U.S. Crude Oil Production in Federal and
Non-Federal Areas
Marc Humphries
Specialist in Energy Policy
March 20, 2012
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
R42432
CRS Report for Congress
Pr
epared for Members and Committees of Congress
U.S. Crude Oil Production in Federal and Non-Federal Areas
Summary
In 2011, oil prices traded between $85-$110 per barrel and remain high in 2012. Congress is
faced with proposals designed to enhance domestic energy supply and security as well as the
requirements of environmental statutes. A key question in this discussion is how much oil is
produced each year and how much of that comes from federal and nonfederal areas. Oil
production has fluctuated on both federal and non-federal lands over the past five years. On non-
federal lands, there was a major increase in oil production from 2008-2009 (231,000 barrels per
day (b/d)), a significant decline in 2010, then another surge in 2011, increasing total U.S. oil
production by nearly 530,000 b/d over 2007 production levels. About 96% of the increase since
2007 took place on non-federal lands, but the federal share of total U.S. production only fell by
about two percentage points.
Oil production fluctuated widely in the past five years, thus giving different results when
comparing years. For example, when comparing 2010 with 2007, the federal share of the increase
over 2007 was about 72% of the total. On federal lands, there was also an increase in production
from 2008-2009 and another increase in 2010 (258,000 b/d), then a decline in 2011. Overall, oil
production on federal lands is up slightly in 2011 when compared to 2007.
Congressional Research Service
U.S. Crude Oil Production in Federal and Non-Federal Areas
Contents
Introduction...................................................................................................................................... 1
U.S. Crude Oil Production: Federal and Non-Federal Areas........................................................... 1
Oil Lease Data for Federal Lands.............................................................................................. 3
Figures
Figure 1. U.S. Oil Production: Federal and Non-Federal Areas, 2007-2011 ................................... 2
Tables
Table 1. U.S. Crude Oil Production: Federal and Non-Federal Areas ............................................. 2
Table 2. EIA Oil Production Projections.......................................................................................... 3
Table 3. Oil Lease Data for Federal Lands, 2011 ............................................................................ 3
Contacts
Author Contact Information............................................................................................................. 4
Congressional Research Service
U.S. Crude Oil Production in Federal and Non-Federal Areas
Introduction1
In 2011, oil prices traded between $85-$110 per barrel and remain high in 2012. Congress is
faced with proposals designed to enhance domestic energy supply and security as well as the
requirements of environmental statutes. A key question in this discussion is how much oil is
produced each year and how much of that comes from federal and nonfederal areas. Oil
production has fluctuated on both federal and non-federal lands over the past five years. On non-
federal lands, there was a major increase in oil production from 2008-2009 (231,000 barrels per
day (b/d)), a significant decline in 2010, then another surge in 2011, increasing total U.S. oil
production by nearly 530,000 b/d over 2007 production levels. About 96% of the increase since
2007 took place on non-federal lands, but the federal share of total U.S. production only fell by
about 2 percentage points.
This report examines U.S. oil production data for federal and non-federal areas.2
U.S. Crude Oil Production: Federal and Non-Federal
Areas
Oil production has fluctuated on both federal and non-federal lands over the past five years. On
non-federal lands, there was a major increase in oil production from 2008-2009 (231,000 barrels
per day (b/d)), a significant decline in 2010, then another surge in 2011, increasing total U.S. oil
production by nearly 530,000 b/d over 2007 production levels. (See Table 1.) About 96% of the
increase took place on non-federal lands, but the overall federal share of total U.S. production fell
only by about two percentage points over the 2007-2011 timeframe.
Oil production fluctuated widely in the past five years, thus, giving different results when
comparing years. For example, when comparing 2010 with 2007, the federal share of the increase
over 2007 was about 72% of the total. On federal lands, there was also an increase in production
from 2008-2009 and another increase in 2010 (258,000 b/d), then a decline in 2011. Overall, oil
production on federal lands is up slightly in 2011 when compared to 2007.
1 For a broader analysis of OCS leasing and resources, please see CRS Report R40645, U.S. Offshore Oil and Gas
Resources: Prospects and Processes, by Marc Humphries and Robert Pirog.
2 For more information on U.S. oil development, see CRS Report R40872, U.S. Fossil Fuel Resources: Terminology,
Reporting, and Summary, by Carl E. Behrens, Michael Ratner, and Carol Glover; CRS Report R41132, Outer
Continental Shelf Moratoria on Oil and Gas Development, by Curry L. Hagerty; and CRS Report R40237, Federal
Lands Managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service (FS): Issues in the 111th Congress,
coordinated by Ross W. Gorte and Carol Hardy Vincent.
