT) system. The aggregated data would appear in the EIA
publications, Natural Gas Annual, Monthly Energy Review and Natural Gas
Monthly, and on EIA's Web site http://www.eia.doe.gov. Data elements
for the proposed survey of well operators are listed below.
Data Elements for Form EIA-914
1. Respondent identification data.
2. For Total United States, Texas (including State offshore),
Louisiana (including State offshore), Oklahoma, New Mexico, Wyoming and
Federal Gulf of Mexico offshore area:
a. Gross withdrawals (wet);
b. Gas used for repressuring and reinjection;
c. Gas vented and flared;
d. Gas used as fuel on leases;
e. Nonhydrocarbons removed on lease;
f. Natural gas lease production.
3. Quantities would be expressed in million cubic feet (MMCF).
4. Pressure base at which all volumes are reported is 14.73 psia at
60 degrees Fahrenheit.
5. Comments.
The proposed survey form and instructions are available at http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/fwd/proposed.html.
Using information reported
on Form EIA-914, EIA would publish monthly and annual natural gas
production estimates for the United States, Texas (including State
offshore), Louisiana (including State offshore), New Mexico, Oklahoma,
Wyoming, the Federal Gulf of Mexico, and remaining States, to the
extent that confidentiality for company-specific information allows.
II. Current Actions
EIA estimates that a sample-based monthly survey of 250-350 well
operators reporting to EIA within 30 days after the end of a report
month would be needed for EIA to be able to publish reliable national
and regional natural gas production information within 60 days after
the end of a report month. The EIA plans to request approval from the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to conduct this monthly
information collection program using Form EIA-914, ``Monthly Natural
Gas Production Report.'' The potential survey respondents would be all
operators of producing wells in the United States that produce natural
gas, including offshore wells. Respondents would be selected from the
survey frame for Form EIA-23, ``Annual Survey of Domestic Oil and Gas
Reserves'' (more than 15,000 active well operators) according to a
statistical sampling methodology.
This collection is essential to the mission of the DOE in general
and the EIA in particular. Currently there is no timely source of
monthly natural gas production in the United States precise enough to
discern critical monthly production variations, information which is
crucial for informed decision and policy making before and during peak
demand periods. The information collected through this survey is
expected to be used widely by Federal and State agencies, industry
analysts and the general public to monitor natural gas supplies and by
the Congress to inform legislative debate.
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 comments.
General Issues
A. Is the proposed collection and dissemination of information
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency and
does the information have practical utility? Practical utility is
defined as the actual usefulness of information to or for an agency and
its customers, taking into account its accuracy, adequacy, reliability,
timeliness, and the agency's ability to process the information it
collects.
B. What enhancements can be made to the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be collected?
As a Potential Respondent to the Request for Information
A. What actions could be taken to help ensure and maximize the
quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of the information to be
collected?
B. The EIA is interested in collecting production data on a
consistent basis to avoid the need for adjustments after collection
that may distort the resulting estimates.
(1) Can well operators provide reliable measures of gross
withdrawals (wet), [also called ``wet gas after lease separation''] by
State or area?
(2) Can operators provide reliable measures of natural gas lease
production [also called ``sales production,'' ``marketed production
after lease separation,'' or ``natural gas available for sales''] by
State or area?
(3) Can operators provide reliable measures of gas used for
reinjection, gas vented and flared, nonhydrocarbons removed, and gas
used as fuel on leases, by State or area?
(4) Are there other measures that could be reported more reliably?
(5) Can the information be submitted by the due date (30 days after
the close of the report month)?
C. Public reporting burden for this collection is estimated to
average 3 hours per respondent monthly. The estimated burden includes
the total time necessary to provide the requested information. In your
opinion, how accurate is this estimate?
D. The EIA estimates that the only cost to a respondent is for the
time it would take to complete the collection. Will a respondent incur
any start-up costs for reporting or any recurring annual costs for
operation, maintenance, and purchase of services associated with the
information collection?
E. What additional actions could be taken to minimize the burden of
this collection of information? Such actions may involve the use of
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection
techniques or other forms of information technology.
F. Does any other Federal, State, or local agency (other than those
mentioned above) collect similar information? If so, specify the
agency, the data element(s), the methods of collection, and the
accuracy and timeliness of results.
G. The EIA-914 survey will be conducted under CIPSEA. Any agency
granted access to the EIA-914 information would be required to sign a
document agreeing to maintain the confidentiality of the information
and to use the information for statistical purposes unless respondents
consent to nonstatistical uses. Would your company sign an informed
consent agreement allowing EIA to release your EIA-914 information to
other Federal agencies for use in defined emergency situations?
As a Potential User of the Information To Be Collected
A. What actions could be taken to help ensure and maximize the
quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of the information
disseminated?
B. Is the information useful at the levels of detail to be
collected?
C. For what purpose(s) would the information be used? Please be as
specific as possible.
D. Are there alternate sources for the information and are they
useful? If so, what are they and what are their weaknesses and/or
strengths?
Comments submitted in response to this notice would be summarized
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of the form. They also
would become a matter of public record.
[[Page 22025]]
Statutory Authority: Section 3507(h)(1) of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35).
Issued in Washington, DC, April 20, 2004.
Jay H. Casselberry,
Agency Clearance Officer, Statistics and Methods Group, Energy
Information Administration.
[FR Doc. 04-9246 Filed 4-22-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P