Petroleum Marketing Program

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
U.S. ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION
Washington, D. C. 20585

OMB No. XXXX-XXXX
Expiration Date: XX/XX/XX
Version No.: 2013.01

EIA-856
MONTHLY FOREIGN CRUDE OIL ACQUISITION REPORT
INSTRUCTIONS
1. QUESTIONS?
If you have any questions about Form EIA-856 after reading the
instructions, please call our toll-free number 1-800-638-8812.

Copies in portable document format (PDF) and spreadsheet
format (XLS) are available on EIA's website at:

2. PURPOSE
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) Form EIA-856,
"Monthly Foreign Crude Oil Acquisition Report," is used to collect
data on the cost and quantities of foreign crude oil (by country of
origin) acquired for importation into the United States, including
U.S. territories and possessions. The data are used by the
Department of Energy, the International Energy Agency (IEA),
other Federal agencies, and industry analysts for forecasting and
analytical purposes.

3. WHO MUST SUBMIT
The Form EIA-856 is mandatory pursuant to Section 13(b) of the
Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-275)
and must completed by all firms that were reporting data as of
June 1982, regardless of the total volumes of crude oil that were
acquired for import. In addition, all other firms that acquired more
than 500,000 barrels of foreign crude oil in the report month for
importation into the United States must submit an EIA-856 report
for that month.
Section 9 explains the possible sanctions for failing to report.

4. WHEN TO SUBMIT
The Form EIA-856 must be submitted to EIA no later than 30
calendar days after the close of each reference month (e.g., if the
reference month is March 2013, the report must be submitted to
EIA by April 30, 2013).

5. WHERE TO SUBMIT
Completed forms may be submitted by facsimile, email, or mail.
Fax completed forms to: (202) 586-9772
Email forms to: OOG.SURVEYS@eia.doe.gov
Secure File Transfer forms to:
https://signon.eia.doe.gov/upload/noticeoog.jsp
Mail completed forms to:

6. COPIES OF SURVEY FORMS, INSTRUCTIONS
AND DEFINITIONS

Oil & Gas Survey
U.S. Department of Energy
Ben Franklin Station
PO Box 279
Washington, DC 20044-0279

http://www.eia.gov/survey/#eia-856
You may also access the materials by following the steps below:
·
·
·
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Go to EIA’s website at www.eia.gov
Click on Tools in the upper right hand corner
Click on EIA Survey Forms
Click on Petroleum
Under Monthly select EIA-856
Select the materials you want.

Files must be saved to your personal computer. Data cannot be
entered interactively on the website.

7. HOW TO COMPLETE THE SURVEY FORM
General Instructions
For the purpose of this report:
The corporate entity, hereafter referred to as the "firm," for
which the report is filed, is considered to be the parent
company and the consolidated entities (if any) which it
directly or indirectly controls, taken altogether. The report will
be filed for both the firm's domestic and foreign affiliates
which acquire foreign crude oil for landing in the United
States.
Crude oil is understood to include lease condensate. If your
definition of crude oil differs from this, provide your definition
of crude oil in the Comments section in Part 3 of your first
submission of the EIA-856.
The United States includes the 50 States, the District of
Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and all American
Territories and Possessions.
Report all acquisitions made for the purpose of Importation into
the United States by your firm or agent. Include purchases,
exchange receipts, equity crude oil, and buy-back oil. Include all
acquisitions that your firm will own or expects to own at the time
of importation, whether or not the crude is to be imported under
your firm's license. Transactions which have not previously been
reported should be included in the current month's submission.
Submissions of unreported transactions should occur as soon as
possible after the unreported transaction is identified. Cargos, or
portions of cargos of foreign crude oil which were acquired and
reported in a previous month, and were subsequently sold or

EIA-856, “Monthly Foreign Crude Oil Acquisition Report”

