Strengthening Our Economy: The Untapped U.S. Oil and Gas Resources

This report summarizes an analysis of the potential impact on future U.S. oil and gas production from opening to exploration and development the offshore moratoria areas in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic, and Pacific, as well as ANWR in Alaska, and a portion of the currently unavailable federal lands in the Rockies. The study summarizes the currently assessed oil and gas resources in these areas, and presents an alternative, higher resource base that we believe can be justified as an alternative “expected” resource, based upon our analysis of the history of oil and gas assessments in the U.S. over the past thirty years. Such oil and gas assessments generally increase as more knowledge is gained over time in developed areas such as the Gulf of Mexico, indicating that initial government resource assessments are generally conservative.

In addition to modeling potential future oil and gas production, the study evaluates the impact on the U.S. economy, including future government revenues from bonuses, severance tax, property tax, and income tax at the federal, state, and local levels. Economic impacts, including employment, are evaluated for direct, indirect, and induced effects.