The mission of Oil and Gas Environmental Program of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Natural Gas and Petroleum Technology (ONGPT) is to enhance the production of domestic oil and gas while minimizing environmental impacts associated with the recovery of these resources. To achieve these goals, ONGPT's Oil and Gas Environmental Program advocates informed, risk-based environmental regulation. The ONGPT Environmental Program provides technical support for risk-based decision-making, as well as the development of best practices and guidelines that contribute to informed environmental regulation. The Office of Natural Gas and Petroleum Technology previously developed comprehensive measures or "metrics" that estimate the expected future contribution of Oil and Gas Environmental Program activities to such national goals as economic strength, environmental protection, and energy security. Specifically, the environmental metrics analyses estimate the compliance cost savings expected from Oil and Gas Environmental Program activities in the areas of risk assessment, regulatory advocacy, and technology development. These cost savings are used to forecast the economic and energy resources which, in the absence of the ONGPT Environmental Program, might otherwise be lost due to rising environmental compliance costs. Results of the 1996, 1998, and 2000 environmental program metrics analyses predict significant public benefits from ONGPT Environmental Program activities. Future compliance cost savings translate to increased domestic oil and natural gas production because lower well costs extend the profitable operating life of oil or natural gas wells. In turn the incremental increase in oil and natural gas production impacts broader economic measures such as industry revenues, Federal and state revenues and royalties, and direct and indirect employment.