JODI FAQs

The Joint Organisations Data Initiative (JODI) is a concrete outcome of the producer-consumer dialogue. In 2001, six pioneering organisations (APEC, Eurostat, IEA, OLADE, OPEC and UNSD) answered the call by Energy Ministers at the 7th IEF Ministerial in 2000 in Riyadh to address the issue of the lack of data transparency in oil markets, seen as a cause of excessive price fluctuations, and established the Joint Oil Data Exercise. The Initiative was established as a permanent mechanism in 2003 and Jodi, the "Joint Oil Data Initiative" was born. Following endorsement by Ministers, the IEF Secretariat assumed the role and responsibility as the co-ordinator of Jodi in January 2005. The JODI partners’ successful establishment of oil data provision architecture inspired IEF Ministers to call for an extension of the Initiative to cover natural gas (JODI-Gas) and annual data on upstream and downstream capacity and expansion plans (JODI Investment). To accommodate progress on these new challenges beyond oil data transparency, the seven Jodi partner organisations have now re-branded Jodi as the Joint Organisations Data Initiative.

The JODI provides a reliable, freely accessible and comprehensive database of energy statistics unlike any other in the world. Through the use of nationally-sanctioned data, which can be difficult if not impossible to access through alternative avenues, JODI offers a fair assessment of global oil consumption and production on a monthly basis. Data uncertainty can be detrimental to fair market operations. By improving data transparency, undue price volatility can be moderated, increasing investor confidence and contributing to greater stability in energy markets worldwide. JODI, as a database and broader collaborative, is instrumental to the pursuit of complete energy data transparency.

About 10 years ago at the early stages of the energy data transparency initiative focused on oil data, the Initiative received responses with the monthly JODI-Oil questionnaires from 55 countries. There were only about 40 countries reporting data with a two month delay from the reference month (M-2 data). Today, around 80 countries regularly report the JODI-Oil questionnaire and around 70 countries report the data of the most recent month (M-1) on monthly basis. JODI is not only about proving energy databases. JODI is a means towards promoting energy dialogue between energy producing and consuming countries, which has fostered the Initiative and enabled hundreds of professionals across the energy value chain to commit to share key information determining the fundamental of energy markets. Eight JODI organisations work together on a daily basis to achieve this objective.

JODI is a voluntary activity. Participating countries complete a standard data table in JODI-Oil Questionnaire and/or JODI-Gas Questionnaire every month for the two most recent months (M-1 and M-2) and submit it to the JODI partner organisation(s) of which it is a member. The respective organisation compiles the data and forwards it to the IEF which is responsible for the JODI World Databases.

Deadline for submission is the 25th of each month. The JODI questionnaires is an in Excel format, available on the JODI website, and includes two worksheets: one for month M-1 and one for month M-2. Countries can submit their data to the organisation(s) they belong to in the unit of their choice (barrels, tons or litres). Information about definitions of flows/products is available on the JODI website. The JODI Manuals can be downloaded from the JODI website and provides additional information about the methodology and definitions used in JODI.

After a two year trial period, the seven JODI partner organisations implemented an extended JodiOil questionnaire following endorsement by the 7th International JODI-Oil Conference in Quito. This extended format gives a more complete picture of the market and allows for a more accurate supply / demand assessment.

The JODI-Oil World Database, administered by the IEF, is comprised of seven product categories and eight flows based on the initial JODI-Oil questionnaire (see www.jodidata.org). Data submitted by the six partner organisations (APEC, Eurostat, IEA, OLADE, OPEC and UNSD) is available in three different units (barrels, tons and litres), for nearly 100 participating countries/economies from January 2002 to the most recent update. The JODI-Oil WDB can be accessed free of charge on the JODI-Oil website (www.jodidata.org). The JODI-Oil WDB's user friendly graphic interface offers data users easy and efficient browsing of the database.

The data are submitted by the national authority of the participating country. These data are considered authoritative and are not subject to alteration by any of the JODI partner organisations. However, in case there is a need for data clarification, each organisation is responsible for contacting the national authorities of its membership directly, before feeding official responses back to users.

JODI participating countries and JODI partner organisations are continuously working to improve data quality. Partner organisations conduct regional training workshops on the initiative to offer statisticians and experts from participating countries an opportunity to clarify and improve their knowledge of definitions, data quality assessment and oil and gas data issues, and to share their experience on best practices of oil and gas data management. Moreover, the IEF hosts JODI Internship programmes at its headquarters in Riyadh, for officials from developing countries with direct responsibility to fill JODI questionnaires.

