23L Launch Mailing Letter

[Insert date]

«CONTNM»

«NAME1»

«STREET»

«CITY», «MAILST» «ZIP»

Dear «CONTNM»:

Your company is selected to report on Form 23L, “Annual Report of Domestic Oil and Gas Reserves” for 20XX. Participation is mandatory under federal law and the report is due by [insert date].

Form EIA-23L is a survey that collects information on U.S. crude oil and natural gas reserves. It is based on a representative sample of producers, and the reserves estimates generated from the gathered data are published by EIA. These estimates are vital to the analysis of the oil and gas markets. Data collected from Form EIA-23L provides national and regional data on proved reserves of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids for the United States. EIA estimates that the average reporting burden for this survey is 45 hours per response.

Your responses 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 DOE regulations, 10 C.F.R. §1004.11, implementing the FOIA, and the Trade Secrets Act, 18 U.S.C. §1905.

EIA ID Number: «REFORMATID»

Company Name: «NAME1»

The EIA-23L report and detailed instructions are available on the EIA website at http://www.eia.gov/survey/#eia-23l. Please note that EIA no longer accepts completed forms by email and Secure File Transfer must be used instead.

The responses to Type Code in Section 2 of Form EIA-23L has changed. The coalbed methane type code is no longer an option on the form. Please report any volumes previously listed as coalbed methane as conventional. If you use RIGS to submit the form, it will automatically convert the prior year’s coalbed methane type codes to conventional.

The shale type code is accepted only in areas identified as major shale plays. A list of counties in the major shale plays will be posted on the EIA website/included in the 20XX report instructions. If you use RIGS to submit the form, it will automatically convert the prior year’s shale type codes outside of these counties to conventional.

If you have questions about completing or submitting the report, please contact EIA at 1-800-879-1470 or OOG.Surveys@eia.gov.

Thank you for your cooperation and participation in this important report.

Sincerely,

Debra Coaxum

Director, Office of Oil, Gas, and Coal Supply Statistics

U.S. Energy Information Administration