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Improving Access to Onshore Oil & Gas Resources on Federal Lands

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Improving Access to Onshore Oil & Gas Resources on Federal Lands Improving Access to Onshore Oil & Gas Resources on Federal Lands Project Funding: U.S. DOE-NETL Prepared for: Interstate Oil & Gas Compact Commission Prepared by: ALL Consulting March 2007 THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Project Researchers & Cooperating Agencies IMPROVING ACCESS TO ONSHORE OIL & GAS RESOURCES ON FEDERAL LANDS Improving Access to Onshore Oil & Gas Resources on Federal Lands ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project was funded by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) program “Focused Research in Federal Lands Access and Produced Water Management in Oil and Gas Exploration and Production”. The project was developed under the Area of Interest 1: Improving Access to Onshore Oil and Gas Resources on Federal Lands, and Topic 3: Data Management. The Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC) and ALL Consulting (ALL) conducted this study as co-researchers in cooperation with the oil and gas agencies of Alaska (Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission), Montana (Montana Board of Oil and Gas Conservation), and Wyoming (Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission), as well as the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. The effort was overseen by NETL’s, National Petroleum Technology Office in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The National Petroleum Technology Office project manager for this effort was Mr. John Ford. The research team also extends its appreciation to those companies operating in the Powder River, Big Horn, Williston, North Central Montana, Anadarko, Arkoma, Alaska North Slope, Cook Inlet, Permian and Fort Worth Basins, and the staffs of the Department of the Interior, Department of Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency, and the various state agencies who provided the technical input and assistance that enabled DOE to improve the scope and quality of the analysis. DE-PS26-04NT15460-01 Improving Access to Onshore Oil & Gas Resources on Federal Lands DISCLAIMER This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. Improving Access to Onshore Oil & Gas Resources on Federal Lands THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Improving Access to Onshore Oil & Gas Resources on Federal Lands TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................. iii LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................ iv I. PURPOSE AND OVERVIEW.......................................................................... 1 A. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................1 B. PURPOSE AND NEED...............................................................................................8 C. OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH ........................................................................................9 D. PROJECT ADVISORY COUNCIL.................................................................................12 E. SUMMARY OF FUTURE RESEARCH AND OBJECTIVES (PHASE II) .......................................12 II. INTRODUCTION TO ONSHORE OIL & NATURAL GAS DEVELOPMENT ..13 A. HISTORY AND EVOLUTION OF THE ONSHORE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY..............................16 B. THE PROCESS OF ONSHORE OIL AND GAS DEVELOPMENT..............................................25 III. REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL VARIATIONS..........................................35 A. GEOLOGY ..........................................................................................................36 B. CLIMATE............................................................................................................42 C. BIOLOGICAL FEATURES .........................................................................................49 D. HYDROLOGY.......................................................................................................50 E. SURROUNDING HUMAN ACTIVITIES ..........................................................................52 IV. MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS BY AGENCY.....................................57 A. DISTRIBUTION OF FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT.........................................................59 B. OIL & GAS MANAGEMENT ON FEDERAL LANDS............................................................61 C. FEDERAL AGENCIES INVOLVED IN OIL & GAS DEVELOPMENT..........................................62 D. OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES INVOLVED IN THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY ............................75 V. REGULATORY FRAMEWORK AND THE NEPA PROCESS ............................79 THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT ................................................................79 OVERVIEW OF STATE ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACTS .......................................................83 EVOLUTION OF NEPA RELATIVE TO THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY .......................................86 VI. IMPACT ANALYSIS METHODOLOGY......................................................95 A. GENERAL FRAMEWORK FOR ASSESSMENT ..................................................................96 B. DATA SHORTFALLS............................................................................................. 101 C. PHYSICAL AND BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES.................................................................. 102 D. HUMAN AND MANAGEMENT RESOURCES.................................................................. 147 APPENDIX A ...................................................................................................159 SWANSON RIVER OIL & GAS FIELD CASE STUDY .........................................159 A. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................. 161 B. OBJECTIVE AND PURPOSE .................................................................................... 165 C. REGULATORY AND HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF THE KENAI NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE ..... 166 i Improving Access to Onshore Oil & Gas Resources on Federal Lands APPENDIX B ...................................................................................................183 BADGER HILLS COAL BED NATURAL GAS CASE STUDY.................................183 A. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................. 186 B. OBJECTIVE AND PURPOSE .................................................................................... 186 C. ASSUMPTIONS USED IN DEVELOPING THE COMPARISONS OF IMPACTS ............................ 187 D. SURFACE DISTURBANCE IMPACTS.......................................................................... 188 E. AIR QUALITY .................................................................................................... 192 F. CULTURAL RESOURCES........................................................................................ 196 G. LANDS AND REALTY ........................................................................................... 198 H. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS..................................................................... 199 I. SOILS.............................................................................................................. 201 J. WATER RESOURCES............................................................................................ 203 K. VEGETATION .................................................................................................... 207 L. WILDLIFE......................................................................................................... 209 VII. REFERENCES........................................................................................213 ii Improving Access to Onshore Oil & Gas Resources on Federal Lands LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 United States Domestic Oil and Natural Gas Production and Consumption.......3 Figure 2 Map of Top 100 Oil and Gas Fields in the United States..................................5 Figure 3 Federal Surface and Surface Managing Agencies ...........................................6 Figure 4 Distribution of Participating States in this Study...........................................11 Figure 5 Oil and Gas Energy Production for the United States from the Year 2000. .....14 Figure 6 Annual Oil and NGL Production Rates – 1935 to 2010; peak is reached in early 1970’s..............................................................................................................14 Figure 7 Annual Natural Gas Production Rates – 1930 through 2006 :peak is indicated at 1973................................................................................................................15 Figure 8 Oil and Natural Gas Producing Regions in the United States. ........................17 Figure 9 Summary of the Phases of Oil and Gas Development ...................................27
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