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Government study finds access to Green River natural gas limited Nearly 68 percent of technically recoverable gas either closed to exploration or open only under significant restrictions Petroleum News Alaska
Access to one of the nation’s most promising natural gas-bearing regions in the Rocky Mountains may be much more restricted than previously thought, the U.S. Department of Energy said June 6.
A study by the department, in conjunction with the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, was done “virtually on a tract-by-tract basis” for federal lands in the Greater Green River Basin of Wyoming and Colorado. The study found that nearly 68 percent of the area’s technically recoverable natural gas resource — as much as 79 trillion cubic feet of natural gas — is either closed to development or under significant access restrictions.
Previously the National Petroleum Council, an industry advisory group, had estimated that 40 percent of the potentially recoverable gas resource beneath federal lands in the Rockies was either closed to exploration or open only under restricted provisions. The National Petroleum Council study, released in December 1999, made only general estimates of natural gas likely to be in restricted areas. The new study, the Energy Department said, examines the Greater Green River Basin in much greater detail.
The Green River Basin study is part of a larger planned project to analyze natural gas resources under federal lands in the Rocky Mountain region. The basin was chosen as the first to be studied because it contains the largest amount of estimated technically recoverable natural gas resources in the Rockies. Green River primarily in Wyoming, Colorado Made up of a complex series of geologic basins separated by uplifts and ridges, the Greater Green River Basin is located primarily in southwestern Wyoming with portions extending into Colorado and, to a lesser extent, into Utah.
The area examined in the study encompasses more than the Greater Green River Basin because it includes all land area overseen by BLM that contained any part of the basin. Some of this land extends well beyond the basin. Almost 29 million acres of land, 16 million of which are owned by the Federal government, were analyzed.
Using computerized geographic information system analysis, analysts examined virtually every township tract in the study area, each a six-by-six mile square. Any condition limiting exploration and development was identified. Estimates of the recoverable natural gas were obtained mostly from the U.S. Geological Survey’s 1995 national oil and gas assessment and, for certain unconventional formations, from the Energy Department’s natural gas research program.
Only 32 percent with standard lease terms The study found that about 30 percent of the gas resources are completely off limits, with about 1 percent underlying lands such as national parks and wilderness areas that are closed by statute. The rest of the inaccessible areas have been closed by administrative actions.
An additional 38 percent of the federal natural gas resource has some type of leasing stipulation that would restrict access although not prevent it completely. Most limit the time access is allowed. For example, much of the area is restricted for three to nine months to provide winter habitat for large game or to allow sage grouse or raptors to nest.
The remaining 32 percent is subject to standard lease terms, which still dictate that the lessee comply with a number of environmental requirements.
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