![](media/image1.png){width="0.8625in" height="0.8625in"}**Department of
the Interior**

**Public Lands; Meeting America's Energy Needs**

**2003**

"America must have an energy policy that plans for the future, but meets
the needs of today. I believe we can develop our natural resources and
protect our environment."

*President George W. Bush*

![](media/image2.jpeg){width="1.7291666666666667in"
height="1.4791666666666667in"}The President\'s National Energy Policy
recognizes that conservation and efficiency, diversification of our
energy supply, and increased production of renewable and nonrenewable
resources are critical to our energy future. The Energy Policy also
encourages development of a cleaner, more diverse portfolio of domestic
renewable energy sources such as geothermal, wind, solar and biomass, as
well as continued research into using hydrogen as an alternative energy
source.

The Administration and the public must find ways to narrow the gap
between the amount of energy we use and the amount we produce. Achieving
the goal of secure, affordable and environmentally sound energy will
require diligent, concerted efforts on both the supply and demand sides
of the energy equation.

**Public Lands**

Energy reserves contained in the lands and offshore areas managed by the
Department of the Interior are an important source of potential energy
development and production. Estimates suggest that these lands contain
approximately 68 percent of all undiscovered U.S. oil resources and 74
percent of undiscovered natural gas resources.

The Interior Department manages more than 500 million acres of public
land, or one out of every five acres of U.S. land. Interior-managed
lands account for about 30 percent of America\'s domestic energy
production, including 48 percent of geothermal production, 35 percent of
natural gas production (25 percent offshore and 10 percent onshore), 35
percent of coal production, 35 percent of oil production (30 percent
offshore and 5 percent onshore), 20 percent of wind power, and 17
percent of hydropower.

## Energy Policy and Conservation Act

![](media/image3.jpeg){width="1.9527777777777777in"
height="1.601388888888889in"}The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of
2000, \[Public Law 106-469\] which was mandated by Congress, directed
the Interior Department to conduct a national inventory of oil and
natural gas resources beneath federal lands and the constraints that may
limit the development of those resources. The report titled \"Scientific
Inventory of Onshore Federal Lands Oil and Gas Resources and Reserves"
was released on January 2003. The Bureau of Land Management is already
using the data in their land-use planning process for public lands
management.

**Natural Gas**

Natural gas provides 24 percent of our Nation's energy demand. In
addition to home-heating, natural gas is critical to American
manufacturing -- used to make a wide range of products, such as
fertilizer, chemicals, automobiles, plastics, food, and electricity.

Historically, natural gas has been a reliable, domestic supply of
energy, but that is beginning to change. Utilities, communities,
natural-gas dependent industries and policy makers from the President to
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan are raising concerns about our
ability to supply the gas our economy and quality of life demands. The
demand for natural gas is expected to increase dramatically in the next
20 years, reaching as much as 35 trillion cubic feet (TCF) by 2025 from
about 22 TCF today. This demand is driven by the environmental benefits
of clean-burning natural gas and the past ability to supply 84% of U.S.
gas demand domestically.

![](media/image1.wmf)

The country produces 84% of its natural gas domestically, but 95% of the
new powerplants will be fueled by clean-burning natural gas. Mature
basins are declining, while access to new basins is not keeping pace. A
Department of Energy report indicates that over the next 20 years,
consumption of natural gas in the United States is projected to grow by
more than 50%; while production, if it grows at the rate of the last 10
years, will grow by only 14% (as per the Energy Information
Administration).

**Coal Bed Natural Gas**

Coalbed natural gas from public lands can and should play a role in
meeting the nation\'s increasing energy needs. Also known as coalbed
methane, coalbed natural gas accounts for almost 10 percent of the total
natural gas reserves in the United States. The public lands in the
Interior Western states of New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and
Montana hold an estimated 3.9 billion barrels of oil and 138.5 trillion
cubic feet of natural gas.