The National Petroleum Council's Region 6 Subcommittee study group concludes that substantial areas and volumes of potential source and reservoir rock remain unexplored in the western Gulf basin. A minimum volume of 454,000 cu mi (1,891,800 cu km) of sedimentary rock with favorable hydrocarbon potential, either gas or oil, is present in the study area. The Potential Gas Committee estimates that 406 trillion cu ft of gas will be found in the future in Region 6. Of this total, 275 trillion cu ft is classified as "possible" and "speculative." Recoverable crude oil reserves added in the future from this same area will be approximately 15 billion bbl. This figure does not include extensions or upward revisions of recoverable crude oil from discoveries made before January 1, 19 9.

Excellent potential exists in the unexplored and partially explored strata of the Pleistocene and upper Miocene-Pliocene in the offshore area, in the Upper Cretaceous Tuscaloosa in the southeastern part of Region 6, in Lower Cretaceous (Trinity) sandstone and carbonate rocks, in extensions of partially explored "post-Louann Salt" formations of Jurassic age, and in lower Paleozoic rocks in the Black Warrior basin.