Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources of North Africa, 2012

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Klett, Timothy R.; Whidden, Katherine J.; Kirschbaum, Mark A.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Cook, Troy A.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Pitman, Janet K.

2013-01-01

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated means of 19 billion barrels of technically recoverable undiscovered conventional oil and 370 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered conventional natural gas resources in 8 geologic provinces of North Africa.

Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources of six geologic provinces of China

USGS Publications Warehouse

Charpentier, Ronald R.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Cook, Troy A.; Klett, Timothy R.; Pitman, Janet K.; Pollastro, Richard M.

2012-01-01

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean volumes of undiscovered conventional petroleum resources in six geologic provinces of China at 14.9 billion barrels of oil, 87.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 1.4 billion barrels of natural-gas liquids.

Geology and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Laptev Sea Shelf Province, 2008

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klett, Timothy; Pitman, Janet K.; Moore, Thomas E.; Gautier, Donald L.

2017-12-21

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently assessed the potential for undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Laptev Sea Shelf Province as part of the 2008 Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal (CARA) program. The province is situated in the Russian Federation and is located between the Taimyr Peninsula and the Novosibirsk (New Siberian) Islands. Three assessment units (AUs) were defined for this study: the West Laptev Grabens AU, the East Laptev Horsts AU, and the Anisin-Novosibirsk AU, two of which were assessed for undiscovered, technically recoverable resources. The East Laptev Horsts AU was not quantitatively assessed. The estimated mean volumes of undiscovered oil and gas for the Laptev Sea Shelf Province are approximately 3 billion barrels of crude oil, 32 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and <1 billion barrels of natural gas liquids, all north of the Arctic Circle.

U.S. Geological Survey 2011 assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Cook Inlet region, south-central Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stanley, Richard G.; Pierce, Brenda S.; Houseknecht, David W.

2011-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has completed an assessment of the volumes of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources in conventional and continuous accumulations in Cook Inlet. The assessment used a geology-based methodology and results from new scientific research by the USGS and the State of Alaska, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys and Division of Oil and Gas (DOG). In the Cook Inlet region, the USGS estimates mean undiscovered volumes of nearly 600 million barrels of oil, about 19 trillion cubic feet of gas, and about 46 million barrels of natural gas liquids.

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Cretaceous-Tertiary Composite Total Petroleum System, Taranaki Basin Assessment Unit, New Zealand

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wandrey, Craig J.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Klett, Timothy R.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Cook, Troy A.; Pollastro, Richard M.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.

2013-01-01

The Cretaceous-Tertiary Composite Total Petroleum System coincident Taranaki Basin Assessment Unit was recently assessed for undiscovered technically recoverable oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids resources as part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) World Energy Resources Project, World Oil and Gas Assessment. Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the USGS estimated mean volumes of 487 million barrels of oil, 9.8 trillion cubic feet of gas, and 408 million barrels of natural gas liquids.

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Volga-Ural Region Province, Russia and Kazakhstan, 2010

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klett, T.R.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Pitman, Janet K.; Cook, Troy A.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.

2010-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean volumes of technically recoverable, conventional, undiscovered petroleum resources at 1.4 billion barrels of crude oil, 2.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 85 million barrels of natural gas liquids for the Volga-Ural Region Province, using a geology-based assessment methodology.

Geology and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Lena-Vilyui Basin Province, 2008

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klett, Timothy; Pitman, Janet K.; Moore, Thomas E.; Gautier, D.L.

2017-11-22

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently assessed the potential for undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Lena-Vilyui Basin Province, north of the Arctic Circle, as part of the Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal program. The province is in the Russian Federation and is situated between the Verkhoyansk fold-and-thrust belt and the Siberian craton. The one assessment unit (AU) defined for this study—the Northern Priverkhoyansk Foredeep AU—was assessed for undiscovered, technically recoverable resources. The estimated mean volumes of undiscovered resources for the Northern Priverkhoyansk Foredeep in the Lena-Vilyui Basin Province are ~400 million barrels of crude oil, 1.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 40 million barrels of natural-gas liquids, practically all (99.49 percent) of which is north of the Arctic Circle.

Geology and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the North Kara Basins and Platforms Province, 2008

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klett, Timothy R.; Pitman, Janet K.; Moore, Thomas E.; Gautier, D.L.

2017-11-15

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently assessed the potential for undiscovered oil and gas resources of the North Kara Basins and Platforms Province as part of the its Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal. This geologic province is north of western Siberia, Russian Federation, in the North Kara Sea between Novaya Zemlya to the west and Severnaya Zemlya to the east. One assessment unit (AU) was defined, the North Kara Basins and Platforms AU, which coincides with the geologic province. This AU was assessed for undiscovered, technically recoverable resources. The total estimated mean volumes of undiscovered petroleum resources in the province are ~1.8 billion barrels of crude oil, ~15.0 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and ~0.4 billion barrels of natural-gas liquids, all north of the Arctic Circle.

Assessment of undiscovered technically recoverable oil and gas resources of Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rico-U.S. Virgin Islands Exclusive Economic Zone, 2013

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Klett, Timothy R.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Pitman, Janet K.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Wandrey, Craig J.; Weaver, Jean N.

2013-01-01

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated means of 19 million barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and 244 billion cubic feet of undiscovered natural gas in the Puerto Rico–U.S. Virgin Islands Exclusive Economic Zone.

Chapter 9: Oil and gas resource potential north of the Arctic Circle

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gautier, D.L.; Bird, K.J.; Charpentier, R.R.; Grantz, A.; Houseknecht, D.W.; Klett, T.R.; Moore, Thomas E.; Pitman, Janet K.; Schenk, C.J.; Schuenemeyer, J.H.; Sorensen, K.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Valin, Z.C.; Wandrey, C.J.

