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Outer Continental Shelf Oil &
Gas Assessment 2006
The Bureau has completed an assessment of the undiscovered
technically recoverable resources (UTRR) underlying offshore waters on the
Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). This assessment was based on information
available as of January 1, 2003, including information obtained from new
exploration activities in the Gulf of Mexico and in the Scotian Basin
Offshore Canada.
The Bureau estimates that the quantity of undiscovered
technically recoverable resources ranges from 66.6 to 115.3 billion barrels
of oil and 326.4 to 565.9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The mean or
average estimate is 85.9 billion barrels of oil and 419.9 trillion cubic
feet of natural gas. These volumes of UTRR for the OCS represent about 60
percent of the total oil and 40 percent of the total natural gas estimated
to be contained in undiscovered fields in the United States. The mean
estimates for both oil and gas increased about 15 percent compared to the
2001 assessment. For the oil resources, the vast majority of this increase
occurred in the deepwater areas of the Gulf of Mexico, while for gas
resources the majority of the increase was in deep gas plays located beneath
the shallow water shelf of the Gulf of Mexico.
These
estimates represent the potential quantities of undiscovered hydrocarbons
that can be conventionally produced using existing or reasonably foreseeable
technology, without any consideration of economic feasibility. Current
technology includes drilling in water in excess of 3000 meters (10,000 feet)
deep and to subsea depths in excess of 9600 meters (31,700 feet).
The Bureau
periodically conducts comprehensive assessments of the undiscovered oil and
gas resources on the OCS.
The last comprehensive inventory was completed in 2001, with an interim
update in 2003 to reflect significant changes in natural gas potential in
the Gulf of Mexico.
The resource
assessments also include production and reserve estimates for the OCS as
well as estimates of undiscovered economically recoverable resources. Undiscovered economically recoverable resources (UERR), presented in the
form of price-supply curves, represent the portion of the undiscovered
technically recoverable hydrocarbons that can be explored, developed and
commercially produced at given costs and price considerations.
The results
of this assessment, published as a brochure entitled
Assessment of
Undiscovered Technically Recoverable Oil and Gas Resources of the Nation’s
Outer Continental Shelf, 2006
is available in electronic form below or in printed form
free of charge, as long as supplies last, from the Bureau Resource Evaluation
Division, 381 Elden Street, Mail Stop 4070, Herndon, VA 20170.
For More Information, Contact:
Chief, Resource Evaluation Division
381 Elden Street
Mail Stop 4070
Herndon, VA 20170
(703) 787-1628 |
2006 Assessment Publications
Previous Assessment Publications &
Maps
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