Monthly Natural Gas Production Report, Form EIA-914 (Expansion)

Department of Energy Washington, DC 20585 March 26, 2014

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 (56), approved under OMB number 1905-0186), to conduct cognitive interviews for proposed expansion of the EIA-914, “Monthly Natural Gas Production Report.”

Dear Mr. Whiteman:

The EIA-914 form, or the Monthly Natural Gas Production Report, collects information on natural gas production by operator, by state, in the United States. These data collected from this form appear in a vast array of EIA publications, including the Natural Gas Monthly, Natural Gas Annual, Petroleum Supply Monthly, Petroleum Supply Annual, Monthly Energy Review, Annual Energy Review, and on other pages within the EIA website.

Background: For the 2015 EIA-914 survey, EIA would like to add the collection of crude oil and lease condensate production from well operators. EIA is exploring collecting this information both as an aggregate and separated by American Petroleum Institute (API) Gravity categories by state. Finally, EIA is expanding the number of states and areas operators are asked to report for from seven to 21.

In order to understand the potential measurement error in this proposed expansion, EIA’s survey methodologists would like to conduct cognitive interviews with existing EIA-914 respondents. The purpose of these visits will be:

• To assess if API Gravity data are available in respondent’s records;

• To understand the cognitive burden required from respondents to translate what is in their records to EIA’s API Gravity data requests;

• And, if time permits, to test the remaining components of the EIA-914, including the burden of asking EIA-914 respondents to report for 21 states and areas (previously it was seven states and areas).

Proposed Cognitive Interviews: EIA plans to conduct up to 25 cognitive interviews with EIA-914 respondents. These interviews may occur in up to two rounds of testing. EIA plans to conduct the cognitive interviews in the May thru September of 2014 timeframe in metropolitan areas that are yet to be determined.

EIA may use the information collected from these cognitive interviews to revise the proposed API Gravity questions. 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. The cognitive testing will also allow EIA to more accurately estimate the burden that these new questions and the expansion of states will add to the respondent.

Burden: Each cognitive interview will be about an hour. Total burden across all interviews is estimated to be up to 25 hours.

Costs for respondents is estimated to be $1733.25 ($69.33 * 25 hours * one respondent). Costs for EIA is estimated to be $5199.75 ($69.33 * 25 hours * three persons from EIA). Total costs are estimated to be $6933.

EIA will provide OMB with the results of these tests in the annual summary of generic clearances. Attached is the EIA-914 draft protocol, which will be used during the cognitive interviews, and the EIA-914 draft survey in PDF format.

For questions on the cognitive interviews, please contact Debra Coaxum (202) 586-0957.

Sincerely,

Stephen Harvey

Acting Director

Office of Survey Development and Statistical Integration

U.S. Energy Information Administration

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