PUBLIC LANDS AND ENERGY DEVELOPMENT

(See also Charts 1 & 2 below)

Over the last eight years, the Federal government has greatly accelerated the rate of oil
and gas leasing and drilling permits on public land. With half of the land area in the
West under federal ownership, the region has been the focus of this new development
rush--in particular Wyoming, Colorado and Montana—the states with the greatest oil
and gas resources. Tens of millions of acres of Federal land in the west is available for
energy development, including the majority of energy resources identified on public
lands. Between 1999 and 2007, drilling permits for oil and gas development on public
lands increased more than 361%.1

These facts do not support the notion, posed by some, that opening more public land to
energy development will bring down energy prices. Despite the already greatly
accelerated rate of permitting and drilling, energy prices have continued to climb.

Wells Drilled on Federal Land in Western States2

George H.W.
Ronald Reagan Bill Clinton George W. Bush
State Bush
(1981-1988) (1993-2000) (2001-2006)
(1989-1992)
WY 7901 2541 7824 15670
CA 19468 6879 15348 13558
CO 3248 2215 4696 6959
NM 3208 3208 3844 4957
UT 1883 665 2028 3281
MT 2235 674 1729 2511
SD 212 42 73 77
NV 207 127 138 21
AZ 28 4 4 1
The largest statewide increase in drilling on all land (federal, state, private and tribal) also occurred in Wyoming
where drilling more than doubled from fewer than 1,900 wells drilled per year under Reagan, George H.W. Bush
and Clinton to more than 4,200 under George W. Bush. IHS data also showed significant increases for drilling on all
land in Colorado, Montana, New Mexico and Utah (IHS 2008). New Mexico likely recorded even larger increases in
drilling on both federal land and all land because wells drilled in the southeastern corner of the state in the Permian
Basin were not included in the IHS data that EWG reviewed.

• Only 38% of the potential oil and 16% of the potential natural gas are excluded
from leasing largely because those resources are underneath National Parks and
wilderness areas with significant scenic, recreational, and wildlife values. 3

• Onshore, 72% of oil and 84% of natural gas resources are either fully accessible
under standard lease stipulations designed to protect lands and wildlife, or will be
accessible pending the completion of land-use planning or environmental
reviews.4
 • Nearly 91 million acres of Federal land are currently open to leasing in the Arctic
region of Alaska, including onshore and offshore lands. Oil and gas companies
have leased only 11.8 million of the 91million acres.5

• Of the 47.5 million acres of on-shore federal lands that are currently being leased
by oil and gas companies, only about 13 million acres are actually in production6

• Since 2004, the Bureau of Land Management has issued 28,776 permits to drill
on public land yet only, 18,954 wells were actually drilled. Companies retain
nearly 10,000 permits to drill that they are not using to increase domestic
production

Chart 1: Gasoline and Natural Gas Prices 1981-2008

Administration. Natural Gas Prices. Accessed online July 3, 2008 and Short-Term Energy Outlook, Real
Petroleum Prices. Accessed online July 3, 2008.
Environmental Working Group, Coming Up Dry, July 2008, http://www.ewg.org/reports/comingupdry
NOTE: Natural gas prices are reported in residential price, and all of the prices are adjusted to 2008
dollars.
1Report to House Committee on Natural Resources, June 2008, http://courtney.house.gov/UploadedFiles/Natural
%20Resources%20energy%20report.pdf
2 Environmental Working Group, Coming Up Dry, 2008 http://www.ewg.org/reports/comingupdry
3Report to House Committee on Natural Resources, June 2008, http://courtney.house.gov/UploadedFiles/Natural
%20Resources%20energy%20report.pdf
4 Ibid
5 Ibid
6 Ibid