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Thursday, June 7, 2001

The detailed survey revealed that 68 percent of the recoverable gas in the basin, an estimated 79 trillion cubic feet, was covered by regulations that would make it impossible or extremely difficult to exploit. A study of the basin, which covers parts of Colorado and Wyoming, conducted in late 1999 by the National Petroleum Council estimated that 40 percent of the gas was closed to development.

The Bush administration's energy strategy calls for increased production of fuels, including natural gas, and has implied that former President Bill Clinton was too liberal in banning drilling and exploration on large tracts of federal land, much of it in the West.

"We must take every step to meet future demands for energy in an environmentally responsible fashion," said Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham. "Determining the scope of current restrictions on our ability to provide that energy is an important first step towards implementing the president's National Energy Policy."

The National Energy Policy has provisions for a review of the status of public lands and leasing regulations that might impede oil and gas exploration. The Greater Green River Basin was the first area to be studied because it has large estimated gas reserves.

Abraham said in a release that the Energy Department study differed from the NPC's in that it was more in-depth, with 29 million acres of land - 16 million of which is owned by the federal government - studied "tract by tract."

Copyright 2001 by United Press International.

All rights reserved.

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