FERC Form 552 OMB 1902 0242

User Manual: 552

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FERC FORM No. 552 (R2.3)

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FERC TRANSACTION REPORT

FERC FORM No. 552: Annual Report of

Natural Gas Transactions

These reports are mandatory under the Natural Gas Act, Section 23(a)(2), and 18 CFR Parts 260.401.

Failure

report may result in criminal fines, civil penalties, and other sanctions as provided by law. The

Federal

Energy

Regulatory Commission does not consider these reports to be of a confidential

nature.

Exact Legal Name of Respondent (Company)

Year of Report

End of

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THIS FILING IS

Form No. 552

OMB No. 1902-0242

Item 1: □ An Initial (Original) Submission OR □ Resubmission, No.

Expires (12/31/2018)

2017

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INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILING THE FERC FORM NO. 552

GENERAL INFORMATION

I. Purpose

FERC Form No. 552 collects transactional information from natural gas market participants.

The filing of this information is necessary to provide information regarding physical natural

gas transactions that use an index and transactions that contribute to, or may contribute to

gas price indices. This form is considered to be a non-confidential public use form.

II. Who Must Submit

Physical natural gas buyers and sellers must complete and file the form annually if their

"reportable" natural gas purchases or sales are equal to or greater than 2.2 trillion British

Thermal Units (TBtu) or 2.2 million (2,200,000) MMBtu in the reporting year.

Note: Whether a Respondent operates under a Blanket Certificate is no longer used to determine who

must submit the form. See Order 704-C.

III. What and Where to Submit

1. Complete all pages of the form, if your "reportable" physical natural gas purchases or

sales in the reporting year were equal to or greater than 2.2 million MMBtu or 2.2 TBtu.

(For example, if your reportable purchases were 1.0 million MMBtu and your reportable

sales were 2.8 million MMBtu, you must file the form)

2. Do not complete the form, if both your "reportable" physical natural gas purchases and

sales in the reporting year were less than 2.2 million MMBtu. (For example, if reportable

purchases are 1.8 million MMBtu and reportable sales are .75 million MMBtu, do not file

the form).

a. Note: Not all transactions involving physical natural gas are "reportable". Only

transactions that use an index, or that contribute to, or may contribute to the

formation of a gas index should be reported. See Definitions and lines 2-7 on page 4.

b. Review the Definitions to determine whether your "reportable" purchases or sales

meet or exceed this de minimis threshold of 2.2 million (2,200,000) MMBtu.

c. Signature of Company Officer - The Commission accepts a typed name in block 14

on page 1 as an electronic signature pursuant to 18 CFR § 385.2005(c). Type the

name of the officer whose signature legally binds the company with respect to the

accuracy and completeness of the submission.

d. Filing Form No. 552 is a two step process that requires filers to:

i. Download Adobe Acrobat Reader version 8.0 or greater.

ii. Download, complete, and save a fillable Form No. 552 PDF discussed above to

your computer.

iii. eFile the saved Form No. 552 PDF to the Commission.

iv. Paper and email filings will not be accepted.

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e. Users may obtain additional blank copies of FERC Form No. 552 for reference free of

charge from: http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/forms.asp#552.

f. Copies may also be obtained from the Public Reference and Files Maintenance

Branch, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE, Room 2A,

Washington, DC 20426 or by calling (202) 502-8371.

IV. When to Submit

FERC Form No. 552 must be eFiled by May 1st of the year following the reporting year

(18 CFR § 260.401).

V. Where to Send Comments on Public Reporting Burden

The public reporting burden for the FERC Form No. 552 collection of information is estimated

to average 10 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching

existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data-needed, and completing and

reviewing the collection of information. This estimate was noted in the Notice of Proposed

Rulemaking and in the Final Rule (RM07-10-000) and addressed by commenters.

Filers may send additional comments regarding these burden estimates or any aspect of

these collections of information, including suggestions for reducing burden, to the Federal

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426 (Attention:

Information Clearance Officer, CIO) or email DataClearance@FERC.gov; Office of

Management and Budget, via email to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at

oira_submission@omb.gov (Attention: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Desk

Officer). No person shall be subject to any penalty if any collection of information does not

display a valid control number (44 U.S.C. § 3512 (a)).

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

I. All Respondents must identify themselves annually by completing the first part of

Form No. 552.

II. Aggregation across Affiliates (or members of a public joint action agency) is

permitted, though not required. The Respondent must complete the “Schedule of

Reporting Companies” (page 3) which lists those Affiliates and a separate “Price

Index Reporting” schedule for itself and each affiliate.

III. Asset managers may not report aggregated information for their customers in Form

No. 552. Customers of asset managers are individually responsible for determining

whether they must file Form No. 552. An asset manager may itself be required to

submit Form No. 552 to the extent that its activities are not undertaken on behalf of

an asset management client.

