Pete Domenici: “OCS Lease Sale 181 is an essential element of a national energy policy that will provide affordable and secure supply of…”

“OCS Lease Sale 181 is an essential element of a national energy policy that will provide affordable and secure supply of energy. Sale 181, the most promising domestic opportunity for newly-available leases in many years is a resource rich area for new supplies of natural gas and oil. It will play an important role in meeting the Nation's energy needs. Sale 181 is the work-product of more than five years of planning and preparation by the Federal Government, affected States, and industry, and should proceed as scheduled in December 2001. The Nation's demand for natural gas is expected to grow significantly. According to a 1999 National Petroleum Council study, the nation's demand for natural gas is expected to increase by 32 percent to 29 trillion cubic feet by 2010 and by 41 percent to 31 trillion cubic feet by 2015. Current demand is 22 trillion cubic feet. Natural gas is essentially a North American commodity. If the Nation is to meet its growing natural gas demand, access to gas resource rich areas like the Sale 181 area is an indispensable element of the energy policy agenda. Major reserves of oil and natural gas are believed to exist in the eastern gulf. According to a study conducted in conjunction with the 1999 National Petroleum Council study, the Sale 181 area may hold 7.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 1.9 billion barrels of oil.”