With soaring energy prices threatening the national economy and the standard of living for many Americans, the Bureau of Land Management last month released a study that shows vast untapped oil and natural gas resources beneath public lands.
“America has abundant energy resources,” said Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Land and Minerals Management Stephen Allred. “However, for a variety of reasons, many of these resources are not available for development. At a time when energy prices have reached record levels and Americans are feeling the impact, we must find ways to develop those key energy resources that are available to us right here at home, on our public lands.”
The report is the third in a series of congressionally mandated scientific studies of U.S. onshore federal oil and natural gas resources and limitations on their development. All onshore federal lands throughout the U.S. believed to have energy potential are included in this latest study. These public lands are estimated to contain 31 billion barrels of oil and 221 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Alaska’s North Slope accounts for well over half of the onshore oil potential, but most is inaccessible for development, either as a result of land withdrawals or land use planning decisions.
The inventory found that 60 percent of the onshore lands that have potential as domestic sources for natural gas and oil are presently closed to leasing, making 62 percent of the oil and 41 percent of the gas inaccessible for development. An additional 30 percent of onshore oil and 49 percent of onshore gas may only be developed subject to restrictions and above standard environmental lease terms. The study found that in the inventory areas, just 8 percent of onshore federal oil and 10 percent of the gas are accessible under standard lease terms.
In addition, oil shale deposits in the U.S. represent potential reserves that may be twice as large as those in Saudi Arabia. Yet Congress has prohibited BLM from taking the steps necessary to make this vast resource available for development.
The picture is even more striking offshore where 86 percent of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf is off limits to development in the Lower 48 states. Yet most of the nation’s oil and gas is located offshore – an estimated 86 billion barrels of oil and 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
Allred pointed out that environmental protections required for U.S. energy production are among the most restrictive anywhere in the world. Despite this fact, he noted protests and legal challenges besiege energy development decisions, delaying or derailing production. “Meanwhile, we transfer billions of dollars to buy oil from countries that do not have the same political or environmental standards we enjoy,” Allred said. “It just doesn’t make good sense.”
He noted America produces less than half of the oil it consumes and imports the rest. He warned demand in China and other markets point to increasing difficulties in obtaining energy at a reasonable cost.
“Meeting near-term energy demand will require increased access to lands and resources for oil, gas and renewable energy, together with increases in conservation and energy efficiencies,” Allred said. “No single approach is enough. The health of our economy and our national security require a balance of these strategies.
“While balancing access to our energy resources with other land uses is important, how many limits can we afford? With each fill-up, Americans are paying the price for these limits. It’s time we look within our own borders for solutions.”
He cautioned that while renewable energy will make up a growing part of the U.S. energy portfolio, they will not solve the supply problem, given they are projected to account for only 12 percent of our energy by 2030. Moreover, he noted regardless of the energy source, people do not want production or transmission facilities in their back yards.
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