Many of the best opportunities for developing additional domestic oil and gas supplies have been placed “off limits” by government policies. Although a longstanding ban on portions of Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas leasing was lifted by Congress in 2008, a new five-year leasing plan for potentially developing over a third of these resources—from 2012 to 2017—was only recently proposed by the Administration.

• According to the American Petroleum Institute (API), federal lands, including those on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), hold an estimated 116 billion barrels of recoverable oil and 650 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas — enough to fuel over 65 million cars for 60 years and meet the natural gas needs of 60 million households for 160 years.
• However, there could be much more oil and natural gas than has been estimated in areas where industry has not been permitted to explore, and where new technologies allow enhanced recovery of energy resources while protecting the environment.

• Opportunity for Economic and Jobs Growth: A recent study by ICF International estimates that the development of oil and natural gas on federal lands (including OCS) previously or currently closed could increase domestic oil production by as much as two million barrels per day, and natural gas production by over five billion cubic feet per day. Over the next 20 years, such activity could create as many as 160,000 new jobs. The study also estimated that domestic oil and natural gas development would generate approximately $1.7 trillion in federal, state and local government revenues to fund critical governmental priorities.
• Importance of the Oil and Gas Industry to the American Economy.  A recent study by PriceWaterhouseCoopers found that the U.S. oil and gas industry in 2007: (1) added over $1 trillion to the American economy(7.5 percent of gross domestic product); and (2) supported more than 9 million full- and part-time jobs in the United States.
  

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