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The Role of the Federal OCS
in Supplying the Future Natural Gas Demand of the U.S. The U.S. Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) held a symposium April 25th, 2000 in Houston, Texas. "The conference was an excellent opportunity for our constituents to share their ideas with the geologists and planners of the MMS," said former MMS Director Walt Rosenbusch. In recent years, significant discussions have concentrated on future natural gas supply, deliverability, and demand. Predictions by EIA and the National Petroleum Council indicate that natural gas demand for the U.S. could reach as high as 30 TCF by the year 2010. The 1998 natural gas production in the U.S. was 19 TCF. Planners are concerned as to where the additional 11 TCF supply would come from. How much additional imports could be expected from Canada? Can imports of liquid natural gas or possible gas-to-liquid conversion be an answer? Can this be an opportunity for producers? If so, where should investments be made? These are some of the questions being pondered. For example, at present more than 25% of the Nation’s natural gas production comes from the OCS, primarily in the Gulf of Mexico. At present, most gas production in the Gulf comes from the shelf (<200 meters water depth). However, production from the slope and deep water is steadily increasing. Concerns have been expressed that the production decline rate may significantly reduce production. However, an analysis of production data for the last 10 years dispels that notion. More than 75% of the Gulf’s monthly production comes from completions that are no more than 4 years old. To sustain or increase the present production rate, a robust, consistent drilling rate needs to be maintained. The present gas and oil prices and the availability of good prospects assure such activity. In order to evaluate the significance of OCS natural gas, MMS initiated an investigation of the future gas supply from the OCS in 1999. A report on the study is now downloadable in Word 97 or Adobe PDF format from this page by clicking the links in the section below. Copies of the report itself were made available at the OCS Policy Committee Meeting in Bar Harbor, Maine the week of May 15, 2000. MMS is the federal agency that manages the Nation's natural gas, oil and other mineral resources on the OCS, and collects, accounts for and disburses about $4 billion yearly in revenues from offshore federal mineral leases and from onshore mineral leases on federal and Indian lands. PowerPoint Presentations
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