Page 1

delivered on exchange in the report month or are no longer
intended for importation into the United States, should be reported
as a resubmission.
If a vessel loads crude at more than one port, or more than one
crude type is loaded at a single port (except when the crude
streams are commingled in the same tank), report each crude
parcel acquired as a separate transaction.
Report all prices in U.S. dollars and cents per barrel (e.g.,
$34.14). Report all volumes in 42 U.S. gallon barrels rounded to
the nearest barrel. For example, report 245,543.54 bbl as 245,544
bbl.
Report all data according to the most accurate records available
to the firm at the time of filing. Where data to be reported are not
yet finalized in the firm's accounting records, the firm's best
estimate based on interim records may be reported. Estimates
should be reviewed when more complete information is available
and, if appropriate, resubmitted in accordance with the provisions
outlined under Resubmissions below.
Note: For those cargos for which the cost of the crude oil is
determined after the report month in which it is acquired and
reported to EIA (e.g., "netback" pricing), all information about the
cargo should be included except price information which should
be reported as zeroes. A reference to this transaction should be
placed in the Comments section of Part 3. When the price is
determined in accordance with the terms of the purchasing
agreement, the transaction must be resubmitted with the next
regularly scheduled report.
Canadian crudes are often imported into the United States in
relatively small pipeline lots. Therefore, in order to help minimize
reporting requirements, companies may aggregate identical types
of transactions of Canadian oil purchased from the same vendor
and imported via pipeline (e.g., spot-f.o.b.-third party purchases of
Canadian Lloydminster).
Resubmissions
Resubmissions are required:
If cargos (or a portion of a cargo) of foreign crude oil which
were acquired and reported in a previous month and were
subsequently sold or delivered on exchange in the report
month and/or are no longer intended for importation into the
United States.
If the price previously reported in column (m) or (o), either on
the original report or on a prior resubmission, changes by plus
or minus five percent (+5%), or if the quantity reported in
column (I), either on the original report or on a prior
resubmission, changes by plus or minus five percent (+5%).

All revisions must be submitted within 120 days after the cargo
was originally reported. However, EIA must be notified of
significant changes discovered after 120 days and will determine
if a resubmission is needed. For each transaction that is revised,
report all data elements, even those elements that did not
change. For the elements that are changed, enter the corrected
value/information. In correcting volumes or prices, enter the full
(i.e., corrected) volume or price, not the net change.

PART 1. IDENTIFICATION DATA
Report Period: Enter the month and year for which this form is
being submitted.
Enter the 10-digit EIA ID Number. If you do not have a number,
submit your report leaving this field blank. EIA will advise you of
the number.
Enter the name and addresses of the reporting company. If they
are the same, only report one address. If there is any change to
your respondent information (i.e., company name or address,
contact name, telephone number, fax number or email address)
since the last report, enter an “X” in the block provided.
Enter contact name, telephone number, fax number, and email
address.
Enter the month, day, and year this report is being filed.
Type of Report: Check the box which indicates whether this form
is: (1) an Original, or (2) a Resubmission.
If this is a
resubmission, enter the date of the report for which this report is a
resubmission.

PART 2. SUMMARY DATA
Total Acquisitions: Report the aggregate volume of foreign
crude oil acquired by the firm in the report month for importation
into the United States. All relevant acquisitions are to be included,
regardless of the terms and/or conditions under which they were
acquired. The total volume should equal the sum of all volumes
reported in Part 3 column (I) for the report month. Volumes for
resubmissions should not be included in this total.
Offshore Inventories: Report the aggregate volume of foreign
crude oil owned by the firm, intended for eventual importation into
the United States, and which is held in storage (either in terminals
or floating) outside the United States and/or is enroute to the
United States as of the end of the report month. The residual of
cargos that had begun to be off-loaded during the report month
but had not completed such off-loading should be excluded from
this number.

PART 3. TRANSACTIONS

For errors in all other columns, except column (n), for which
resubmissions are required for material changes only.

Number the pages of your Part 3 Transactions. For example, the
first of two pages would be page 1 of 2.

