Estimated oil and gas reserves, Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf and Continental Slope, December 31, 1981

Remaining recoverable reserves of oil* and gas in the Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf and Continental Slope have been estimated to be about 2.90 billion barrels of oil and 39.8 trillion cubic feet of gas, as of December 31, 1981. These reserves are recoverable from 445 studied fields under the Federal submerged lands off the coasts of Louisiana and Texas. An additional 44 fields, discovered since December 31, 1979, have not been sufficiently developed to permit a reasonably accurate estimate of reserves.

Original recoverable reserves are estimated to have been 8.17 billion barrels of oil and 93.4 trillion cubic feet of gas from 461 fields in the same geographic area. Included in this number are 16 fields that are depleted and were abandoned; not included are the 44 insufficiently developed fields. Estimates were made for individual reservoirs in 355 fields and on a field-wide basis for the other 106 fields.

* The term "oil" as used in this report includes crude oil and condensate.