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U.S. Crude Oil Production in Federal and Non-Federal Areas
Table 1. U.S. Crude Oil Production: Federal and Non-Federal Areas
(Barrels per day)
Total Federal
Federal
Federal
Fiscal Year
U.S. Total
Non-Federal
(% of U.S. Total)
Offshore
Onshore
2011 5,590,000 3,876,000 1,714,000 1,408,000 306,000
(31)
2010 5,470,000 3,481,000 1,989,000 1,693,000 296,000
(36)
2009 5,360,000 3,629,000 1,731,000 1,443,000 287,000
(32)
2008 4,950,000 3,398,000 1,552,000 1,267,000 285,000
(31)
2007 5,060,000 3,365,000 1,695,000 1,408,000 287,000
(33)
Source: U.S. Total data from EIA Short –Term Energy Outlook, Release Date February 7, 2012. Federal data
obtained from ONRR Statistics, http://www.onrr.gov (using sales year data).
Notes: Consistent with BLM and BOEM statements about onshore and offshore federal production levels as
percent of total U.S. crude oil production.
Figure 1. U.S. Oil Production: Federal and Non-Federal Areas, 2007-2011
Million barrels per day (Mb/d)
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. Crude Oil, Natural Gas, and Natural Gas Liquids
Reserves, released November 30, 2010, http://www.eia.gov/oil_gas, p.1.
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U.S. Crude Oil Production in Federal and Non-Federal Areas
While short-term EIA estimates show oil production continuing to decline in federal offshore
areas (Gulf of Mexico only) from 1.32 million barrels per day (mbd) in 2011 to 1.24 mbd in 2013,
their longer-term estimates show an increase in OCS oil production overall from 1.4 mbd in 2011
to 2.15 mbd in 2035.3 Overall U.S. oil production was projected by EIA to rise from 5.59 bpd in
2011 to about 6.1 mbd by 2035.4 According to these estimates, offshore production alone in 2035
accounts for about 35% of total U.S. crude oil production.
Table 2. EIA Oil Production Projections
(million barrels per day)
Year OCS
U.S.
Total
2011 1.40 5.59
2013 1.24 5.52
2035 2.15
6.1
Source: EIA 2013 projections from Table 4A, U.S. Crude Oil and Liquid Fuels Supply, Consumption and Inventories,
Short-Term Energy Outlook, February 2012.
Notes: 2013 OCS projection is Gulf of Mexico only.
Oil Lease Data for Federal Lands
According to the BLM and BOEM, there are approximately 76.3 million acres of oil and gas
leases in federal areas (onshore and offshore). About 38.3 million acres are located onshore and
an additional 38 million acres are located offshore. Approximately 11.5 million federal acres
onshore and about 7.4 million federal acres offshore are producing commercial volumes. (See
Table 3.)
Table 3. Oil Lease Data for Federal Lands, 2011
Onshore Offshore
Acreage under lease
38.3 million acres
38 million acres
Acreage with approved exploration or development plan
16.7 million acres
10.5 million acres
(i.e., acreage in production or exploration)
Leased acres producing
11.5 million acres
7.4 million acres
Leased acres not in production or exploration
21.6 million acres
27.5 million acres
Number of Leases
50,303
7,061
Producing Leases
22,663
1,651
Source: DOI, Oil and Gas Utilization – Onshore and Offshore, Report to the President, March 2011.
3 EIA, Annual Energy Outlook, 2011, p. 36.
4 EIA, Annual Energy Outlook, 2012 Early Release Overview, March 2012, p. 1.
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U.S. Crude Oil Production in Federal and Non-Federal Areas
A number of concerns may arise in the oil and gas leasing process that could delay or prevent oil
and gas development from taking place, or might account for the relatively large number of leases
held in non-producing status. It should be noted that many leases expire without exploration or
production ever occurring.
Below is a list of often-cited issues which, individually or in combination, are used to explain
why more leases are not producing.
• Rig or equipment availability, particularly offshore;
• High capital costs;
• Skilled labor shortages;
• Leases in the development cycle (e.g., conducting environmental reviews,
permitting, or exploring) but not producing;
• Legal challenges that might delay or prevent development;
• No commercial discovery on a lease tract;
• Holding leases (because of the lack of capital or as “speculators”) to sell or “farm
out” at a later date;
• Ability to secure extensions on non-producing leases; and
• Securing and being able to hold large number of lease tracts, often contiguous, to
maximize return on their investment.
Author Contact Information
Marc Humphries
Specialist in Energy Policy
mhumphries@crs.loc.gov, 7-7264
Congressional Research Service
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