Each resubmission will establish a new base to which the five
percent threshold would be applied in determining whether
subsequent resubmissions are required (i.e., in applying the five
percent threshold, the sum or net of all changes to the previously
reported price or volume should be used). A retroactive price
adjustment which changes the price(s) of any previously reported
transaction(s) by plus or minus five percent (+5%) would
necessitate a resubmission of that (those) transaction(s).

EIA ID Number: Enter the 10-digit identification number assigned
to the reporting firm for this survey.
Report Period: Enter the year and month for which this form is
being submitted.
Enter the month, day, and year this report is being filed.

EIA-856, “Monthly Foreign Crude Oil Acquisition Report”

Page 2

Column Instruction
(a) Transaction Number: Number each original transaction
consecutively for reference purposes. If more than one sheet
is required, continue the number sequence.
(b) Type of Transaction: Enter the appropriate letter or letters
which designate the type of transaction:
H-

Cargo acquired directly from a host government or its
agent,

T-

Cargo acquired directly from a nonaffiliated third party.

A-

Cargo acquired from an affiliated company that is not
part of the firm,

AH -

Affiliate-host government acquisition (see following
Note), or

AT -

Canadian crude imported by pipeline, enter the point at which
the crude entered the trunkline system. In cases where the
original port of loading is not known (e.g., in cases where the
cargo was acquired after loading), enter the notation "NA."
A transshipment facility should not be reported as the Port of
Loading unless that was the location at which the cargo was
acquired by the firm.
(h) Port of Destination: Enter the appropriate 4-digit U.S. Port
Code to designate the port at which the crude is expected to
be discharged. (For a list of U.S. port codes see
http://www.eia.gov/survey/form/eia_856/eia856appb.pdf
for
Appendix B U.S. Port Codes.) This should correspond to
the Port of Destination specified on the bill of lading. If the
U.S. Port is unknown at the time of this report, indicate the
port where transshipment, lightering, or terminalling activities
are expected to occur.
(I) Date of Landing: Enter the year and month of (expected)
landing. For example, report January 2013 as 1301.

Affiliate-third party acquisition (see following Note).

Note: There are some circumstances wherein a firm's
intracorporate transfer price from its international supply
organization to its domestic operating arm may be submitted in
lieu of an arms-length price (see Acquisition Price, Item (m),
later in this section for specifics). For such intracorporate
transfer prices, indicate, to the extent possible, the type of
transaction by the supply organization. Transactions in which
crude oil acquired by the supply organization from a host
government under buy-back, equity, concessionary, or other
non-market conditions, should be coded "AH." If your
company's supply organization purchases crude from an
unaffiliated third party, and the reporting of a transfer price is
permitted under the terms of column (m), label the transaction
"AT."
(c&d) Country/Crude Code. and Crude Type: In column (c), enter
the country/stream code. (For a list of crude stream codes
see
Appendix
A
Crude
Stream
Codes
at
http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/survey_form
s/eia856appa.pdf.) Enter the generic name of the crude
stream in column (d) (e.g., Bonny Light, Maya, etc.). If there
is no country/stream code listed in Appendix A for a
particular crude, enter only the two-letter country-of-origin
designator in column (c) and the generic name in column
(d).
(e) Gravity: Report the actual gravity of the crude (not merely the
nominal gravity as given in Appendix A) to the nearest tenth of
a degree. Do not round up (e.g., gravities from 39.00 to 39.09
should be reported as 39.0). The actual gravity may differ from
the nominal gravity associated with the particular stream.
(f) Date of Loading: Report the year, month, and day (YYMMDD)
that the loading of the cargo was completed in the
country-of-origin for exportation to the United States. In those
cases in which the cargo was acquired by the firm at some
time after loading in the country-of-origin, report the date on
which that cargo was acquired by the firm. Dates on which a
cargo was transshipped from an intermediate facility should
not be reported as the Date of Loading unless that is the date
on which the cargo was acquired by the firm.
(g) Port of Loading: Enter the original port in the country of origin
at which the crude was loaded. Abbreviate as necessary. For

