U.S. Department of the Interior
Minerals Management Service
Office of Communications

TECHNICAL ANNOUNCEMENT

FOR RELEASE: June 6, 1996 CONTACT: Tom DeRocco
(202) 208-3983

MMS Releases Latest Assessment of Nation's Natural Gas and Oil Resources

The Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) announced today the availability of "An Assessment of the Undiscovered Hydrocarbon Potential of the Nation's Outer Continental Shelf," which presents the results of a multi-year study by MMS to estimate the amounts of undiscovered natural gas and crude oil resources that may exist on the nation's Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The MMS study was conducted concurrently with a similar study by the U.S. Geological Survey that estimates the amounts of undiscovered natural gas and crude oil onshore and within the boundaries of coastal States.

MMS estimates are presented in two categories: (1) Undiscovered Conventionally Recoverable Resources (UCRR), and (2) Undiscovered Economically Recoverable Resources (UERR). According to the MMS report, UCRR are 37.1 - 55.3 billion barrels of oil (Bbl) and 186.3 - 369.2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas (Tcf) for the OCS. Arithmetic mean estimates are 45.6 Bbl of oil and 268.0 Tcf of natural gas. The UERR estimates are represented as "price-supply" curves. The report includes additional statistics on OCS proved reserves, unproved reserves, and reserves appreciation. The MMS report presents the information for the total OCS as well as separately for the Alaska, Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, and Atlantic portions of the OCS.

Copies of the MMS report, designated MMS 96-0034, are available at no charge from the MMS Document Distribution Center, 381 Elden Street, Herndon, Virginia 22070-4817, phone (703) 787-1080. The report is also available through the World Wide Web at http://www.mms.gov, or from MMS OCS regional offices at the following locations:

Gulf of Mexico OCS Region
1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard
New Orleans, Louisiana 70123-2394
Phone (504) 736-2595

Pacific OCS Region
770 Paseo Camarillo
Camarillo, California 93010
Phone (805) 389-7520

Alaska OCS Region
949 East 36th Avenue
Anchorage, Alaska 99508-4363
Phone (907) 271-6010

-MMS-

MMS Internet website address: http://www.mms.gov
24 hour Fax-on- Demand Service: (202) 219-1703