Analysis of selected energy security issues related to US crude oil and natural gas exploration, development, production, transportation and processing. Final report, Task 13

In July 1989, President Bush directed the Secretary of Energy to initiate the development of a comprehensive National Energy Strategy (NES) built upon a national consensus. The overall principle for the NES, as defined by the President and articulated by the Economic Policy Council (EPC), is the continuation of the successful policy of market reliance, consistent with the following goals: Balancing of energy, economic, and environmental concerns; and reduced dependence by the US and its friends and allies on potentially unreliable energy suppliers. The analyses presented in this report draw upon a large body of work previously conducted for DOE/Office of Fossil Energy, the US Department of Interior/Minerals Management Service (DOI/MMS), and the Gas Research Institute (GRI), referenced throughout the text of this report. This work includes assessments in the following areas: the potential of advanced oil and gas extraction technologies as improved through R&D, along with the successful transfer of these technologies to the domestic petroleum industry; the economic and energy impacts of environmental regulations on domestic oil and gas exploration, production, and transportation; the potential of tax incentives to stimulate domestic oil and gas development and production; the potential environmental costs associated with various options for leasing for US oil and gas resources in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS); and the economic impacts of environmental regulations affecting domestic crude oil refining.