IV. Report all gas quantities in trillion British Thermal Units (TBtu) unless the schedule

specifically requires the reporting in another unit of measurement. (Divide MMBtu by

1,000,000 to convert volumes to TBtu.)

V. For reported volumes, enter numbers to the tenth unit only, except where otherwise

noted.

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VI. Enter volumes of “reportable” physical natural gas as explained in the definitions.

VII. Complete each question fully and accurately, even if it has been answered in a

previous report. Enter the word "None" where it truly and completely states the fact.

VIII. Enter the month, day, and year only on page 1, blocks 11 and 15. The Form No. 552

will auto-populate the dates in all other pages.

IX. For any resubmissions, upload and complete a new fillable Form No. 552 and eFile it

with the Commission. Please explain the reason for the resubmission in the

description of your eFiling.

X. Do not make references to reports of previous periods/years or to other reports in

lieu of required entries, except as specifically authorized.

XI. Regarding reportable transactions that involve deliveries that occur or may occur

over multiple calendar years, only volumes for delivery that use, contribute to, or may

contribute to the formation of an index during the subject calendar year should be

reported. For a multi-year contract that relies on an index to establish a natural gas

price, volumes should be reported in the year in which the index is referenced.

XII. Company Officer- any person who can legally bind the company regarding the

completeness and accuracy of the submission.

DEFINITIONS

I. Affiliate– An affiliate means a person who controls, is controlled by or is under common

control with another person. For purposes of the completion of Form No. 552, a joint public

action agency may submit members’ collective information as if those members were

Affiliates.

II. Date of Report – The date the report is submitted to the Commission.

III. Fixed Price – A “Physical Natural Gas Transaction” price determined by agreement

between buyer and seller and not benchmarked to any other source of information.

Generally these transactions are not reportable except for Fixed Price Next-Day or Next

Month Delivery transactions. (See other definitions and lines 2 and 4 on page 4.)

IV. Physical Natural Gas Transaction – For purposes of Form No. 552, physical natural gas

transactions are only those transactions that either use an index, or that contribute to, or

may contribute to the formation of a gas index during the calendar year. These transactions

are generally included in lines 2 through 7 of page 4 of the form and are referred to as

“reportable” transactions.

A physical natural gas transaction is an obligation to deliver natural gas at a specified

location and at a specified time, with the exception of physically-delivered futures contracts.

It is not necessary that natural gas actually be delivered under the transactions, only that

the delivery obligation existed in the agreement when executed. Certain Physical Natural

Gas Transactions may not remain in existence through the time of delivery because they

were traded away or “booked out.” For purposes of this form, these transactions should be

included whether they went to delivery or not. Order No. 704 and 704-A discuss a variety of

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particular instances. Order No. 704-C clarified transactions that use an index.

Reportable Physical Natural Gas Transactions are only those transactions that refer to

an index, or that contribute to, or could contribute to the formation of a gas index during the

calendar year. The following physical natural gas volumes should be included in

volumetric data submitted in Form No. 552:

Reportable physical natural gas transactions that use an Index are as follows:

Transactions that Use Daily Indices (line 3 of page 4)- delivery of natural gas pursuant to a

transaction that refers to a published daily index, which is used to price natural gas. The

index is usually a gas index, but other indices such as coal, petroleum, LNG, inflation, etc.

or a basket of indices may be used.

Transactions that Use Monthly Indices (line 5 of page 4)- delivery of natural gas pursuant

to a transaction that refers to a published monthly index, which is used to price natural

gas. The index is usually a gas index, but other indices such as coal, petroleum, LNG,

inflation, etc. or a basket of indices may be used.

Note: the referenced index need not be solely a gas index. Thus, a transaction that relies

on a basket of indices which includes a gas index and other daily or monthly indices such

as coal, petroleum, LNG, inflation, etc. would also be reportable on Lines 3 and 5. Please

identify indices used on page 4, lines 8 and 9.

Also transactions that refer to “weekly,” “yearly,” or other gas price indices may, in fact, be

based on daily gas price indices and are reportable on page 4, line 3 of Form No. 552.

For example, a transaction that references a “weekly” index that is formed by averaging

multiple daily indices is reportable as referencing a daily index. Similarly, a transaction

that refers to a yearly index that is formed by averaging twelve monthly indices would be

reported as referencing a monthly index.

Reportable transactions that can or may contribute to gas index formation are as follows:

Fixed Price Next-Day Delivery (line 2 of page 4)– delivery of natural gas pursuant to a

transaction executed prior to NAESB nomination deadline (1:00 pm Central Prevailing

Time) on one day for uniform physical delivery over the next pipeline day. Transactions

executed on Friday are usually for flow on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday inclusive.

Trading patterns may vary in the case of holidays or the end of a month that occurs on a

weekend.