Any country that wishes to participate may contact the IEF or the relevant international organisation of which it is a member (APEC, Euorstat, GECF, IEA, OLADE, OPEC or UNSD). See the list of contacts on the reverse or email JodiInfo@ief.org.

Participation in the activity is on a voluntary basis and no budgetary contribution is required. The only commitment is to regularly submit monthly data in the standard table format to the organisation of which the participating country is a member.

In many cases, industry is the source of national administration data. Additionally, industry is also a data user. The participation of the oil industry is key to the overall success of the initiative. Transparency is only possible if all market players fully co-operate. All players, including industry and their customers, should benefit from greater transparency and from a global and reliable database.

Oil is the most traded commodity on the planet, while it has not always been transparent. Also, oil prices influence the prices of other commodities, as well other forms of energy.

The aim of JODI-Gas is to provide the same level of high quality data that has been enjoyed by the users of JODI-Oil. Gas data are relevant whether one is analysing today’s market dynamics or looking farther afield. Market analysts scrutinise short-term data in part to develop a better understanding of the root causes of price volatility. Over the long-term, comprehensive data sets empower market actors engaged in strategic planning and making investment decisions. Of equal importance to the long-term stability and smooth functioning of the market is that companies and governments have sound analytical foundations upon which to build a better understanding of expectations for the future business environment. (See the JODI-Gas Questionnaire which is required to be filed by each Participating Country)

As the primary goal of the Initiative is to build a transparent data reporting mechanism on a global scale, JODI organisations do not modify data received from their members or estimate data missing in any data reports. The role of JODI organisations is to help their members to complete the questionnaire, to verify data received, and to suggest any means to improve data quality. The result of data verification process is reflected as the Data Confidence Level Assessment (Colour Code Assessment).

The assessment was carried out on different levels:

• Comparability of the JODI data with other sources: monthly data from national and secondary sources has been assessed.
• JODI data are also been compared with annual data (when available) in order to check whether the levels and trend over the years could be confirmed.
• When no other sources are available for comparison with the JODI data, internal consistency and balance checks are carried out.

For further details on the assessment please visit our Gas Data Assessments page.

The Initiative relies on the combined efforts of producing and consuming countries and on the JODI partner organisations (APEC, Eurostat, GECF, IEA, OLADE, OPEC, and UNSD) to build and maintain the timely, comprehensive, and sustainable energy data provision architecture that is a prerequisite for stable energy/gas commodity markets. The monthly collection of JODI-Gas data involves hundreds of actors across the value chain around the globe. Steps in the JODI-Gas data supply chain are:

1. Natural gas companies submit monthly data to national statistics offices or Energy Ministries;
2. Professionals at the national statistics offices or Ministries analyse the data, fill out the JODI-Gas questionnaires, and submit them to their respective JODI Partner organisations;
3. Each JODI Partner reviews the data, compares what it received to secondary sources (if available), clarifies doubts if necessary, and then sends the data to the IEF;
4. The IEF again checks the data for outliers or inconsistencies, engages in dialogue with the JODI Partners as needed, and finally uploads the data onto the JODI website for dissemination.

Extensive work is taken by the JODI Partner Organisations. Commitment of 77 JODI-Gas participating countries, as well as the energy industry in these countries, together make JODI-Gas possible. JODI-Gas depends on the commitment, cooperation, and support of all actors in a continuous and sustainable way.

JODI provides reliable, freely accessible and comprehensive gas statistics unlike any other database in the world through the use of nationally-sanctioned data, which can be difficult if not impossible to access through alternative avenues. JODI-Gas offers global coverage of gas production, imports, exports, stocks and demand on a monthly basis, covering nearly 90% of global gas markets.

Since its inception, JODI has proven to be an invaluable resource for analysts in the public and private sectors, providing simple, timely and consistent official data on a monthly basis. Particularly as the case for oil market data, the JODI database has been a unique data source where non-OECD data are readily available.

There are industry reference data sources including BP statistics, Cedigaz, IEA statistics and EIA statistics. However, none of these natural gas data sources cover monthly data with such extensive geographical coverage as the JODI-Gas World Database.

JODI depends on the voluntary participation of countries. So far, 77 countries representing nearly 90% of global supply and demand are participating and reporting JODI-Gas data. This is a great beginning when considering that JODI-Gas was launched so recently.

