U.S. NATURAL GAS RESOURCE BASE INCREASES

The Potential Gas Committee reports the U.S. natural gas resource base, including proved reserves, has risen 5% since 1988 to 1.033 quadrillion cu ft. The committee, under the guidance of the Colorado School of Mines' Potential Gas Agency, estimated conventional reservoirs contain 721 tcf as of Dec. 31, 1990, an increase of 2% from estimates for 1988.

Aug. 5, 1991

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The Potential Gas Committee reports the U.S. natural gas resource base, including proved reserves, has risen 5% since 1988 to 1.033 quadrillion cu ft.

The committee, under the guidance of the Colorado School of Mines' Potential Gas Agency, estimated conventional reservoirs contain 721 tcf as of Dec. 31, 1990, an increase of 2% from estimates for 1988.

The committee reports gas resource estimates every 2 years in categories of decreasing certainty: probable, possible, and speculative. In each category, it sets a minimum, most likely, and maximum resource volume for each of the 89 geological provinces that were surveyed.

The committee reported that recoverable coalbed methane reserves were 145.1 tcf, up 60% from yearend 1988.

The increase occurred because 32 coalbed methane regions were evaluated in 1990, compared with only five in 1988.

John B. Curtis, director of the Potential Gas Agency, said "The 1990 assessment reaffirms the sizable U.S. natural gas resource base."

For the first time, the committee also prepared a statistically aggregated estimate, giving mean values rather than most likely values. Under that approach, total resources were 1.169 quadrillion cu ft, vs. 1.12 quadrillion in 1988.

Mike Baly, American Gas Association president, said, "The report reveals the U.S. has at least a 60-70 year supply of gas, so there is no question that the nation has ample supplies to meet future U.S. energy demand, and that the National Energy Strategy should rely on natural gas to play a major role far into the next century. "