Fixed Price Next-Month Delivery (line 4 of Page 4)- delivery of natural gas pursuant to a

transaction executed during the last five (5) business days of one month (bidweek) for

uniform physical delivery over the next month.

Trigger Agreements (line 6 of page 4)- a NYMEX trigger transaction that is contingent upon

a futures contract that trades on an exchange, resulting in an automatic physical trade at an

agreed upon price. If such a Fixed Price physical transaction was triggered or originated by

a NYMEX futures contract during bid week and can contribute to an index, it is reportable.

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d. NYMEX Plus Contracts (line 6 of page 4)- delivery of natural gas pursuant to a transaction

contracted during bidweek that uses a NYMEX Natural Gas Futures price and a differential

(premium or discount) to establish a Fixed Price. These transactions are for uniform

physical delivery over the next month.

e. Physical Basis Transactions (line 7 of page 4)- transactions in which the basis value is

negotiated on one of the first three days of bidweek and the price is set by the final closing

value of the near-month NYMEX Natural Gas Futures contract plus or minus the negotiated

basis. These transactions are for uniform physical delivery over the next month.

f. Volumes attributable to royalty-in-kind transactions, gas provided for processing such as plant

thermal reduction (not including unprocessed gas), and purchases and sales related to the

production and gathering function.

g. Regarding transactions involving possible international transportation, we clarify that:

i. volumes originating from inside the lower 48 states and delivered outside the lower 48

states are reportable; and

ii. volumes delivered inside the lower 48 states are reportable.

Thus, any volumes that originate or are delivered into the lower 48 states should be reported

to the same extent as purely domestic volumes.

h. Operational volumes of natural gas sold or purchased by an LDC to operate the distribution

system, address one-time operational events, or to maintain system pressure or line pack.

i. Lean unprocessed natural gas that will not undergo processing to remove natural gas liquids

before consumption. See Order 704-C, paragraphs 38 and 39.

Not Reportable Transactions- notwithstanding the above, the following volumes are not

reportable and should, in all cases, be excluded in volumetric data submitted in Form No. 552:

a. Cash-out and imbalance makeup volumes,

b. All unprocessed gas transactions that use a percentage of proceeds contract,

c. Transactions of natural gas that is both:

i. Unprocessed, i.e. natural gas liquids have not been removed from the gas, and

ii. Upstream of a processing facility (that is, volumes reasonably expected to travel

through a processing facility before consumption.)

Some lean unprocessed gas may be reportable. Please see Order No. 704-C at paragraphs 38

and 39.

d. Regarding transactions involving possible international transportation volumes originating

outside the lower 48 states and delivered at locations outside the lower 48 states.

e. Sales to and purchases by retail consumers of natural gas pursuant to a state commission-

approved bundled tariff,

f. Volumes associated with transactions among Affiliates,

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g. Volumes associated with any type of financially-settled transaction,

i. Volumes traded in futures contracts, even those that go to physical delivery,

j. Volumes of imported LNG traded prior to regasification and exported LNG traded after

liquefaction, and

k. Fixed Price transaction volumes that are not Next-Day Delivery or Next-Month Delivery.

V. Price Index Publisher – Companies that report price indices for U.S. wholesale natural gas

markets. The list of companies can change over time.

VI. Quantity – Amount of purchases or sales expressed in trillion Btu (TBtu). The quantities to

be reported in the ”Purchase and Sales Information” schedule should be measured to the

nearest tenth of a TBtu. One TBtu is equivalent to one Bcf. One million MMBtu are, by

definition, the same as one million decatherms. A volume of one million Mcf of natural gas

contains approximately one million MMBtu of energy depending on the exact energy content

of the natural gas.

XI. Reporting Company – The person, corporation, licensee, agency, authority, or other legal

entity or instrumentality on whose behalf the report is being submitted by the

“Respondent.”

XII. Respondent – The person, corporation, licensee, agency, authority, or other legal entity or

instrumentality that is submitting the report either on its own behalf, or on behalf of itself

and/or its Affiliates. A Respondent may choose to either report for all its Affiliates

collectively, or may choose to have each of its Affiliates report separately as their own

“Respondent.” If reporting collectively, the “Respondent” must report for each “Affiliate” in

the “Schedule of Reporting Companies” and the “Price Index Reporting Schedule,” and

collectively for all its Affiliates in the “Purchase and Sales Information” schedule.

XIII. Natural Gas Purchases – The volumetric “Quantity” of “Physical Natural Gas Transactions”

purchased by the “Reporting Company” during the “Year of Report.”

XIV. Natural Gas Sales – The volumetric “Quantity” of “Physical Natural Gas Transactions” sold

by the “Reporting Company” during the “Year of Report.”