2011-01-01

The US Geological Survey recently assessed the potential for undiscovered conventional petroleumin the Arctic. Using a new map compilation of sedimentary elements, the area north of the Arctic Circle was subdivided into 70 assessment units, 48 of which were quantitatively assessed. The Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal (CARA) was a geologically based, probabilistic study that relied mainly on burial history analysis and analogue modelling to estimate sizes and numbers of undiscovered oil and gas accumulations. The results of the CARA suggest the Arctic is gas-prone with an estimated 770-2990 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered conventional natural gas, most of which is in Russian territory. On an energy-equivalent basis, the quantity of natural gas ismore than three times the quantity of oil and the largest undiscovered gas eld is expected to be about 10 times the size of the largest undiscovered oil eld. In addition to gas, the gas accumulationsmay contain an estimated 39 billion barrels of liquids. The South Kara Sea is themost prospective gas assessment unit, but giant gas elds containingmore than 6 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas are possible at a 50%chance in 10 assessment units. Sixty per cent of the estimated undiscovered oil resource is in just six assessment units, of which the Alaska Platform, with 31%of the resource, is the most prospective. Overall, the Arctic is estimated to contain between 44 and 157 billion barrels of recoverable oil. Billion barrel oil elds are possible at a 50%chance in seven assessment units.Undiscovered oil resources could be signicant to the Arctic nations, but are probably not sufcient to shift the world oil balance away from the Middle East. ?? 2011 The Geological Society of London.

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Central Burma Basin and the Irrawaddy-Andaman and Indo-Burman Geologic Provinces, Myanmar

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wandrey, Craig J.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Klett, Timothy R.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Cook, Troy A.; Pollastro, Richard M.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.

2012-01-01

The Irrawaddy-Andaman and Indo-Burman Geologic Provinces were recently assessed for undiscovered technically recoverable oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids resources as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) World Oil and Gas Assessment. Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the USGS estimated mean volumes of 2.3 billion barrels of oil, 79.6 trillion cubic feet of gas, and 2.1 billion barrels of natrual gas liquids.

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the North Sakhalin Basin Province, Russia, 2011

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klett, T.R.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Wandrey, Craig J.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Pitman, Janet K.; Pollastro, Richard M.; Cook, Troy A.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.

2011-01-01

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated volumes of undiscovered, technically recoverable, conventional petroleum resources for the North Sakhalin Basin Province of Russia. The mean volumes were estimated at 5.3 billion barrels of crude oil, 43.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 0.8 billion barrels of natural gas liquids.

Assessment of Undiscovered Petroleum Resources of Southern and Western Afghanistan, 2009

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wandrey, C.J.; Kosti, Amir Zada; Selab, Amir Mohammad; Omari, Mohammad Karim; Muty, Salam Abdul; Nakshband, Haidari Gulam; Hosine, Abdul Aminulah; Wahab, Abdul; Hamidi, Abdul Wasy; Ahmadi, Nasim; Agena, Warren F.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Cook, Troy; Drenth, B.J.

2009-01-01

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey--Afghanistan Ministry of Mines Joint Oil and Gas Resource Assessment Team estimated mean undiscovered resource volumes of 21.55 million barrels of oil, 44.76 billion cubic feet of non-associated natural gas, and 0.91 million barrels of natural gas liquids in the western Afghanistan Tirpul Assessment Unit (AU) (80230101).

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Uteland Butte Member of the Eocene Green River Formation, Uinta Basin, Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Johnson, Ronald C.; Birdwell, Justin E.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Klett, Timothy R.; Leathers, Heidi M.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.

2015-09-03

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered resources of 214 million barrels of oil, 329 billion cubic feet of associated/dissolved natural gas, and 14 million barrels of natural gas liquids in the informal Uteland Butte member of the Green River Formation, Uinta Basin, Utah.

Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources of Bonaparte Basin, Browse Basin, Northwest Shelf, and Gippsland Basin Provinces, Australia, 2011

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pollastro, Richard M.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Cook, Troy A.; Klett, Timothy R.; Kirschbaum, Mark A.; Pitman, Janet K.; Schenk, Christopher J.

2012-01-01

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated means of 4.7 billion barrels of undiscovered oil and 227 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered natural gas in three major offshore petroleum basins of northwest Australia and in the Gippsland Basin of southeast Australia.

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Williston Basin Province of North Dakota, Montana, and South Dakota, 2010

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2011-01-01

Using a geology-based assessment method, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered volumes of 3.8 billion barrels of undiscovered oil, 3.7 trillion cubic feet of associated/dissolved natural gas, and 0.2 billion barrels of undiscovered natural gas liquids in the Williston Basin Province, North Dakota, Montana, and South Dakota. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed a comprehensive oil and gas assessment of the Williston Basin, which encompasses more than 90 million acres in parts of North Dakota, eastern Montana, and northern South Dakota. The assessment is based on the geologic elements of each total petroleum system (TPS) defined in the province, including hydrocarbon source rocks (source-rock maturation, hydrocarbon generation, and migration), reservoir rocks (sequence stratigraphy and petrophysical properties), and hydrocarbon traps (trap formation and timing). Using this geologic framework, the USGS defined 11 TPS and 19 Assessment Units (AU).

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the North Caspian Basin, Middle Caspian Basin, North Ustyurt Basin, and South Caspian Basin Provinces, Caspian Sea Area, 2010

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klett, T.R.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Gautier, Donald L.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Pitman, Janet K.; Cook, Troy A.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.

2010-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean volumes of technically recoverable, conventional, undiscovered petroleum resources at 19.6 billion barrels of crude oil, 243 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 9.3 billion barrels of natural gas liquids for the Caspian Sea area, using a geology-based assessment methodology.

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Dnieper-Donets Basin Province and Pripyat Basin Province, Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, 2010

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klett, T.R.

2011-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey, using a geology-based assessment methodology, estimated mean volumes of technically recoverable, conventional, undiscovered petroleum resources at 84 million barrels of crude oil, 4.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 130 million barrels of natural gas liquids for the Dnieper-Donets Basin Province and 39 million barrels of crude oil, 48 billion cubic feet of natural gas, and 1 million barrels of natural gas liquids for the Pripyat Basin Province. The assessments are part of a program to estimate these resources for priority basins throughout the world.

Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the East Greenland Rift Basins Province

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gautier, Donald L.

2007-01-01

Northeast Greenland is the prototype for the U.S. Geological Survey's Circum-Arctic Oil and Gas Resource Appraisal. Using a geology-based methodology, the USGS estimates the mean undiscovered, conventional petroleum resources in the province to be approximately 31,400 MBOE (million barrels of oil equivalent) of oil, gas, and natural gas liquids.

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Azov-Kuban Basin Province, Ukraine and Russia, 2010

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klett, T.R.

2011-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey, using a geology-based assessment methodology, estimated mean volumes of technically recoverable, conventional, undiscovered petroleum resources at 218 million barrels of crude oil, 4.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 94 million barrels of natural gas liquids for the Azov-Kuban Basin Province as part of a program to estimate petroleum resources for priority basins throughout the world.

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas in the arctic

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gautier, Donald L.; Bird, Kenneth J.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Grantz, Arthur; Houseknecht, David W.; Klett, Timothy R.; Moore, Thomas E.; Pitman, Janet K.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Schuenemeyer, John H.; Sorensen, Kai; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Valin, Zenon C.; Wandrey, Craig J.

2009-01-01

Among the greatest uncertainties in future energy supply and a subject of considerable environmental concern is the amount of oil and gas yet to be found in the Arctic. By using a probabilistic geology-based methodology, the United States Geological Survey has assessed the area north of the Arctic Circle and concluded that about 30% of the world’s undiscovered gas and 13% of the world’s undiscovered oil may be found there, mostly offshore under less than 500 meters of water. Undiscovered natural gas is three times more abundant than oil in the Arctic and is largely concentrated in Russia. Oil resources, although important to the interests of Arctic countries, are probably not sufficient to substantially shift the current geographic pattern of world oil production.

Assessment of undiscovered continuous gas resources in Upper Devonian Shales of the Appalachian Basin Province, 2017

USGS Publications Warehouse

Enomoto, Catherine B.; Trippi, Michael H.; Higley, Debra K.; Rouse, William A.; Dulong, Frank T.; Klett, Timothy R.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Finn, Thomas M.; Marra, Kristen R.; Le, Phuong A.; Woodall, Cheryl A.; Schenk, Christopher J.

2018-04-19

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable continuous resources of 10.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in Upper Devonian shales of the Appalachian Basin Province.

Assessment of undiscovered, conventional oil and gas resources of Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize, 2012

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Cook, Troy A.; Klett, Timothy R.; Pitman, Janet K.; Pollastro, Richard M.; Weaver, Jean N.

2012-01-01

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated means of 19 billion barrels of oil and 83 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered natural gas resources in 10 geologic provinces of Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize.

Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources of South America and the Caribbean, 2012

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Cook, Troy A.; Klett, Timothy R.; Kirschbaum, Mark A.; Pitman, Janet K.; Pollastro, Richard M.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.

2012-01-01

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated means of 126 billion barrels of oil and 679 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered natural gas in 31 geologic provinces of South America and the Caribbean.

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the southern Siberian craton (Baykit High, Nepa--Botuoba High, Angara--Lena Terrace, and Cis--Patom Foredeep Provinces), Russia, 2011

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klett, T.R.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Wandrey, Craig J.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Pitman, Janet K.; Pollastro, Richard M.; Cook, Troy A.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.

2012-01-01

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated volumes of undiscovered, technically recoverable, conventional petroleum resources for the southern Siberian craton provinces of Russia. The mean volumes were estimated at 3.0 billion barrels of crude oil, 63.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 1.2 billion barrels of natural gas liquids.

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Amu Darya Basin and Afghan-Tajik Basin Provinces, Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, 2011

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klett, T.R.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Wandrey, Craig J.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Pitman, Janet K.; Pollastro, Richard M.; Cook, Troy A.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.

2012-01-01

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated volumes of undiscovered, technically recoverable, conventional petroleum resources for the Amu Darya Basin and Afghan–Tajik Basin Provinces of Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The mean volumes were estimated at 962 million barrels of crude oil, 52 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 582 million barrels of natural gas liquids for the Amu Darya Basin Province and at 946 million barrels of crude oil, 7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 85 million barrels of natural gas liquids for the Afghan–Tajik Basin Province.

An estimate of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources of the world, 2012

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.

2012-01-01

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated means of 565 billion barrels of conventional oil and 5,606 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered conventional natural gas in 171 priority geologic provinces of the world, exclusive of the United States.

Geology and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the West Greenland-East Canada Province, 2008

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Moore, Thomas E.; Gautier, Donald L.

2018-01-05

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently assessed the potential for undiscovered oil and gas resources of the West Greenland-East Canada Province as part of the USGS Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal program. The province lies in the offshore area between western Greenland and eastern Canada and includes Baffin Bay, Davis Strait, Lancaster Sound, and Nares Strait west of, and including, part of Kane Basin. A series of major tectonic events led to the formation of several distinct structural domains that are the geologic basis for defining five assessment units (AU ) in the province, all of which are within the Mesozoic-Cenozoic Composite Total Petroleum System (TPS). Potential petroleum source rocks within the TPS include strata of Ordovician, Lower and Upper Cretaceous, and Paleogene ages. The five AUs defined for this study—the Eurekan Structures AU, Northwest Greenland Rifted Margin AU, Northeast Canada Rifted Margin AU, Baffin Bay Basin AU, and the Greater Ungava Fault Zone AU— encompass the entire province and were assessed for undiscovered, technically recoverable resources. The estimated mean volumes of undiscovered resources for the West GreenlandEast Canada Province are 10.7 billion barrels of oil, 75 trillion cubic feet of gas, and 1.7 billion barrels of natural gas liquids. For the part of the province that is north of the Arctic Circle, the estimated mean volumes of these undiscovered resources are 7.3 billion barrels of oil, 52 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 1.1 billion barrels of natural-gas liquids.

