Why Survey Natural Gas Processing Plants?
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– Processing plants are a key element in the natural gas supply chain
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– If processing plants are affected by a natural disaster or man-made event, their ability to perform can become a significant bottleneck affecting available supplies.
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–There is no public source of information available on a timely basis
SData are received by email at a secure EIA data receipt website or by FAX.
SData are due by COB Monday.  We have about 2/3 of the respondents by the due date.  The remainder come in on Tuesday or Wednesday.
SFollow-up and problem resolution for individual respondents occur by email and phone.  It is very useful to have alternative methods as it provides backup when one method is not working for either EIA or the respondent.
SData are edited by the system each week to compare new information to the respondent’s report history.  Data anomalies are then compared to trends in the region and the respondent’s history on the monthly survey.  Each month a comparison of the monthly and weekly data reports of the respondent units is done using a crosswalk.  We provide a comparison of the weekly survey estimates (i.e., output) and the monthly survey results for each month on the EIA website.  The average absolute error for the 25 months is 1.2 percent of working gas stocks.
SThe survey is mandatory and response rates have been excellent. The volume-weighted response rate for the last 6 months has been 98.6 percent.
SEIA allows respondents to provide estimates if they are unable to provide a more precise measurement for a given week.  If a respondent has not reported for the week, an inventory value for that reporting unit is imputed by EIA.