Oil and Gas: Interior Has Strengthened Its Oversight of Subsea Well Containment, but Should Improve Its Documentation

According to a 2010 Interior study, 97 percent of oil and gas production in federal waters occurs along the U.S. outer continental shelf of the Gulf of Mexico. The outer continental shelf is the submerged lands outside the territorial jurisdiction of all 50 states but within U.S. jurisdiction and control.5 The outer continental shelf contains an estimated 85 billion barrels of oil, and over half of this oil is located in the Gulf of Mexico. Significant reserves also exist in the outer continental shelf off Alaska.