The Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) announces the availability of OCS Report MMS 97-0019, 1995 National Assessment of United States Oil and Gas Resources--Assessment of the Pacific Outer Continental Shelf Region.

The report documents the oil and gas commodities, resource categories, areas, data, and methodologies of an assessment of the Pacific Outer Continental Shelf Region of the United States.  This Region encompasses the Federal offshore areas of California, Oregon, and Washington.  Significant results and findings include:

• Nearly 11 billion barrels of undiscovered oil and 19 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered gas in the Region may be conventionally recoverable using existing technology; about one-half of these resources may be economically recoverable under current economic conditions.

• Relatively large volumes of undiscovered oil in the Region may exist offshore central and southern California; relatively large volumes of undiscovered gas in the Region may exist offshore California, Oregon, and Washington.

• Estimates of undiscovered oil and gas from this assessment are larger than estimates from previous assessments due to the use of different assessment methods and new data.

The information presented in the report provides a basis for scientists and administrators to identify areas where undiscovered oil and gas may exist, and will assist MMS and other decisionmakers in making sound judgements regarding future leasing and exploration of the Region.  The report will be of particular interest to those seeking a better understanding of the petroleum geology of the Pacific coastal area and its oil and gas resources.  In addition, it will interest those involved in oil and gas assessment, exploration, and development.

This comprehensive regional report is a companion to other reports and data sets that have been published and released by MMS and the U.S. Geological Survey to document the Department of the Interior's most recent national assessment of oil and gas resources.  The Assessment of the Pacific Outer Continental Shelf Region is available on this website.

Copies of the report may be obtained from the Technical Information Specialist, MMS Pacific OCS Region, Mail Stop 7000, 770 Paseo Camarillo, Camarillo, CA 93010; Telephone: (800) 672-2627; E-mail: janice.hall@mms.gov.