U.S. offshore gas estimate increased 12% to 406 tcf

Offshore areas of the United States hold about 12 percent more undiscovered natural gas reserves than last estimated by the federal government in 2000, according to the U.S. Minerals Management Service.

Based on information gleaned from new exploration activities in the Gulf of Mexico and Canada’s Scotian basin, MMS now estimates a mean 406 trillion cubic feet of gas of natural are “technically recoverable” from federal offshore areas of the U.S. East and West coasts, Alaska, and in the Gulf of Mexico.

Oil reserves that could be recovered from offshore areas of the United States were estimated to be an average 76 billion barrels, roughly the same as forecasted in 2000. MMS officially updates its oil and gas reserve estimates every five years.

At year-end 2002, the U.S. offshore supplied more than 25 percent of the country’s natural gas production and more than 30 percent of total domestic oil production.

MMS also believes that offshore areas of the United

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