(j) Vessel: Enter the name of the vessel in which crude was
loaded. Abbreviate as necessary. For Canadian crude
imported by pipeline, enter the name of the pipeline, if known,
or enter “Pipeline."
(k) Contract/Point Code: Enter the two-letter code which will
indicate the terms and location of the acquisition. The first
letter of the code will be "S," "C," "E,” “N,” or “T” which
designates whether the acquisition was a(n):
S-

Spot purchase,

C-

Contract/term or continuing supply agreement,

E-

Exchange agreement,

N-

Netback or other agreement of a contract or continuing
supply agreement nature wherein the price paid is to be
determined at a future date (e.g., five days after landing),
or

T-

Same as "N" but the purchase was not in association
with a continuing supply agreement (e.g., a spot
purchase).

The second letter of the code will be "F," “P,” “U,” “T," or "R"
which designates where the cargo was purchased:
F-

Cargo acquired in country-of-origin with f.o.b. terms,

P-

Cargo acquired in country-of-origin with CIF or non-f.o.b.
terms,

U-

Cargo acquired at U.S. port-of-entry with CIF terms,

T-

Cargo acquired at U.S. port-of-entry with f.o.b. terms, or

R-

Cargo acquired enroute or at an intermediate point (e.g.,
a terminal or trans shipment center).

For example, if under the terms of a continuing supply
agreement, a respondent takes title to a shipment of oil at the
port of loading under f.o.b. terms, then that respondent should
enter "CF" for that shipment.

EIA-856, “Monthly Foreign Crude Oil Acquisition Report”

Page 3

(I) Volume Acquired: Report the actual volume, in whole barrels,
of each crude parcel that was acquired in the report month for
importation into the United States. All such acquisitions should
be reported. Volumes/cargos previously reported to EIA on
the EIA-856 but given up during the report month (i.e., either
sold or delivered on exchange), or which are no longer
intended for importation into the U.S., should be reported as
resubmissions (see Resubmissions in Section 7).
Volumes/cargos acquired and subsequently given up in the
same month (i.e., the report month) should not be reported.
Since the EIA-856 is filled on a cargo-specific basis, it is
implicit that the reported acquisitions will have been loaded by
the time the report was filed. In cases where foreign crude oil
was acquired but not loaded by the time the report was filed,
those parcels should be reported as soon as the
cargo-specific data are available (i.e., presumably when the
volumes are loaded).
(m) Acquisition Price: Enter the price, in dollars per barrel that the
firm paid to acquire the cargo of crude oil. Premia and
discounts charged to, or given to, the purchasing firm by the
seller are to be included (i.e., added or subtracted,
respectively, in computing the price paid). All export taxes or
fees assessed by the country of exportation should also be
included. Prices need not be reported for exchange
transactions. A resubmission is required if a reported
transaction is subsequently subjected to retroactive price
adjustments that change the previously reported price by plus
or minus five percent (+5%).

costs associated with importing or "landing" foreign oil, they
are explicitly excluded by the International Energy Agency
(IEA). They are reported separately here to enable DOE to
accurately fulfill its obligations to the IEA.) Do not include any
charges which are reported in Landed Cost (column (o)).
(o) Landed Cost: Report as the Landed Cost price the cost to the
firm, in dollars per barrel (e.g., $32.48), to purchase and
transport the foreign crude oil to the United States. The
Landed Cost price should include the price paid to acquire the
crude (column (m)) plus the cost of transportation from the
point of acquisition up to the point of discharge, including
insurance, transshipping fees, and lightering fees.
Transportation and other charges incurred in moving the
cargo from the discharge port to the refinery should not be
included. Do not include charges incurred at the discharge
port, e.g., import tariffs or fees, wharfage charges, and
demurrage charges.
(p) Days of Credit: The number of days of credit extended to the
firm by the seller is not required to be reported. This
information is optional.
(q) Name of Vendor: Enter the name of the vendor of this
shipment of crude oil.
Comments: Report any occurrence that could explain variation in
the data reported by your firm. List the Transaction Number(s)
from column (a) which refers to the explanation.

