EIA-915: Monthly Gas Processing and Liquids Report

Department of Energy Washington, DC 20585 January 4, 2013

Chad Whiteman

Department of Energy Desk Officer

Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs

Office of Management and Budget

Washington, DC 20503

SUBJECT: Use of Generic Clearance for U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA-882T (55), approved under OMB number 1905-0186) to conduct cognitive interviews for Form EIA-915, “Monthly Gas Processing and Liquids Report.”

Dear Mr. Whiteman:

The proposed EIA-915 form will be used to collect inlet data of natural gas volumes, the final disposition of all plant products including fuel and nonhydrocarbons, and end-of-month plant liquid stocks from natural gas processing plants, fractionators and gas sweetening plants in the United States. Respondents included in the survey represent a census of these activities in the United States.

Background: In preparation for the 2014 Oil and Gas Supply and Financial Statistics Team (OGSFST) OMB clearance package for the EIA-915 survey, the OGSFST has requested EIA’s survey methodologists to conduct cognitive interviews with respondents. The purpose of these visits is to:

• To confirm if the current respondent, both the person and the company, can complete the EIA-915 data collection instrument and the level of effort this data request requires;

• To confirm that plants that receive natural gas from interstate pipelines can report the origin of the natural gas;

• And, to understand the respondent’s response process and what barriers exist to form completion including data availability and timing of survey request.

Proposed Cognitive Interviews: EIA plans to conduct up to 20 cognitive interviews with EIA-915 respondents. These interviews may occur in up to two rounds of testing. EIA plans to conduct the cognitive interviews in June, July and August of 2013 in metropolitan areas that are yet to be determined.

EIA may use the information collected from these cognitive interviews to revise the EIA-915 form. Specifically, the information collected may be used to update the proposed wording for data requests and instructions in order to retrieve more accurate and uniform reporting of the data from respondents.

Burden: Each cognitive interview will be about an hour. Total burden across all interviews is estimated to be up to 20 hours.

Costs for respondents are estimated to be $1366.40 ($68.32 * 20 hours * one respondent).

Costs for EIA are estimated to be $6732.80.

• Wages: ($68.32 * 20 hours * two persons from EIA = $2732.80)

• Travel cost: ($2000.00 * two persons from EIA = $4000.00)

Total costs (for respondents and federal government) are estimated to be $8099.20.

EIA will provide OMB with the results of these tests in the annual summary of generic clearances. Attached is the draft protocol for the EIA-915, which will be used during the cognitive interviews, and the draft questionnaire in PDF format.

For questions on the cognitive interviews, please contact Renee Miller (202) 586-6070.

Sincerely,

Stephanie Brown

Director

Office of Survey Development and Statistical Integration

U.S. Energy Information Administration

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