June 6 -- The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), invites comments to OMB by July 8, 2022 on its Oil and Gas Reserves System Surveys.
The information collection requests a three-year extension of its Oil and Gas Reserves System Surveys, OMB No. 1905-0057: Extension without changes of Form EIA-64A, Annual Report of the Origin of Natural Gas Liquids Production; Revision of Form EIA-23L, Annual Report of Domestic Oil and Gas Reserves, County Level Report; and continued suspension of Form EIA-23S, Annual Survey of Domestic Oil and Gas Reserves, Summary Level Report. Form EIA-23L is the only form that EIA proposes to change. There are no proposed changes to Forms EIA-64A and EIA-23S.
The proposed collection will be used to prepare electronic annual reports of U.S. proved reserves data that fulfill EIA's congressional mandate to provide accurate annual estimates of U.S. proved crude oil and natural gas reserves. The U.S. Government also uses the resulting information in EIA's reports to develop national and regional estimates of proved reserves of domestic crude oil and natural gas to facilitate national energy policy decisions.
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 proved oil and gas reserves and the quality, reliability, and usefulness of reserves estimates. 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.
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 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 lands and water. 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 provide public investors with 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 and natural gas 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 and natural gas reserves, and are incorporated into a number of other Web reports and analyses.
EIA proposes to make the following changes to Form EIA-23L, Annual Report of Domestic Oil and Gas Reserves:
Schedule A of Form EIA-23L, which collected annual proved reserves and production data for four fuel types (crude oil, associated-dissolved natural gas, non-associated natural gas, and lease condensate) on a county-level basis will be changed to collect annual proved reserves and production data for two fuel types (crude oil plus lease condensate, and total natural gas) on a state/state subdivision-level basis.
Schedule A of Form EIA-23L, which used three reservoir type codes (C—conventional, LP—low permeability, and SH—shale) to subdivide county-level proved reserves data within Schedule A will be changed to two separate report parts: Parts 4 and 5. Part 4 will list the combined total of annual proved reserves and production data on a state- and state subdivision-level basis Part 5 will separately list that portion of annual proved reserves and production sourced only from shale reservoirs on a state- and state subdivision-level basis.
A fillable spreadsheet version of the new Form EIA-23L will replace the current PDF version of Form EIA-23L and its E-file software (the Reserves Information Gathering System (RIGS).
EIA Oil and Gas Reserves webpage:
https://www.eia.gov/naturalgas/crudeoilreserves/
EIA submission to OMB:
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202206-1905-002 Click IC List for data collection instruments, View Supporting Statement for technical documentation. Submit comments through this site.
FRN:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2022-12001
For AEA members wishing to submit comments to OMB, the AEA Committee on Economic Statistics offers "A Primer on How to Respond to Calls for Comment on Federal Data Collections" at
https://www.aeaweb.org/content/file?id=5806