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How Many Blasts Will it Take?
Approximately 285 million seismic blasts from an average vessel would be required to survey the entire U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.
Number of Seismic Blasts | Pounds of TNT equivalent | Estimated COST | ||||
Minerals Management Service Planning area | Total Area (sq. km.) | Blasts required for 25 meter data = 40 blasts/sq. km | Blasts required for 6 meter data = 167 blasts/sq. km | @ 40 blasts /sq. km. | @ 167 blasts /sq. km. | Total cost for data acquisition* @ $7000/sq km |
North Atlantic | 204,894 | 8,195,760 | 34,217,298 | 18,030,672 | 75,278,056 | $ 1,434,258,000 |
Mid Atlantic | 313,677 | 12,547,080 | 52,384,059 | 27,603,576 | 115,244,930 | $ 2,195,739,000 |
South Atlantic | 513,395 | 20,535,800 | 85,736,965 | 45,178,760 | 188,621,323 | $ 3,593,765,000 |
Straits of Florida | 39,442 | 1,577,680 | 6,586,814 | 3,470,896 | 14,490,991 | $ 276,094,000 |
Total Atlantic region | 1,071,440 | 42,857,584 | 178,930,414 | 94,286,685 | 393,646,911 | $ 7,500,077,233 |
Eastern Gulf of Mexico | 306,155 | 12,246,200 | 51,127,885 | 26,941,640 | 112,481,347 | $ 2,143,085,000 |
Central GOM | 193,433 | 7,737,320 | 32,303,311 | 17,022,104 | 71,067,284 | $ 1,354,031,000 |
Western GOM | 145,406 | 5,816,240 | 24,282,802 | 12,795,728 | 53,422,164 | $ 1,017,842,000 |
Total GOM | 644,994 | 25,799,760 | 107,713,998 | 56,759,472 | 236,970,796 | $ 4,514,958,000 |
Central California | 176,758 | 7,070,320 | 29,518,586 | 15,554,704 | 64,940,889 | $ 1,237,306,000 |
Northern California | 181,247 | 7,249,880 | 30,268,249 | 15,949,736 | 66,590,148 | $ 1,268,729,000 |
Southern California | 360,110 | 14,404,400 | 60,138,370 | 31,689,680 | 132,304,414 | $ 2,520,770,000 |
Washington-Oregon | 287,331 | 11,493,240 | 47,984,277 | 25,285,128 | 105,565,409 | $ 2,011,317,000 |
Total Pacific | 1,005,446 | 40,217,840 | 167,909,482 | 88,479,248 | 369,400,860 | $ 7,038,122,000 |
Beaufort Sea | 263,353 | 10,534,120 | 43,979,951 | 23,175,064 | 96,755,892 | $ 1,843,471,000 |
Cook Inlet/ Shelikof Strait | 21,677 | 867,080 | 3,620,059 | 1,907,576 | 7,964,130 | $ 151,739,000 |
Kodiak | 362,418 | 14,496,720 | 60,523,806 | 31,892,784 | 133,152,373 | $ 2,536,926,000 |
Total Alaska Region | 4,396,627 | 175,865,060 | 734,236,626 | 386,903,132 | 1,615,320,577 | $30,776,385,521 |
Total OCS | 7,118,343 | 284,733,720 | 1,188,763,281 | 626,414,184 | 2,615,279,218 | $49,828,401,000 |
Total without AK | 2,721,716 | 108,868,660 | 454,526,655 | 239,511,052 | 999,958,641 | $19,052,015,479 |
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