Frame work on an on-line regulations expert permit server, Semi-annual technical progress report, September 25, 1996--March 24, 1997

The Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission and its member states have become increasingly concerned about environmental compliance costs for the petroleum exploration and production industry with estimated costs for 1990 at about $2 billion. Over the last decade, these costs have increased at a rate of 3 to 5% per year. At a time when regulatory and environmental needs and costs are increasing, major oil companies are restructuring and reducing staffs. The places an increased burden on the remaining personnel charged with regulatory compliance duties. As major oil producers have begun to concentrate on their more profitable overseas properties, they have created a greater role for the approximately 8000 independent oil and gas producers in the U.S. with many being small independent producers with limited staff. With small staffs, the independents lack the infrastructure to address an increasingly important aspect of production operations: compliance with environmental regulations. Depending on the level of industry activity, the oil and gas industry could incur an additional $16 to $24 billion in increased environmental compliance expenditures by the end of the 1990`s. At current oil prices, the abandonment of remaining resources in known oil reservoirs could be accelerated by approximately ten years, and up to 30% of currently producing resources could be immediately abandoned because of increased regulations. Transferring new and innovative technologies to the industry can help defer reservoir abandonments, improve regulatory compliance, lower the costs of compliance, reduce risk, and help assure the development of new domestic resources.