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Cherokee Platform Province area of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri, 2015

USGS Publications Warehouse

Drake II, Ronald M.; Hatch, Joseph R.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Klett, Timothy R.; Le, Phuong A.; Leathers, Heidi M.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Marra, Kristen R.; Pitman, Janet K.; Potter, Christopher J.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.

2015-09-01

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean volumes of undiscovered, technically recoverable resources of 463 million barrels of oil, 11.2 trillion cubic feet of gas, and 35 million barrels of natural gas liquids in the Cherokee Platform Province area of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri.

Geology and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Northwest Laptev Sea Shelf Province, 2008

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klett, Timothy; Pitman, Janet K.; Moore, Thomas E.; Gautier, Donald L.

2017-12-22

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has recently assessed the potential for undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Northwest Laptev Sea Shelf Province as part of the USGS Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal. The province is in the Russian Arctic, east of Severnaya Zemlya and the Taimyr fold-and-thrust belt. The province is separated from the rest of the Laptev Sea Shelf by the Severnyi transform fault. One assessment unit (AU) was defined for this study: the Northwest Laptev Sea Shelf AU. The estimated mean volumes of undiscovered petroleum resources in the Northwest Laptev Sea Shelf Province are approximately 172 million barrels of crude oil, 4.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 119 million barrels of natural-gas liquids, north of the Arctic Circle.

Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources of the Arabian Peninsula and Zagros Fold Belt, 2012

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pitman, Janet K.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Cook, Troy A.; Klett, Timothy R.; Pollastro, Richard M.

2012-01-01

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated means of 86 billion barrels of oil and 336 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered natural gas resources in the Arabian Peninsula and Zagros Fold Belt. The USGS assessed the potential for undiscovered conventional oil and gas accumulations within the Arabian Peninsula and Zagros Fold Belt as part of the USGS World Petroleum Resources Project. Twenty-three assessment units within seven petroleum systems were quantitatively assessed in this study, which represents a reassessment of this area last published in 2000.

Geologic assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources in the Lower Paleogene Midway and Wilcox Groups, and the Carrizo Sand of the Claiborne Group, of the Northern Gulf coast region

USGS Publications Warehouse

Warwick, Peter D.

2017-09-27

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently conducted an assessment of the undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas potential of Tertiary strata underlying the onshore areas and State waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico coastal region. The assessment was based on a number of geologic elements including an evaluation of hydrocarbon source rocks, suitable reservoir rocks, and hydrocarbon traps in an Upper Jurassic-Cretaceous-Tertiary Composite Total Petroleum System defined for the region by the USGS. Five conventional assessment units (AUs) were defined for the Midway (Paleocene) and Wilcox (Paleocene-Eocene) Groups, and the Carrizo Sand of the Claiborne Group (Eocene) interval including: (1) the Wilcox Stable Shelf Oil and Gas AU; (2) the Wilcox Expanded Fault Zone Gas and Oil AU; (3) the Wilcox-Lobo Slide Block Gas AU; (4) the Wilcox Slope and Basin Floor Gas AU; and (5) the Wilcox Mississippi Embayment AU (not quantitatively assessed).The USGS assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources for the Midway-Wilcox-Carrizo interval resulted in estimated mean values of 110 million barrels of oil (MMBO), 36.9 trillion cubic feet of gas (TCFG), and 639 million barrels of natural gas liquids (MMBNGL) in the four assessed units. The undiscovered oil resources are almost evenly divided between fluvial-deltaic sandstone reservoirs within the Wilcox Stable Shelf (54 MMBO) AU and deltaic sandstone reservoirs of the Wilcox Expanded Fault Zone (52 MMBO) AU. Greater than 70 percent of the undiscovered gas and 66 percent of the natural gas liquids (NGL) are estimated to be in deep (13,000 to 30,000 feet), untested distal deltaic and slope sandstone reservoirs within the Wilcox Slope and Basin Floor Gas AU.

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of Papua-New Guinea, Eastern Indonesia, and East Timor, 2011

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Cook, Troy A.; Klett, Timothy R.; Pitman, Janet K.; Pollastro, Richard M.

2012-01-01

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated means of 5.8 billion barrels of oil and 115 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered natural gas in five geologic provinces in the areas of Papua New Guinea, eastern Indonesia, and East Timor.

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Assam, Bombay, Cauvery, and Krishna-Godavari Provinces, South Asia, 2011

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klett, T.R.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Wandrey, Craig J.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Cook, Troy A.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Pitman, Janet K.; Pollastro, Richard M.

2012-01-01

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated volumes of undiscovered, technically recoverable, conventional petroleum resources for the Assam, Bombay, Cauvery, and Krishna–Godavari Provinces, South Asia. The estimated mean volumes are as follows: (1) Assam Province, 273 million barrels of crude oil, 1,559 billion cubic feet of natural gas, and 43 million barrels of natural gas liquids; (2) Bombay Province, 1,854 million barrels of crude oil, 15,417 billion cubic feet of natural gas, and 498 million barrels of natural gas liquids; (3) Cauvery Province, 941 million barrels of crude oil, 25,208 billion cubic feet of natural gas, and 654 million barrels of natural gas liquids; and (4) Krishna–Godavari Province, 466 million barrels of crude oil, 37,168 billion cubic feet of natural gas, and 484 million barrels of natural gas liquids. The totals for the four provinces are 3,534 million barrels of crude oil, 79,352 billion cubic feet of natural gas, and 1,679 million barrels of natural gas liquids.

Assessment of undiscovered oil resources in the Bakken and Three Forks Formations, Williston Basin Province, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota, 2013

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Marra, Kristen R.; Cook, Troy A.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Gautier, Donald L.; Higley, Debra K.; Klett, Timothy R.; Lewan, Michael D.; Lillis, Paul G.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Whidden, Katherine J.

