Washington (Platts)--21May2008

US onshore federal lands contain an estimated 31 billion barrels of oil
and 231 Tcf of natural gas, although some 60% of the lands with the potential
for oil and natural gas development are presently closed to leasing, according
to an inventory report released Wednesday by the Bureau of Land Management.

All told, 62% of the oil and 41% of the natural gas are inaccessible for
development, BLM said. An additional 30% of onshore federal oil and 49% of
natural gas "may only be developed subject to restrictions over and above
standard environmental lease terms, including seasonal timing limitations,"
BLM said.

According to the study, in the inventory areas just 8% of the oil and 10%
of the gas are accessible under standard lease terms.

The 279 million acres in the inventory are managed by various agencies
within the Interior Department and the US Forest Service, which is part of the
Agriculture Department. Some of the areas are split estates, where the
subsurface mineral resources are owned by the federal government and the
surface is privately owned.

--Gerald Karey, gerry_karey@platts.com