8.
The intracorporate transfer price charged to the U.S. domestic
arm of the firm may be substituted for the firm's actual
acquisition price if:
(1) The oil is acquired from a producing government, or its
wholly controlled agent, as a result of concessionary
agreements between the reporting firm's international
purchasing organization and the producing government.
Likewise, if the oil is obtained in payment for services
rendered to the producing government (such as the
company's equity share of production), then the transfer
price to the domestic operating company may be similarly
reported as the acquisition price. In these cases where a
transfer price is reported, the purchase is coded as an
affiliate/host government purchase according to the
instruction given in (b) above.
(2) Occasionally, oil purchased by the firm from an unaffiliated
third party may be physically commingled with the
purchasing firm's existing stocks (prior, or subsequent to
loading on a ship or into a pipeline). In the case where a
portion of these stocks or shipments is later designated as
bound for U.S. importation and the U.S. bound shipment
cannot be identified with a specific purchase or purchases
by the firm due to physical commingling of the oil, the
firm's intracorporate transfer price to the U.S. domestic
operating arm may be reported as the acquisition price.
The parcel should be coded as an affiliate/third party
purchase according to the instructions given in (b) above.
(n) Other Cost: Report separately as Other Costs, in dollars per
barrel, demurrage, agents fees, import tariffs and fees,
wharfage, and any pipeline charges for movement of oil from
offshore discharge points to the port of actual importation.
(While these charges are normally treated as non-purchase

PROVISIONS REGARDING
CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION

The information reported on this form will be protected and not
disclosed to the public to the extent that it satisfies the criteria for
exemption under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C.
§552, the Department of Energy (DOE) regulations, 10 C.F.R.
§1004.11, implementing the FOIA, and the Trade Secrets Act, 18
U.S.C. §1905.
The Federal Energy Administration Act requires EIA to provide
company-specific data to other Federal agencies when requested
for official use. The information reported on this form may also be
made available, upon request, to another component of DOE; to
any Committee of Congress, the Government Accountability
Office, or other Federal agencies authorized by law to receive
such information. A court of competent jurisdiction may obtain
this information in response to an order. The information may be
used for any nonstatistical purposes such as administrative,
regulatory, law enforcement, or adjudicatory purposes.
Disclosure limitation procedures are applied to the statistical data
published from EIA-856 survey information to ensure that the risk
of disclosure of identifiable information is very small. Information
from this form are provided to the Bureau of Labor Statistics
(BLS) of the Department of Labor as a primary input for
calculating price indices for foreign crude oil. Company specific
data are also provided to other DOE offices for the purpose of
examining United States’ crude oil imports.

9. SANCTIONS
The timely submission of Form EIA-856 by those required to
report is mandatory under Section 13(b) of the Federal Energy
Administration Act of 1974 (FEAA) (Public Law 93-275), as

EIA-856, “Monthly Foreign Crude Oil Acquisition Report”

Page 4

amended. Failure to respond may result in a civil penalty of not
more than $2,750 per day for each violation, or a fine of not more
than $5,000 per day for each criminal violation. The government
may bring a civil action to prohibit reporting violations which may
result in a temporary restraining order or a preliminary or
permanent injunction without bond. In such civil action, the court
may also issue mandatory injunctions commanding any person to
comply with these reporting requirements.

10. FILING FORMS WITH FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT AND ESTIMATED REPORTING
BURDEN
Respondents are not required to file or reply to any Federal
collection of information unless it has a valid OMB control
number. Public reporting burden for this collection of information
is estimated to average 6.1 hours per response, including the time
of reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources,
gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and
reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding
this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of
information including suggestions for reducing this burden to: U.S.
Energy Information Administration, Office of Survey Development
and Statistical Integration, EI-21, 1000 Independence Avenue,
S.W., Washington, D.C. 20585; and to the Office of Information
and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget,
Washington, D.C. 20503.

