U.S. Cuts Untapped Petroleum Reserves: The Interior...

U.S. Cuts Untapped Petroleum Reserves: The Interior Department said it has lowered by 40% its estimate of untapped and undiscovered U.S. oil resources, reflecting in part the recent failures of promising drilling prospects in the West and offshore. In its first report on undiscovered U.S. oil and natural gas resources since 1981, the Interior Department estimated that the nation has 49 billion barrels of crude oil outside known fields that could be discovered and put into production with existing technology. Eight years ago, it estimated 83 billion barrels of undiscovered crude. One barrel equals 42 gallons.