Potential seen in mature US oil, gas basins: DOE, state officials

Washington (Platts)--19Sep2005

Two of the oldest US producing basins have the "youthful potential" to
produce nearly 5-bil bbl of oil and 100 Tcf of natural gas, the US Energy
Department and state officials said Monday. 
     In a report, DOE and the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission said
the Appalachian and Illinois basins were among a number of mature areas of the
US that "deserve a fresh look" because of high prices and technologies. 
     "After more than a century, the Appalachian and Illinois basins still
contain as much oil and natural gas as have been produced to date," the report
stated. However, most of the reserves are unconventional -- coalbed methane,
gas shales, oil sands and tight gas sands -- and require advanced technology
before they can be extracted. 
     Officials said their estimates could prove conservative because few wells
have been drilled deeper than 6,000 feet in the basin. 
     "It is reasonable to speculate, based on regional geology, that
substantially greater volumes could exist in deeper horizons," the report
stated. 
     The study noted that unlike the West, nearly all of the oil and gas in
the two basins are under private lands, making them subject only to state
regulations. The basins span 10 states.

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