U.S. Department of the Interior |
October 2000
Estimated Oil and Gas Reserves by T. Gerald Crawford, Barbara J. Bascle, Clark J. Kinler,
Michael T. Prendergast, Katherine M. Ross As of December 31, 1998, about 3.36 billion barrels of
petroleum liquids (both oil and natural gas condensate) and about
30.0 trillion cubic feet of natural gas were estimated to exist as
"remaining proved reserves" in 790 proved active fields of the Gulf of
Mexico Outer Continental Shelf. This report,
Estimated Oil and Gas Reserves
Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf, December 31, 1998, indicates an
increase of about 0.15 billion barrels of liquid (oil and gas condensate) and a
decrease of 0.8 trillion cubic feet of gas in remaining proved reserves as
compared to the December 31, 1997, estimates. New proved field
discoveries account for an increase of 0.32 billion barrels of liquid and
0.9 trillion cubic feet of gas. Unproved reserves as of December 31, 1998, have been
estimated to be 1.00 billion barrels of oil and 5.1 trillion cubic feet of gas.
These reserves are associated with 58 unproved active fields. There are 3
unproved active fields not studied. This makes a total of 851 active fields
located in Federal waters. Proved reserves are estimated to have been 14.27 billion
barrels of oil and 162.7 trillion cubic feet of gas from 984 proved fields
under the Federal submerged lands in the Gulf of Mexico. Included in this number
are 194 fields that are depleted and abandoned; not included are the 61 unproved
active fields. As of December 31, 1998, cumulative production from these 984
fields was 10.91 billion barrels of oil and 132.7 trillion cubic feet of gas. This report, just released, along with digital data, is
available free via the MMS Internet homepage @ www.mms.gov. Paper copies are
available from MMS at a cost of $3.00 and diskettes containing digital data at a
cost of $1.00. Also available for the first time is a CD-ROM containing this
report, digital data, field production plots and field production data for a
cost of $15.00. Checks should be made payable to the Minerals Management
Service. For information on purchasing this report contact: Minerals Management Service The next report, Estimated Oil and Gas Reserves Gulf of
Mexico Outer Continental Shelf, December 31, 1999 is scheduled to be
available in March 2001. 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. -MMS-GOM-
Return to Technical Announcements
Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf, December 31, 1998
Gulf of Mexico OCS Region
Attn: Public Information Unit (MS 5034)
1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard
New Orleans, Louisiana 70123-2394
(504) 736-2519 or 1-800-200-GULF
Fax (504) 736-2620
Homepage Address on the Internet: http://www.mms.gov