2013-01-01

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered volumes of 7.4 billion barrels of oil, 6.7 trillion cubic feet of associated/dissolved natural gas, and 0.53 billion barrels of natural gas liquids in the Bakken and Three Forks Formations in the Williston Basin Province of Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

Geology and sequence stratigraphy of undiscovered oil and gas resources in conventional and continuous petroleum systems in the Upper Cretaceous Eagle Ford Group and related strata, U.S. Gulf Coast Region

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dubiel, Russell F.; Pearson, Ofori N.; Pitman, Janet K.; Pearson, Krystal M.; Kinney, Scott A.

2012-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently assessed the technically recoverable undiscovered oil and gas onshore and in State waters of the Gulf Coast region of the United States. The USGS defined three assessment units (AUs) with potential undiscovered conventional and continuous oil and gas resources in Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian to Turonian) strata of the Eagle Ford Group and correlative rocks. The assessment is based on geologic elements of a total petroleum system, including hydrocarbon source rocks (source rock maturation, hydrocarbon generation and migration), reservoir rocks (sequence stratigraphy and petrophysical properties), and traps (formation, timing, and seals). Conventional oil and gas undiscovered resources are in updip sandstone reservoirs in the Upper Cretaceous Tuscaloosa and Woodbine Formations (or Groups) in Louisiana and Texas, respectively, whereas continuous oil and continuous gas undiscovered resources reside in the middip and downdip Upper Cretaceous Eagle Ford Shale in Texas and the Tuscaloosa marine shale in Louisiana. Conventional resources in the Tuscaloosa and Woodbine are included in the Eagle Ford Updip Sandstone Oil and Gas AU, in an area where the Eagle Ford Shale and Tuscaloosa marine shale display vitrinite reflectance (Ro) values less than 0.6%. The continuous Eagle Ford Shale Oil AU lies generally south of the conventional AU, is primarily updip of the Lower Cretaceous shelf edge, and is defined by thermal maturity values within shales of the Eagle Ford and Tuscaloosa that range from 0.6 to 1.2% Ro. Similarly, the Eagle Ford Shale Gas AU is defined downdip of the shelf edge where source rocks have Ro values greater than 1.2%. For undiscovered oil and gas resources, the USGS assessed means of: 1) 141 million barrels of oil (MMBO), 502 billion cubic feet of natural gas (BCFG), and 4 million barrels of natural gas liquids (MMBNGL) in the Eagle Ford Updip Sandstone Oil and Gas AU; 2) 853 MMBO, 1707 BCFG, and 34 MMBNGL in the Eagle Ford Shale Oil AU; and 3) 50,219 BCFG and 2009 MMBNGL in the Eagle Ford Shale Gas AU.

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Bossier Formation, U.S. Gulf Coast, 2016

USGS Publications Warehouse

Paxton, Stanley T.; Pitman, Janet K.; Kinney, Scott A.; Gianoutsos, Nicholas J.; Pearson, Ofori N.; Whidden, Katherine J.; Dubiel, Russell F.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Burke, Lauri A.; Klett, Timothy R.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Haines, Seth S.; Varela, Brian A.; Le, Phuong A.; Finn, Thomas M.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Hawkins, Sarah J.; Marra, Kristen R.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.

2017-04-13

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 2.9 billion barrels of conventional oil and 108.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the Upper Jurassic Bossier Formation in onshore lands and State waters of the U.S. Gulf Coast region.

U.S. Geological Survey Assessment of Undiscovered Petroleum Resources of the Hamra Basin, Libya, 2006

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2007-01-01

The Hamra Basin Province encompasses approximately 244,100 square kilometers (94,250 square miles) and is entirely within Libya. One composite total petroleum system (TPS) was defined for this assessment; it extends from Libya westward into adjacent parts of Algeria and southern Tunisia. The Hamra Basin part of the TPS was subdivided into four assessment units for the purpose of resource assessment. The assessment units cover only 172,390 square kilometers of the Hamra Basin Province; the remaining area has little potential for undiscovered petroleum resources because of the absence of petroleum source rocks. Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean volumes of 784 million barrels of crude oil, 4,748 billion cubic feet of natural gas, and 381 million barrels of natural gas liquids in the Hamra Basin of northwestern Libya. Most of the undiscovered crude oil and natural gas are interpreted to be in deeper parts of the Hamra Basin.

Arctic Oil and Natural Gas Potential

EIA Publications

2009-01-01

This paper examines the discovered and undiscovered Arctic oil and natural gas resource base with respect to their location and concentration. The paper also discusses the cost and impediments to developing Arctic oil and natural gas resources, including those issues associated with environmental habitats and political boundaries.

Chapter 41: Geology and petroleum potential of the West Greenland-East Canada Province

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, C.J.

2011-01-01

The US Geological Survey (USGS) assessed the potential for undiscovered oil and gas resources of the West Greenland-East Canada Province as part of the USGS Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal programme. The province lies in the offshore area between western Greenland and eastern Canada and includes Baffin Bay, Davis Strait, Lancaster Sound and Nares Strait west of and including part of Kane Basin. A series of major tectonic events led to the formation of several distinct structural domains that are the geological basis for defining five assessment units (AU) in the province, all of which are within the Mesozoic-Cenozoic Composite Petroleum System. Potential petroleum source rocks include strata of Ordovician, Lower and Upper Cretaceous, and Palaeogene ages. The five AUs defined for this study - the Eurekan Structures AU, NW Greenland Rifted Margin AU, NE Canada Rifted Margin AU, Baffin Bay Basin AU and the Greater Ungava Fault Zone AU - encompass the entire province and were assessed for undiscovered technically recoverable resources. The mean volumes of undiscovered resources for the West Greenland-East Canada Province are 10.7 ?? 109 barrels of oil, 75 ?? 1012 cubic feet of gas, and 1.7 ?? 109 barrels of natural gas liquids. For the part of the province that is north of the Arctic Circle, the estimated mean volumes of these undiscovered resources are 7.3 ?? 109 barrels of oil, 52 ?? 1012 cubic feet of natural gas, and 1.1 ?? 109 barrels of natural gas liquids. ?? 2011 The Geological Society of London.

