News Item
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American Energy Resources
Talking Points
Washington,
Jun 18 -
Just the Facts: American Energy Resources
ANWR
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the mean
estimate of technically recoverable oil in the Coastal Plain of ANWR is 10.4
billion barrels – all of which is now economically recoverable.
- That’s more than twice the proven oil reserves in all of Texas.
- That’s almost half of the total U.S. proven reserve of 21 billion
- barrels.
- That represents a possible 50 percent increase in total U.S. proven
- reserves.
Based on the USGS mean estimate, ANWR would provide 1 million barrels
per day for 30 years.
- That represents a 20% increase in domestic production.
- That’s equivalent to what the entire state of Texas produces daily
- That’s equivalent to 30 years worth of imports from Hugo Chavez
The Coastal Plain of ANWR, also know as the 1002 Area, is neither
wilderness nor refuge; it was set aside by Congress and President Carter in
1980 for future oil development.
Development would be limited to 2000 acres of the Coastal Plain (0.01% of
the entire 19.6 million-acre refuge)
OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS:
According to the U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS), America’s
deep seas on the OCS contain 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas (the U.S.
consumes 23 TCF per year) and 86 billion barrels of oil (the U.S. imports
4.5 billion per year).
85 percent of the Lower 48 Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) energy resources
remain under the lock and key of the federal government.
In fact, the United States is the only developed nation in the world that
forbids safe energy production on its OCS.
TOTAL ONSHORE OIL AND GAS (not including oil shale)
Onshore federal lands contain estimated 31 billion barrels of oil and 231
trillion cubic feet of natural gas, according to the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM).
The Federal government denies or restricts access to 92% (28.5 billion
barrels) of this oil and 90% (207.9 trillion cubic feet) of this natural gas.
Only 8% (2.48 billion barrels) of the oil and 10% (23.1 trillion cubic feet) of
the natural gas are accessible under standard leasing terms.
Source: Inventory of Onshore Federal Oil and Natural Gas Resources and Restrictions to
Their Development, Bureau of Land Management, May 2008.
U.S. OIL SHALE
The U.S. is the Saudi Arabia of oil shale. According to the Department of
Energy, America is endowed with more than 2 trillion barrels of oil.
To put this figure in perspective, the world has used 1 trillion barrels of oil
since the first oil well was successfully drilled in Pennsylvania in 1859.
In 2007, the Democratic Majority attached a rider on an appropriations bill
to make this huge domestic resource off-limits.
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