Lands Already Open for Drilling

By Ken Ward Jr.

kward@wvgazette.com

The vast majority of oil and gas resources on federal lands are already open for drilling, according to a new report from the House Natural Resources Committee.

A little more than one-third of oil resources and 16 percent of natural gas reserves on public lands are off-limits to industry, according to the report issued by the committee’s Democratic staff. Those are closed to drilling largely because they are underneath national parks or wilderness areas, the report found.

The 10-page report responds to continued arguments by Republicans and energy companies that opening more public lands to oil and gas production would help lower gasoline prices.

"The evidence is compelling that we cannot drill our way to lower prices at the pumps," said Natural Resources Chairman Nick J. Rahall, D-W.Va.

The report notes, for example, that since the 1990s, the federal government has consistently encouraged the development of its oil and gas resources. Drilling on federal lands has steadily increased during this period, from 3,800 five years ago to nearly 7,600 in 2007.

Between 1999 and 2007, the number of drilling permits issued for development on public lands increased by more than 361 percent. But gasoline prices have also risen dramatically, "contradicting the argument that more drilling means lower gasoline prices," according to the report.

The Rahall staff report also concludes that energy companies are not using federal lands that are already open to energy development.

In the last four years, the Bureau of Land Management has issued nearly 29,000 permits to drill on public land. Yet during that same period, less than 19,000 wells were actually drilled.

"Even if increased domestic drilling activity could affect the price of gasoline, there is yet no justification to open additional federal lands because oil and gas companies have shown that they cannot keep pace with the rate of drilling permits that the federal government is handing out," the report said.

Last month, the Interior Department issued a report that Rahall’s committee said the "administration is using to delude Americans into believing that vast tracts of federal land with large concentrations of oil and gas are off-limits to oil and gas development."

Actually, the Interior report shows 40 percent of oil reserves on federal lands are currently open to leasing. Another 22 percent of oil reserves on federal lands are undergoing required environmental reviews before being opened to leasing. That leaves 38 percent of oil reserves on federal lands actually listed as off-limits.

For natural gas, the Interior report shows 16 percent of reserves are off-limits to production. Another 22 percent are undergoing environmental reviews before being opened to leasing.

The Rahall committee report also concluded that on the Outer Continental Shelf, 82 percent of federal natural gas and 79 percent of federal oil is located in areas that are currently open for leasing.

To contact staff writer Ken Ward Jr., use e-mail or call 348- 1702.

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