The Outer Continental Shelf currently provides 27 percent of U.S. domestic oil production and 15 percent of domestic natural gas production -- most of that from the Gulf of Mexico.  The areas under a congressional ban contain an additional 18 billion barrels of oil and 76 trillioncubic feet of natural gas in yet-to-be-discovered fields.  Hi-Res

Saying the nation's energy situation has dramatically changed in the past year, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne has jumpstarted the development of a new oil and natural gas leasing program for the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. The action could give the next administration a two-year head start in expanding energy production from federal offshore jurisdictions, including some areas where a congressional ban had prevented oil and gas development.

"When our current five-year program for Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas leasing was launched in July 2007, oil was selling for $64 a barrel," Kempthorne said. "Today a barrel of oil costs more than $120, almost double the price a year ago. Clearly, today's escalating energy prices and the widening gap between U.S. energy consumption and supply have changed the fundamental assumptions on which many of our decisions were based." more  en Español  

• Read Secretary Kempthorne's Remarks
• Read President Bush's Remarks on OCS
• Frequently Asked Questions
• OCS Resource Data
• Lease Status Map
• OCS Timetable

The areas that the Congress has under restriction could produce nearly 10 years worth of America's current annual oil production and have vast reserves of natural gas. [Photo Credit: MMS]
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Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne issued the following statement in response to the President’s announcement that he intends to lift the Executive prohibition on Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) energy exploration:

“I applaud President Bush’s important step toward expanding domestic energy production on our Outer Continental Shelf.

“With the Executive prohibition cleared away by President Bush, the Congress should now act to remove its legislative ban. We are prepared to work with Congress to remove the legislative ban and define the role of the States in this important endeavor. more

• President Bush Discusses Outer Continental Shelf Exploration En Español
• Fact Sheet

As U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne looks on, President George W. Bush delivers a statement on energy Wednesday, June 18, 2008, in the Rose Garden of the White House. [White House photo by Luke Sharrett] Hi-Res

President George W. Bush delivered remarks at the White House on Wednesday calling on Congress to help American families by removing barriers to domestic production of oil and gasoline.  "For many Americans, there is no more pressing concern than the price of gasoline," said the President.  "Truckers and farmers and small business owners have been hit especially hard.  Every American who drives to work, purchases food, or ships a product has felt the effect. And families across our country are looking to Washington for a response."

President Bush asked Congressional leaders to move forward with four steps to expand American oil and gasoline production:
1. Increase access to the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Experts believe that areas under leasing prohibitions on the OCS could produce about 18 billion barrels of oil.
2. Tap into the extraordinary potential of oil shale.  In one major deposit – the Green River Basin of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming – there lies the equivalent of about 800 billion barrels of recoverable oil.  If it can be fully recovered, it would equal more than a century's worth of currently projected oil imports.
3. Permit exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.  With a drilling footprint of less than 2,000 acres – about 0.01 percent of this distant Alaskan terrain – America could produce an estimated 10.4 billion barrels of oil.  This is the equivalent of roughly two decades of imported crude oil from Saudi Arabia.
4. Expand and enhance our refinery capacity.  It has been 30 years since our Nation has built a new refinery, and upgrades in our refining capacity are urgently needed.  Refineries are the critical link between crude oil and the gasoline and diesel fuel that drivers put in their tanks.  America now imports millions of barrels of fully-refined gasoline from abroad, imposing needless costs on American consumers and depriving American workers of good jobs. more

• Read President Bush's Remarks En Español
• Energy Fact Sheet
• Energy for America's Future