WASHINGTON – September 03, 2026 -- The National Petroleum Council (NPC) has issued nine recommendations urging Congress and federal agencies to launch a coordinated national program to assess America's subsurface energy and mineral resources, warning that over 80% of the country's energy needs depend on assets that remain largely unmapped for decades.
The report, titled "American Resources for a Secure Future: A National Cooperative Subsurface Assessment Program," was commissioned by U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and developed by roughly 80 experts spanning state government, Tribal organizations, industry, and academia. It was approved by a full vote of NPC membership.
NPC finds subsurface resources under-characterized despite supplying 80% of US energy
The study identifies oil, natural gas, coal, critical minerals, geothermal energy, geologic hydrogen, and subsurface storage capacity as strategic assets that have not been systematically surveyed in decades. NPC Chair and ConocoPhillips Chairman and CEO Ryan Lance said the gap threatens economic competitiveness, energy security, and advanced manufacturing capacity.
Nine recommendations call for a National Data Portal and legacy data recovery
The report's proposals include accelerating holistic subsurface assessments, prioritizing emerging resources, acquiring priority baseline data, building a National Data Portal, recovering legacy data, evaluating access to proprietary industry data, advancing extraction and mapping technology, establishing long-term collaborative planning, and developing a qualified subsurface workforce through residencies and partnerships.
Program would unite USGS, Marine Minerals Administration, and DOE with states and Tribes
The proposed National Cooperative Subsurface Assessment Program would build on existing federal and state agency authorities, linking the U.S. Geological Survey, the Marine Minerals Administration, and the Department of Energy with state geological surveys, Tribal governments, industry, and academic institutions.
Dr. Berry H. "Nick" Tew, Jr., State Geologist of Alabama and report cochair, said no single state or federal agency can characterize a geologic basin or ore body that crosses jurisdictional borders alone, making cooperative federal-state-Tribal coordination necessary.
Report is third in NPC's Future Energy Systems series, with two more due in December 2026
The subsurface assessment report follows two earlier releases in the series: "Reliable Energy: Delivering on the Promise of Gas-Electric Coordination" and "Bottleneck to Breakthrough: A Permitting Blueprint to Build," both published in December 2025. NPC Executive Director John Dabbar said the recommendations are specific and ready for implementation through policy, legislation, and regulation. Additional reports on produced water and natural gas storage are scheduled for release at the NPC's annual meeting on December 7, 2026.