1980 gas natural price

The data in this publication are taken from survey reports authorized by the U.S., Department of Energy (DOE), Energy Information Administration (EIA) and by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The EIA is the independent statistical and analytical agency within the DOE. The FERC is an independent regulatory commission within the DOE which has jurisdiction primarily in the regulation of electric utilities and the interstate natural gas industry. The EIA conducts and processes some of the surveys authorized by the FERC. Data are collected from two annual surveys and five monthly surveys.

The annual report is the Form EIA-176, a mandatory survey of all companies that deliver natural gas to consumers or that transport gas across State lines.

The monthly reports include two surveys of the natural gas industry, two surveys of the electric utility industry, and a voluntary survey completed by energy or conservation agencies in the gas producing States. The natural gas industry survey is the Form EIA-191 filed by companies that operate underground storage facilities, and the Form EIA-857 is filed by a sample of companies that deliver natural gas to consumers. The electric utility industry surveys are the Form EIA-759 filed by all generating electric utilities and the Form FERC-423 filed by fossil fueled plants. Responses to these four monthly surveys are mandatory.

A description of the survey respondents, reporting requirements, and processing and editing of the data is given on the following pages for each of the surveys.

Form EIA-176, "Annual Report of Natural and Supplemental Gas Supply and Disposition"

Survey Design

The original version of Form EIA-176 was approved in 1980 with a mandatory response requirement. Prior to 1980, published data were based on voluntary responses to Bureau of Mines, U.S. Department of the Interior predecessor Forms BOM-6-1340-A and BOM-6-1341-A of the same title.

In 1982, the scope of the revised EIA-176 survey was expanded to collect the number of electric utility consumers in each State, volumes of gas transported to industrial and electric utility consumers, detailed information on volumes transported across State borders by the respondent for others and for the responding company, and detailed information on other disposition. These changes were incorporated to provide more complete survey information with a minimal change in respondent burden. The 1982 version of the Form EIA-176 continues to be the basis for the current version of this form.

In 1988, the Form EIA-176 was revised to include data collection for deliveries of natural gas to commercial and industrial consumers for the account of others. A short version of Form EIA-176 was also approved in 1988. Companies engaged in purchase and delivery activities but not in transportation and storage activities may file the short form. Usually, these companies are municipals handling small volumes of gas. form was approved for use beginning with report year 1990.

In 1990, the Form EIA-176 was revised to include more detailed information for gas withdrawn from storage facilities, gas added to storage facilities, deliveries of company-owned natural gas and natural gas transported for the account of others. The revised form was approved for use beginning with report year 1990.

Upon the Office of Management and Budget's approval in 1993, the Form EIA-176 was again revised. All deliveries to consumers are now categorized as firm or interruptible. Commercial and industrial consumers are further categorized as nonutility power producers or as those excluding nonutility power producers.

Data reported on this form are no longer considered proprietary. Response to the form continues to be mandatory.

Survey Universe and Response Statistics

The Form EIA-176 is mailed to all identified interstate and intrastate natural gas pipeline companies, investor and municipally owned natural gas distributors, underground natural gas storage operators, synthetic natural gas plant operators, and field, well, or processing plant operators that deliver natural gas directly to consumers (including their own industrial facilities) and/or that transport gas to, across, or from a State border through field or gathering facilities.

Each company and its parent company or subsidiaries were required to file if they met the survey specifications. The original mailing in 1999 for report year 1998 totaled 1,910 questionnaire packages. To this original mailing, 5 names were added and 32 were deleted as a result of the survey processing. Additions were the result of comparisons of the mailing list to other survey mailing lists. Deletions resulted from post office returns and determinations that companies were out of business, sold, or not within the scope of the survey. After all updates, the survey universe was 1,883 responses from approximately 1,800 companies.

Following the original mailing, second request mailing, and nonrespondents follow-up, 1,883 responses were entered into the data base, and there were 50 nonrespondents.

Summary of Form EIA-176 Data Reporting Requirements

The EIA-176 is a multi-line schedule for reporting all supplies of natural gas and supplemental gaseous fuels and their disposition within the State indicated. Respondents file completed forms with EIA in Washington, DC. Data for the report year are due by April 1 of the following year. Extensions of the filing deadline for up to 45 days are granted to any respondent on request.

All natural gas and supplemental gaseous fuels volumes are reported on a physical custody basis in thousand cubic feet (Mcf), and dollar values are reported to the nearest whole dollar. All volumes are reported at 14.73 pounds per square inch absolute pressure (psia) and 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

Routine Form EIA -176 Edit Checks

A series of manual and computerized edit checks are used to screen the Form EIA-176. The edits performed include validity, arithmetic, and analytical checks.

The incoming forms are reviewed prior to keying. This prescan determines if the respondent identification (ID) number and the company name and address are correct, if the data on the form appear complete and reasonable, and if the certifying information is complete.

Manual checks on the data are also made. Each form is prescanned to determine that data were reported on the correct lines. The flow of gas through interstate pipelines is checked at the company level to ensure that each delivery from a State is matched with a corresponding receipt in an adjoining State.

After the data are keyed, computer edit procedures are performed. Edit programs verify the report year, State code, and arithmetic totals. Further tests are made to ensure that all necessary data elements are present and that the data are reasonable and internally consistent. The computerized edit system produces error listings with messages for each failed edit test. When problems occur, respondents are contacted by telephone and required to file amended forms with corrected data.

Other EIA Publications Referencing Form EIA-176

Data from Form EIA-176 are also published in the Natural Gas Annual.

Form-627 and Form EIA-895

Survey Design

Beginning with 1980 data, natural gas production data previously obtained on an informal basis from the appropriate State agencies were collected on the Form EIA-627, "Annual Quantity and Value of Natural Gas Report." This form was designed by the EIA to collect annual natural gas production data from the appropriate State agencies under a standard data reporting system within the limits imposed by the diversity of data collection systems of the various producing States. It was also designed to avoid duplication of the efforts involved in the collection of production and value data by producing States and to avoid an unnecessary respondent burden on gas and oil well operators. In 1993, value and associated volume of marketed production by month was added to the EIA-627. In 1996, the Form EIA-627 was discontinued. The information is collected on an annual schedule on the Form EIA-895.

In 1993, the Office of Management and Budget approved the Form EIA-627 for use in report years 1994 through 1996. In 1994, the IOGCC decided to discontinue collection of their form. Data collection on the Form EIA-895 began in January 1995. This form was designed to replace the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC) form, "Monthly Report of Natural Gas Production." All gas producing States are requested to report on the Form EIA-895; a voluntary report. In 1996, an annual schedule was added to the voluntary Form EIA-895 to replace the Form EIA-627. Data are reported by State agencies. The form was designed to provide a standard reporting system, to the extent possible, for the natural gas data reported by the States. Data are not considered proprietary.

Survey Universe and Response Statistics