XV. Year of Report – The calendar year for which the report is being submitted.

FERCFORMNO.552(R2.3)Page1

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ANNUAL REPORT OF NATURAL GAS TRANSACTIONS

IDENTIFICATION OF

RESPONDENT

01 Exact Legal Name of Respondent 02 Year of Report End of

03 Previous Name and Date of Change (If name changed during year)

04 Address of Principal Office at End of Year (Street, City, State/Provence, Postal Code)

05 Name of Contact Person 06 Title of Contact Person

07 Address of Contact Person (Street, City, State/Provence, Postal Code)

08 Email Address of Contact Person

09 Telephone of Contact Person, Including Area Code 10 This Report is:

(1) An Original

(2) A Resubmission

11 Date of Report

(MM/DD/YYYY)

ANNUAL COMPANY OFFICER CERTIFICATION

The undersigned officer certifies that:

I have examined this report and to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief all statements of

fact contained in this report are accurate and complete statements of the business affairs of the

Respondent.

12 Name 13 Title

14 Signature 15 Date Signed (MM/DD/YYYY)

Title 18, U.S.C. 1001, makes it a crime for any person knowingly and willingly to make to any Agency or

Department of the United States any false, fictitious or fraudulent statements as to any matter within its jurisdiction.

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Copy Address

2017

FERCFORMNO.552(R2.3)Page2

Name of Respondent* This Report is:

(1) An Original

(2)

A Resubmission

Date of Report*

(MM/DD/YYYY)

Year of

epor

t End

List of

Schedules

This schedule should be completed only if you checked the Resubmission box on the front

of Form No. 552. Identify the schedule that you changed along with a brief remark.

Otherwise it should be left blank.

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Line

Title of

Schedule

(a)

Reference

Page No.

(b)

Date Revised

(c)

Remarks

(d)

1 Schedule of Reporting Companies 3

2 Price Index Reporting 3

3 Price Index Reporting cont'd 3a

4 Purchases and Sales Information 4

2017

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FERCFORMNO.552(R2.3)Page3

Name of Respondent* This Report is:

(1) An Original

(2)

A Resubmission

Date of Report*

(MM/DD/YYYY)

Year of

epor

t End

Schedule of Reporting Companies and Price Index Reporting

List the name of the Respondent, Reporting Company and any Affiliates that are included in this filing.

Then answer questions (b) - (e) for each company listed. Respondent* should complete the “Purchase

and Sales Information” schedule on page 4 only once for these companies collectively. *An asterisk

means that the previous term is explained in more detail in the definitions.

1) Did the Respondent, Reporting Company* or any Affiliates listed in column (a) report any transaction

information to Price Index Publishers* during the Report Year*?

2) If you answered yes on column (b), did the Respondent, Reporting Company* or any Affiliates comply

with the regulations governing reporting to Price Index Publishers* pursuant to 18 C.F.R. § 284.403. If

you answered no on column (b), the software will automatically answer Not applicable or NA in column

(c).

3) Were the Respondent, Reporting Company or the Affiliate’s reportable natural gas purchases* equal to

or greater than 2.2 million MMBtu for the Report Year*?

4) Were the Respondent, Reporting Company or the Affiliate’s * reportable natural gas sales* equal to or

greater than 2.2 million MMBtu for the Report Year*?

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Legal Name

Report

Transactions?

Comply with

Regulations?

Reportable

Purchases >=

2.2 Million

MMBtu

Reportable

Sales >=

2.2 Million

MMBtu

Line

No. (a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

2017

FERCFORMNO.552(R2.3)AdditionalAffiliates

Name of Respondent* This Report is:

(1) An Original

(2)

A Resubmission

Date of Report*

(MM/DD/YYYY)

Year of

epor

t End



Legal Name

Report

Transactions?

Comply with

Regulations?

Reportable

Purchases >=

2.2 Million

MMBtu

Reportable

Sales >=

2.2 Million

MMBtu

Line

No. (a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

2017

FERCFORMNO.552(R2.3)Page4

Name of Respondent* This Report is:

(1) An Original

(2)

A Resubmission

Date of Report*

(MM/DD/YYYY)

Year of

epor

t End

Name of Reporting Company* Reporting Company* is:

(1) Same as Respondent*

(2) An affiliate* of Respondent* (other Affiliates reported separately)

Purchase and Sales

Information

If the Respondent* is reporting collectively for multiple Affiliates, the Respondent* should complete this

schedule for all of its affiliates* companies collectively. Volumes should be reported to the nearest tenth

TBtu.

* An asterisk means that the previous term is explained in more detail in the definitions.

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Line

No.

Item

(a)

Purchases

(TBtu)

(b)

Sales

(TBtu)

(c)

What was the total volume of Physical Natural Gas

Transactions* (reportable sales and purchases) engaged in by

the Respondent in the prior calendar year?