A report from the Interstate Oil & Gas Compact Commission’s North American Coastal Alliance (NACA) spotlights the untapped potential of areas in North America currently off-limits to oil and gas production.
“North American offshore moratorium areas are estimated to contain nearly 135 tcf of natural gas and 30 billion bbl of crude oil,” according to the report. In 2004, the US produced about 24 tcf of gas and used nearly 22.5 tcf-mainly for heating, electric power generation, and manufacturing.
NACA’s report, “Untapped Potential: Offshore Oil and Gas Resources Inaccessible to Leasing,” is the “first complete compilation” of data on resources not available for development off the US and Canada, IOGCC said.
“This report is not intended to influence policy; however, it is important that citizens and policy-makers understand the significance of these potential resources when making energy development decisions,” said NACA Co-Chairman Dan Seamount, Alaska oil and gas conservation commissioner. IOGCC said, “Its goal is to facilitate informed decision-making regarding future opportunities associated with these resources.”
Areas of the US currently under moratoriums-including areas in Alaska and the Great Lakes and off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and the Gulf of Mexico-are estimated to hold more than 19 billion bbl of oil and 83.5 tcf of gas, the report said. Canada’s areas off-limits to production, meanwhile, are estimated to contain 11 billion bbl of oil and 51 tcf of gas.