11. DEFINITIONS
Acquisition (foreign crude oil) - All transfers of ownership of
foreign crude oil to the firm, irrespective of the terms of that
transfer. Acquisitions thus include all purchases and exchange
receipts as well as any and all foreign crude acquired under
reciprocal buy-sell agreements or acquired as a result of a
buy-back or other preferential agreement with a host government.
Affiliate - An entity which is directly or indirectly owned, operated,
or controlled by another entity.
Buy-Back Oil - Crude oil acquired from a host government
whereby a portion of the government's ownership interest in the
crude oil produced in that country may or should be purchased by
the producing firm.
CIF (Cost, Insurance, and Freight) - A type of sale in which the
buyer of the product agrees to pay a unit price that includes the
f.o.b. value of the product at the point of origin plus all costs of
insurance and transportation. This type of transaction differs from
a "delivered" purchase in that the buyer accepts the quantity as
determined at the loading port (as certified by the Bill of Lading
and Quality Report) rather than pay on the basis of the quantity
and quality ascertained at the unloading port. It is similar to the
terms of an f.o.b. sale except that the seller, as a service for
which he is compensated, arranges for transportation and
insurance.
Concession - The operating right to explore for and develop
petroleum fields in consideration for a share of production in kind
(equity oil).
Concessionary Purchases - The quantity of crude oil exported
during the reporting period which was acquired from the
producing government under terms which arise from the firm's
participation in a concession. It includes preferential crude where
the reporting firm's access to such crude is derived from a former

concessionary relationship.
Consolidated Entity - (See Firm)
Contract - (See Term Agreement)
Crude Oil - A mixture of hydrocarbons that exists in liquid phase
in natural under-ground reservoirs and remains liquid at
atmospheric pressure after passing through surface separating
facilities. Depending upon the characteristics of the crude stream,
it may also include:
1. Small amounts of hydrocarbons that exist in gaseous phase in
natural underground reservoirs but are liquid at atmospheric
pressure after being recovered from oil well (casinghead) gas
in lease separators and are subsequently commingled with
the crude stream without being separately measured. Lease
condensate recovered as a liquid from natural gas wells in
lease or field separation facilities and later mixed into the
crude stream is also included;
2. Small amounts of nonhydrocarbons produced with the oil,
such as sulfur and various metals;
3. Drip gases, and liquid hydrocarbons produced from tar sands,
oil sands, gilsonite, and oil shale.
Liquids produced at natural gas processing plants are excluded.
Crude oil is refined to produce a wide array of petroleum
products, including heating oils; gasoline, diesel and jet fuels;
lubricants; asphalt; ethane, propane, and butane; and many other
products used for their energy or chemical content.
Crude oil is considered as either domestic or foreign according to
the following:
a. Domestic Crude Oil - Crude oil produced in the United States
or from its outer continental shelf as defined in 43 U.S.C.
§1331.
b. Foreign Crude Oil - Crude oil produced outside the United
States.
Demurrage - The charge paid to the vessel owner or operator for
detention of a vessel at the port(s) beyond the time allowed,
usually 72 hours, for loading and unloading.
Equity Crude Oil - The proportion of production that a
concession owner has the legal and contractual right to retain.
Exchange - Any transaction in which quantities of crude oil, or
any other petroleum product, are received or given up in return for
other crude oil or petroleum products.
Firm - An association, company, corporation, estate, individual,
joint venture, partnership, sole proprietorship, or any other entity,
however organized, including: (a) charitable or educational
institutions; (b) the Federal Government, including corporations,
departments, Federal agencies and other instrumentalities; (c)
and State and local governments.
A firm may consist of (1) a parent entity, including the
consolidated and unconsolidated entities (if any) that it directly or
indirectly controls; (2) a parent and its consolidated entities only;
(3) an unconsolidated entity; or (4) any part or combination of the

EIA-856, “Monthly Foreign Crude Oil Acquisition Report”

Page 5

above. Reporting by parent companies is preferred to minimize
the possibility of double-counting or under-reporting.
a.

