DOMESTIC ONSHORE OIL SUPPLY:
A SHORT TERM OPPORTUNITY

Commentary submitted by

Bob Ehrlich,

Geology Professor and VP of Residuum Oil Inc.

Salt Lake City, Utah

     My partners and I have been tracking the consumption / production data for the past few years and have concluded that there will be a short term (10 years) opportunity for profitable onshore hydrocarbon exploration. We strongly agree with Skip Hobbs that more oil can be found in semi-mature basins. Accordingly we have formed a company to exploit this. We are just a year old and are now in phase 1 of our business plan. We are not the only ones. We have heard of several small outfitsconstructing barge-mounted rigs for re-exploration in the shallow off-shore of the Gulf coast. Our approach is to re-explore onshore basins by digitally mining the databasesto provide rapid assessments. Our targets are small fields with 2-10 wells each producing 150-300 bbl/d.

     I don't think that the US govt. can legislate its way out of the present situation. A steady encouragement of energy efficiency and conservation is advisable to moderate demand.

Submitted: September 10, 2000   <bobehrlich@home.com>