The U.S. government has declined to lease millions of acres of western lands with vast quantities of oil and natural gas potential, a petroleum industry study said.
It found that access to federal lands in eight western states has declined by more than 60% since 1983. About 32.5 million acres, or less than 17% of the total federal mineral acreage, is under lease today, compared with 114 million acres, or 72% in 1983.
It said that 205 million acres of federal lands in these states, under the control of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service, are believed to contain oil and gas resources. The states are California, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.
Opening the lands to exploration and development would result in jobs for residents, increased business activity, and tax and royalty revenues for the state and federal governments, the study points out.
Joe Icenogle, a Marathon Oil Co. landman who is a team leader with the Cooperating Associations Forum that sponsored the study, said, "If the western states hope to provide for their future generations, the message is clear: access with reasonable restrictions is vital to economic development and community well-being."
He said the industry is interested in developing these resources and noted that oil and gas projects in the states are conducted in an environmentally sound way in compliance with federal and state regulations.
Lack of data
The study said that BLM and the Forest Service have never conducted a comprehensive oil and gas or minerals inventory of federal lands, and that lack of data has a significant effect when federal officials make land-use decisions.It contends that many of the lands were withdrawn because they were designated wilderness or wilderness study areas, or federal officials placed environmental or other restrictions on them.
The paper also said regulatory inconsistencies and major policy differences between the Forest Service and BLM also impede mineral development.
Delta Environmental Consultants, Denver, prepared the study. Members of the Cooperating Associations Forum are American Petroleum Institute, American Association of Professional Landmen, Western States Petroleum Association, Independent Petroleum Association of America, Rocky Mountain Oil & Gas Association, New Mexico Oil & Gas Association, Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico, and Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States.
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