Parent - A firm that is not directly or indirectly controlled by
another entity.

b.

Parent and its Consolidated Entities - A parent and those
firms (if any) that are affiliated with the parent entity for
purposes of financial statements prepared in accordance with
generally accepted accounting principles historically and
consistently applied. An individual shall be deemed to control
a firm which is directly or indirectly controlled by him/her or by
his/her father, mother, spouse, children or grandchildren.

c.

d.

Unconsolidated Entity - A firm that is affiliated with a parent
entity but not consolidated with the parent entity for purposes
of financial statements prepared
in accordance with
generally accepted accounting principles. An unconsolidated
entity includes any firm consolidated with the unconsolidated
entity for purposes of financial statements prepared in
accordance with generally accepted accounting principles
historically and consistently applied. An individual shall be
deemed to control a firm which is directly or indirectly
controlled by him/her or by his/her father, mother, spouse,
children, or grandchildren.
Parent and Affiliated Firms - A parent and those firms
which are its (a) consolidated and (b) unconsolidated entities.

F.O.B. Price (free on board) - The price actually charged at the
producing country's port of loading. The reported price includes
deductions for any rebates and discounts or additions of
premiums where applicable and should be the actual price paid
with no adjustment for credit terms.
Host Government - The government (including any government
controlled firm engaged in the production, refining or marketing of
crude oil or petroleum products) of the foreign country in which
the crude oil is produced.
Landed Cost - Landed Cost represents the dollar per barrel price
of crude oil at the port of discharge. Included are the charges
associated with the purchase, transporting, and insuring of a
cargo from the purchase point to the port of discharge. Not
included are charges incurred at the discharge port (e.g., import
tariffs or fees, wharfage charges, and demurrage charges).

Netback Purchase - Refers to a crude oil purchase agreement
wherein the price paid for the crude is determined by sales prices
of the types of products that are derivable from that crude as well
as other considerations (e.g., transportation and processing
costs). Typically, the price is calculated based on product prices
extant on or near the cargo's date of importation.
Spot Purchase - A spot purchase transaction is a purchase
which does not fall under the terms of a continuing supply
arrangement. The conditions of the transaction between the
importer and the seller determine whether a particular purchase is
spot. For instance, in the case where a company has an on-going
crude supply contract with a supplier, the crude supplied under
that contract is treated as term even if purchased at a spot market
price, so long as it is supplied to the importer under the continuing
supply arrangement. If, on the other hand, the supplier delivers
crude outside the conditions of the on-going supply arrangement,
then the purchase covering such supply should be reported as a
spot transaction.
DOE is aware of the difficulty in identifying spot transactions, and
asks the respondents to indicate spot transactions where they
consider the conditions of the purchase to conform to their own
judgment of spot transactions outside of normal term
arrangements.
Stream – Crude oil produced in a particular field or a collection of
crude oils with similar qualities from fields in close proximity,
which the petroleum industry usually describes with a specific
name, such as Saudi Light.
Term Agreement - A term or contract agreement is any written or
unwritten agreement between two parties in which one party
agrees to supply a commodity on a continuing basis to a second
party for a price or for other considerations.
Third Party Transactions - Third party transactions are
arms-length transactions between nonaffiliated firms. For the
purpose of this report, producing country-to-company transactions
are not considered to be third party transactions. (See Instructions
for Part 3, Column (b))
Transshipment - A method of ocean transportation whereby
ships off-load their oil cargo to a deep water terminal, floating
storage facility, temporary storage, or to one or more smaller
tankers from which or in which the oil is then transported to a
market destination.

Lease Condensate - A mixture consisting primarily of
hydrocarbons heavier than pentanes that is recovered as a liquid
from natural gas in lease separation facilities. This category
excludes natural gas liquids, such as butane and propane, that
are recovered at downstream natural gas processing plants or
facilities.

EIA-856, “Monthly Foreign Crude Oil Acquisition Report”

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