Assessment of undiscovered continuous oil and gas resources in the Dnieper-Donets Basin and North Carpathian Basin Provinces, Ukraine, Romania, Moldova, and Poland, 2015

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klett, Timothy R.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.

2016-11-30

Using a geology-based methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 13 million barrels of oil and 2,643 billion cubic feet of natural gas in the Dnieper-Donets Basin and North Carpathian Basin Provinces of Ukraine, Romania, Moldova, and Poland.

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Cretaceous Nanushuk and Torok Formations, Alaska North Slope, and summary of resource potential of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, 2017

USGS Publications Warehouse

Houseknecht, David W.; Lease, Richard O.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Rouse, William A.; Jarboe, Palma B.; Whidden, Katherine J.; Garrity, Christopher P.; Lewis, Kristen A.; Heller, Samuel; Craddock, William H.; Klett, Timothy R.; Le, Phuong A.; Smith, Rebecca; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Woodall, Cheryl A.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Finn, Thomas M.

2017-12-22

The U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable resources of 8.7 billion barrels of oil and 25 trillion cubic feet of natural gas (associated and nonassociated) in conventional accumulations in the Cretaceous Nanushuk and Torok Formations in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, adjacent State and Native lands, and State waters. The estimated undiscovered oil resources in the Nanushuk and Torok Formations are significantly higher than previous estimates, owing primarily to recent, larger than anticipated oil discoveries.

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Devonian Marcellus Shale of the Appalachian Basin Province

USGS Publications Warehouse

Coleman, James L.; Milici, Robert C.; Cook, Troy A.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Kirshbaum, Mark; Klett, Timothy R.; Pollastro, Richard M.; Schenk, Christopher J.

2011-01-01

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimated a mean undiscovered natural gas resource of 84,198 billion cubic feet and a mean undiscovered natural gas liquids resource of 3,379 million barrels in the Devonian Marcellus Shale within the Appalachian Basin Province. All this resource occurs in continuous accumulations. In 2011, the USGS completed an assessment of the undiscovered oil and gas potential of the Devonian Marcellus Shale within the Appalachian Basin Province of the eastern United States. The Appalachian Basin Province includes parts of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. The assessment of the Marcellus Shale is based on the geologic elements of this formation's total petroleum system (TPS) as recognized in the characteristics of the TPS as a petroleum source rock (source rock richness, thermal maturation, petroleum generation, and migration) as well as a reservoir rock (stratigraphic position and content and petrophysical properties). Together, these components confirm the Marcellus Shale as a continuous petroleum accumulation. Using the geologic framework, the USGS defined one TPS and three assessment units (AUs) within this TPS and quantitatively estimated the undiscovered oil and gas resources within the three AUs. For the purposes of this assessment, the Marcellus Shale is considered to be that Middle Devonian interval that consists primarily of shale and lesser amounts of bentonite, limestone, and siltstone occurring between the underlying Middle Devonian Onondaga Limestone (or its stratigraphic equivalents, the Needmore Shale and Huntersville Chert) and the overlying Middle Devonian Mahantango Formation (or its stratigraphic equivalents, the upper Millboro Shale and middle Hamilton Group).

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in sandstone reservoirs of the Cotton Valley Group, U.S. Gulf Coast, 2015

USGS Publications Warehouse

Eoff, Jennifer D.; Biewick, Laura R.H.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Burke, Lauri; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Dubiel, Russell F.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Gianoutsos, Nicholas J.; Kinney, Scott A.; Klett, Timothy R.; Leathers, Heidi M.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Paxton, Stanley T.; Pearson, Ofori N.; Pitman, Janet K.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Whidden, Katherine J.

2015-08-11

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered mean volumes of 14 million barrels of conventional oil, 430 billion cubic feet of conventional gas, 34,028 billion cubic feet of continuous gas, and a mean total of 391 million barrels of natural gas liquids in sandstone reservoirs of the Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous Cotton Valley Group in onshore lands and State waters of the U.S. Gulf Coast region.

U.S. Geological Survey circum-arctic resource appraisal

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gautier, D.L.

2011-01-01

Among the greatest uncertainties in future energy supply is the amount of oil and gas yet to be found in the Arctic. Using a probabilistic geology-based methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey has assessed the area north of the Arctic Circle. The Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal (CARA) consists of three parts: (1) Mapping the sedimentary sequences of the Arctic (Grantz and others 2009), (2) Geologically based estimation of undiscovered technically recoverable petroleum (Gautier and others 2009, discussed in this presentation) and (3) Economic appraisal of the cost of delivering the undiscovered resources to major markets (also reported at this conference by White and others). We estimate that about 30% of the world's undiscovered gas and about 13% of the world's undiscovered oil may be present in the Arctic, mostly offshore under less than 500m of water. Billion BOE-plus accumulations of gas and oil are predicted at a 50% probability in the Kara Sea, Barents Sea, offshore East and West Greenland, Canada, and Alaska. On a BOE basis, undiscovered natural gas is three times more abundant than oil in the Arctic and is concentrated in Russian territory. Oil resources, while critically important to the interests of Arctic countries, are probably not sufficient to significantly shift the current geographic patterns of world oil production. Copyright 2011, Offshore Technology Conference.

Geologic assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Albian Clastic and Updip Albian Clastic Assessment Units, U.S. Gulf Coast Region

USGS Publications Warehouse

Merrill, Matthew D.