JODI will always be work-in-progress as countries are at different level of readiness with their gas data collection systems. Also, there is the human element and the fact that some countries suffer from lack of trained resources. Nevertheless, this JODI-Gas database is unique and it provides fantastic official gas data that is unavailable anywhere else.

The IEF, with its JODI Partners, regularly organises JODI regional training workshops for front-line data providers at national administrations and energy companies who collect and submit the data. Since the introduction of the training programme in 2005, JODI Regional Training Workshops has been held in all parts of the globe, helping more than 300 experts to better collect and report data. As capacity building is a key pillar of the JODI process, the IEF devotes significant resources to the cause. The JODI partner organisations will continue to endeavor to reach out and train professionals at national administrations and in industry to help ensure that those involved in JODI are properly trained, and likewise to help guarantee that requirements of JODI is delivered.

The JODI Partners hold JODI Conferences to discuss JODI-related issues with experts and build momentum on the Initiative. To build momentum for the newly-launched JODI-Gas data, the IEF and JODI Partners have thus far organised three major Gas Data Transparency Conferences. The First Gas Data Transparency Conference was held in Russia in 2010, the Second Gas Data Transparency Conference was held in Qatar in 2012, and the Third Gas Data Transparency Conference was held in Indonesia in June 2013. Also, the IEF and representatives from the JODI Partners regularly engage with energy market actors at various levels, helping to maintain support for and deepen interest in JODI-Gas across the stakeholder spectrum.

The JODI database is updated on monthly basis around the 20th day of each month. The specific date for each month is shown in the update calendar available on JODIdata.org website. As soon as database update take place, the Initiative posts an announcement on the JODIdata.org website and dispatches an email alert to those who are subscribed to the website.

Natural gas production in JODI-Gas refers to the dry marketable production within national boundaries, including offshore production within territorial waters. Production is measured after the purification and extraction of NGL and sulphur.

During the extraction process, natural gas may be re-injected into the deposit, vented or flared. Quantities of natural gas used in these manners are not included in production. However, production of natural gas includes quantities used within the natural gas industry: in gas extraction, pipeline systems and processing plants.

In line with the definition of natural gas, the data reported for Production should include: the natural gas produced in association with crude oil; natural gas originating from fields producing hydrocarbons only in gaseous form; colliery and coal seam gas produced at coal mines or from coal seams; as well as shale gas. The production of manufactured gases and biogas should be excluded.

The JODI-Gas Questionnaire asks countries to report data both in physical and energy units. Therefore, data are available in million m3 (at 15OC. 760mm hg) and terajoules, as well as in 1000 metric tons for LNG trades.

In natural gas statistics more so than in statistics for other energy products, the choice of measurement unit and the conditions under which the measurements are taken have significant importance. This arises from the fact that the most appropriate unit can differ depending on the area of activity that is being analysed. For example, an end-user of natural gas will normally be interested in the value of the gas on an energy basis (as it is purchased for its heating value); an LNG tanker will normally measure its cargo in tons; gas travelling by pipeline will often be measured on a volumetric basis.

These differing units can present challenges to the statistician when trying to present comparable data. In order to accurately convert among the units, the statistician must know:

1. The temperature and pressure at which the gas volume was recorded (when measured on a volumetric basis);
2. The calorific value of the gas.

However, this information is not readily available for all countries at this stage, as some countries do not report data in all three units. Also, only APEC collects LNG trade data in 1000 metric tons.

In some regions, particularly Europe with its complex network of pipeline trade, it is not always possible to exclude natural gas in transit through a country due to a lack of clear distinction between gas imported for subsequent export and gas imported for domestic use. If a country or economy cannot determine the quantity in transit then it should report trade including the gas in transit, noting this in the metadata.

Gas stock levels according to the JODI-Gas Questionnaire exclude gas reserves and cushion gas. The term gas reserves refers to quantities of gas not yet extracted, but which analysis of geological data demonstrates with reasonable certainty to be recoverable in future years from known deposits.

Cushion gas denotes the volume of gas in a storage facility that must remain in situ to provide the required pressure to extract the remaining gas and, because it is considered unavailable for extraction, should be excluded from the Closing Stocks and Stock Change.

Gas stock levels in the JODI-Gas Questionnaire refer to the recoverable natural gas in the storage facilities described above. Pipeline gas and line pack are not included.