231 Trillion Cubic Feet of Natural Gas in Public Lands USA

A survey of onshore oil and gas resources show public lands contain 31 billion barrels of oil and 231 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, but not all of it is available for development - something the Bush administration would like to change, according to a new report.
The so-called Phase III inventory, ordered up as part of the 2005 Energy Policy Act, and released today by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, looks at the potential for energy development, as well as development's obstacles.
Utah, Wyoming and Colorado are among the states considered to have the greatest potential.
A key provision of the 2005 energy bill was to speed carbon-based energy development. The survey aims to ensure policymakers' decisions will minimize restraints on oil and gas production "unless it is absolutely necessary for the preservation of other resources present on the land," the report says.
Obstacles and impediments include literally anything that might stand in the way of full development, such as environmental protection law, municipal development, private property concerns, wildlife and even National Park designation.