2016-03-11

U.S. Geological Survey National Oil and Gas Assessments (NOGA) of Albian aged clastic reservoirs in the U.S. Gulf Coast region indicate a relatively low prospectivity for undiscovered hydrocarbon resources due to high levels of past production and exploration. Evaluation of two assessment units (AUs), (1) the Albian Clastic AU 50490125, and (2) the Updip Albian Clastic AU 50490126, were based on a geologic model incorporating consideration of source rock, thermal maturity, migration, events timing, depositional environments, reservoir rock characteristics, and production analyses built on well and field-level production histories. The Albian Clastic AU is a mature conventional hydrocarbon prospect with undiscovered accumulations probably restricted to small faulted and salt-associated structural traps that could be revealed using high resolution subsurface imaging and from targeting structures at increased drilling depths that were unproductive at shallower intervals. Mean undiscovered accumulation volumes from the probabilistic assessment are 37 million barrels of oil (MMBO), 152 billion cubic feet of gas (BCFG), and 4 million barrels of natural gas liquids (MMBNGL). Limited exploration of the Updip Albian Clastic AU reflects a paucity of hydrocarbon discoveries updip of the periphery fault zones in the northern Gulf Coastal region. Restricted migration across fault zones is a major factor behind the small discovered fields and estimation of undiscovered resources in the AU. Mean undiscovered accumulation volumes from the probabilistic assessment are 1 MMBO and 5 BCFG for the Updip Albian Clastic AU.

Evaluation of undiscovered natural gas in the Upper Cretaceous Ferron Coal/Wasatch Plateau Total Petroleum System, Wasatch Plateau and Castle Valley, Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Henry, M.E.; Finn, T.M.

2003-01-01

The Total Petroleum System approach was used to estimate undiscovered gas potential of the Wasatch Plateau and Castle Valley, central Utah. The Ferron Coal/Wasatch Plateau Total Petroleum System was geologically defined and subdivided into seven assessment units, six of which were formally evaluated. Geologic data considered in defining the assessment unit boundaries included thermal maturity, coal presence and thickness, overburden thickness, and faulting intensity. Historical production data were also used to estimate volumes of gas from undrilled areas. The one conventional assessment unit includes almost the entire area of the petroleum system and is characterized by known accumulations that occur in structural or combination traps in sandstone reservoirs. The estimated undiscovered conventional producible gas that may be added to reserves of this unit ranges from a low (F95) of 14.8 billion cubic feet (BCFG) [419 million cubic meters (Mm3)] of gas to a high (F5) of 82 BCFG [2321 Mm3] and a mean value of 39.9 BCFG [1130 Mm3]. Continuous gas accumulations are those in which the entire assessment unit is considered to be gas-charged. Within these assessment units, there may be wells drilled that are not economic successes but all are expected to contain gas. Coalbed gas is in this continuous category. Mean estimates of undiscovered gas for the five continuous assessment units are: (1) Northern Coal Fairway/Drunkards Wash-752.3 BCFG [21,323 Mm3]; (2) Central Coal Fairway/Buzzard Bench-536.7 BCFG [15,194 Mm3]; (3) Southern Coal Fairway-152.6 BCFG [4320 Mm3]; (4) Deep (6000 feet plus) Coal and Sandstone-59.1 BCFG [1673 Mm3]; (5) Southern Coal Outcrop-10.6 BCFG [300 Mm3]; and Joes Valley and Musinia Grabens-not assessed.The mean estimate of undiscovered gas for the entire TPS is 1551.2 BCFG [43,914 Mm3]. There is a 95% chance that at least 855.7 BCFG [24,225 Mm3] and a 5% chance that at least 2504 BCFG [70,888 Mm3] of undiscovered producible gas remain in the TPS. ?? 2003 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Geology and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the East Barents Basins Province and the Novaya Zemlya Basins and Admiralty Arch Province, 2008

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klett, Timothy R.; Moore, Thomas E.; Gautier, D.L.

2017-11-15

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently assessed the potential for undiscovered petroleum resources of the East Barents Basins Province and the Novaya Zemlya Basins and Admiralty Arch Province as part of its Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal. These two provinces are situated northeast of Scandinavia and the northwestern Russian Federation, on the Barents Sea Shelf between Novaya Zemlya to the east and the Barents Platform to the west. Three assessment units (AUs) were defined in the East Barents Basins Province for this study: the Kolguyev Terrace AU, the South Barents and Ludlov Saddle AU, and the North Barents Basin AU. A fourth AU, defined as the Novaya Zemlya Basins and Admiralty Arch AU, coincides with the Novaya Zemlya Basins and Admiralty Arch Province. These four AUs, all lying north of the Arctic Circle, were assessed for undiscovered, technically recoverable resources, resulting in total estimated mean volumes of ~7.4 billion barrels of crude oil, 318 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of natural gas, and 1.4 billion barrels of natural-gas liquids.

Assessment of Appalachian basin oil and gas resources: Devonian gas shales of the Devonian Shale-Middle and Upper Paleozoic Total Petroleum System: Chapter G.9 in Coal and petroleum resources in the Appalachian basin: distribution, geologic framework, and geochemical character

USGS Publications Warehouse

Milici, Robert C.; Swezey, Christopher S.; Ruppert, Leslie F.; Ryder, Robert T.

2014-01-01

This report presents the results of a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessment of the technically recoverable undiscovered natural gas resources in Devonian shale in the Appalachian Basin Petroleum Province of the eastern United States. These results are part of the USGS assessment in 2002 of the technically recoverable undiscovered oil and gas resources of the province. This report does not use the results of a 2011 USGS assessment of the Devonian Marcellus Shale because the area considered in the 2011 assessment is much greater than the area of the Marcellus Shale described in this report. The USGS assessment in 2002 was based on the identification of six total petroleum systems, which include strata that range in age from Cambrian to Pennsylvanian. The Devonian gas shales described in this report are within the Devonian Shale-Middle and Upper Paleozoic Total Petroleum System, which extends generally from New York to Tennessee. This total petroleum system is divided into ten assessment units (plays), four of which are classified as conventional and six as continuous. The Devonian shales described in this report make up four of these continuous assessment units. The assessment results are reported as fully risked fractiles (F95, F50, F5, and the mean); the fractiles indicate the probability of recovery of the assessment amount. The products reported are oil, gas, and natural gas liquids. The mean estimates for technically recoverable undiscovered hydrocarbons in the four gas shale assessment units are 12,195.53 billion cubic feet (12.20 trillion cubic feet) of gas and 158.91 million barrels of natural gas liquids

U.S. Geological Survey 2002 petroleum resource assessment of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPRA)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bird, K.J.; Houseknecht, D.W.

