ABSTRACT
The world's undiscovered but potentially discoverable and recoverable resources of natural gas are estimated at about 5200 trillion cubic feet. There is no question but that the world is going to need all of its hydrocarbon resources, all of its coal resources, and all of its uranium resources. Whatever the magnitude of the world's undiscovered hydrocarbon resources may be; only a portion of those resources will in fact be discovered and produced. The challenge is to maximize the percentage of undiscovered resources that will be made available to fill human energy needs, and this is a function of economic incentives for both exploration and production amongst other things. Human population, quality of life, environmental degradation and natural resource utilization are intimately interdependent and interrelated. Increased natural resource utilization is essential to maintaining life quality for an increasing population.
