The Rocky Mountain region is the nation’s only area to show growth in long-term natural-gas resources, according to a report released Tuesday.
The biennial report – closely followed by energy companies, government officials and academics – shows that the Rockies’ gas potential increased 9.3 percent over the past two years while other regions of the U.S. were flat or recorded declines.
“The Rockies, by all estimates, will play a much greater role in natural-gas production over the next 25 years,” said John Curtis, a geology professor at Colorado School of Mines and executive director of the Potential Gas Committee, which compiled the report.
The report shows that proven reserves of natural gas and estimated long-term resources total 1,308 trillion cubic feet – enough, if it could all be recovered, to supply the U.S. for about 60 years.
But potential gas resources nationwide slipped 0.7 percent since the last report two years ago, suggesting that much of the easily produced gas already has been recovered and that remaining supplies will be more difficult and costly to produce.
Estimated gas resources in the Rockies grew from 175 trillion cubic feet in 2002 to 191 trillion cubic feet last year, primarily because geologists and energy companies are using better exploration and production techniques that make more gas potentially recoverable.
“This demonstrates that the Rockies is where the growth is, it’s where the action is,” said Ken Wonstolen, senior vice president of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association.
The study uses geologic surveys to assess the amount of natural gas underlying North America. It lists natural-gas “resources,” a different measure from the more commonly reported “reserves.”
While reserves indicate known quantities of gas that can be economically produced at existing prices and technologies, resources are a longer-term look at gas that could be technically recovered, although possibly at high costs that don’t make current economic sense.
Curtis said the Rockies’ natural-gas production may underperform its geologic potential because of environmental opposition, delays in government permitting and limited access to some public lands.
Staff writer Steve Raabe can be reached at 303-820-1948 or sraabe@denverpost.com.
