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cubic feet to 13.5 trillion cubic feet of gas. The conditional mean 

 estimates were 1.73 billion barrels of oil and 5.25 trillion cubic feet 

 of gas. This means that if a commercial discovery was made in the area 

 proposed for leasing we would, on average, expect to find 1.73 billion 

 barrels of oil and 5.25 trillion cubic feet of gas. It was estimated 

 that there was a .6 probability that no commercial accumulation was 

 present. These resource estimates were based on preliminary mapping 

 of a regional seismic data grid (approximately 7.5 x 12 miles). The 

 only geologic data available in the vicinity of the .proposed sale were 

 from two COST wells drilled in 1976 and 1977. These resource estimates 

 reflect the general optimism prevailing at the time, as evidenced by 

 Sale No. 42 where the Department leased 63 tracts for $817 million in 

 bonus bids. 



In Sale 42, industry offered high dollar bids on deep structures even 

 though data available from the COST wells indicated a lack of potential 

 reservoirs (based on the porosity and permeability of rock structures). 

 This enthusiasm on the part of industry, as reflected in Sale No. 42 



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