2002-01-01

A new USGS assessment concludes that NPRA holds signicantly greater petroleum resources than previously estimated. Technically recoverable, undiscovered oil beneath the Federal part of NPRA likely ranges between 5.9 and 13.2 billion barrels, with a mean (expected) value of 9.3 billion barrels. An estimated 1.3 to 5.6 billion barrels of those technically recoverable oil resources is economically recoverable at market prices of $22 to $30 per barrel. Technically recoverable, undiscovered nonassociated natural gas for the same area likely ranges between 39.1 and 83.2 trillion cubic feet, with a mean (expected) value of 59.7 trillion cubic feet. The economic viability of this gas will depend on the availability of a natural-gas pipeline for transport to market.

Fueling the Future: Furthering Theater Security with Burma’s Energy Industry

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-10-30

Illustrations Figure Title Page 1. Energy Assessment of Geologic Provinces in Burma, USGS 2 2. China’s “Malacca Dilemma” and...extractable” oil and natural gas. A recent geology-based assessment of undiscovered technically recoverable oil, natural gas and gas liquids conducted... Assessment of Geologic Provinces in Burma, U.S. Geological Survey, 2012 1 C.J. Wandey, et al

Future petroleum energy resources of the world

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ahlbrandt, T.S.

2002-01-01

Is the world running out of oil? Where will future oil and gas supplies come from? To help answer these questions, in 2000 the U.S. Geological Survey completed a new world assessment, exclusive of the United States, of the undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources and potential additions to reserves from field growth.2 One hundred and twenty-eight provinces were assessed in a 100 man-year effort from 1995-2000. The assessed provinces included 76 priority provinces containing 95% of the world's discovered oil and gas and an additional 52 "boutique" provinces, many of which may be highly prospective. Total Petroleum Systems (TPS) were identified and described for each of these provinces along with associated Assessment Units (AU) that are the basic units for assessing undiscovered petroleum. The assessment process coupled geologic analysis with a probabilistic methodology to estimate remaining potential. Within the 128 assessed provinces were 159 TPS and 274 AU. For these provinces, the endowment of recoverable oil-which includes cumulative production, remaining reserves, reserve growth, and undiscovered resources-is estimated at about 3 trillion barrels of oil (TBO). The natural gas endowment is estimated at 2.6 trillion barrels of oil equivalent (TBOE). Oil reserves are currently 1.1 TBO; world consumption is about .028 TBO per year. Natural gas reserves are about 0.8 TBOE; world consumption is about 0.014 TBOE per year. Thus, without any additional discoveries of oil, gas or natural gas liquids, we have about 2 TBOE of proved petroleum reserves. Of the oil and gas endowment of about 5.6 TBOE, we estimate that the world has consumed about 1 TBOE, or 18%, leaving about 82% of the endowment to be utilized or found. Half of the world's undiscovered potential is offshore. Arctic basins with about 25% of undiscovered petroleum resources make up the next great frontier. An additional 279 provinces contain some oil and gas and, if considered, would increase the oil and gas endowment estimates. Whereas petroleum resources in the world appear to be significant, certain countries such as the United States may run into import deficits, particularly oil imports from Mexico and natural gas from both Canada and Mexico. The new assessment has been used as the reference supply case in energy supply models by the International Energy Agency and the Energy Information Agency of the Department of Energy. Climate energy modeling groups such as those at Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and others have also used USGS estimates in global climate models. Many of these models using the USGS estimates converge on potential oil shortfalls in 2036-2040. However, recent articles using the USGS (2000) estimates suggest peaking of oil in 2020-2035 and peaking of non-OPEC (Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries) oil in 2015-2020. Such a short time framework places greater emphasis on a transition to increased use of natural gas; i.e., a methane economy. Natural gas in turn may experience similar supply concerns in the 2050-2060 time frame according to some authors. Coal resources are considerable and provide significant petroleum potential either by extracting natural gas from them, by directly converting them into petroleum products, or by utilizing them to generate electricity, thereby reducing natural gas and oil requirements by fuel substitution. Non-conventional oil and gas are quite common in petroleum provinces of the world and represent a significant resources yet to be fully studied and developed. Seventeen non-conventional AU including coal-bed methane, basin-center gas, continuous oil, and gas hydrate occurrences have been preliminarily identified for future assessment. Initial efforts to assess heavy oil deposits and other non-conventional oil and gas deposits also are under way.

Future Oil and Gas Resources of the World: A Coming Supply Crisis?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahlbrandt, T. S.

2002-05-01

Is the world running out of oil? Where will future oil and gas supplies come from? To help answer these questions, the U.S. Geological Survey completed in 2000 a new assessment of the undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources and potential additions to reserves from field growth. One hundred and twenty-eight provinces were assessed in a 100 man-year effort from 1995-2000. The assessed provinces included 76 priority provinces containing 95 percent of the world's discovered oil and gas and an additional 52 "boutique" provinces, many of which may be highly prospective. Total Petroleum Systems (TPS) were identified and described for each of these provinces along with associated Assessment Units (AU) that are the basic units for assessing undiscovered petroleum. The assessment process coupled geologic analysis with a probabilistic methodology to estimate remaining potential. Within the 128 assessed provinces, were 159 TPS and 274 AU. For these provinces, the endowment of recoverable oil, which includes cumulative production, remaining reserves, reserve growth, and undiscovered resources is estimated at about 3 trillion barrels of oil (TBO). The natural gas endowment is estimated at 2.6 trillion barrels of oil equivalent (TBOE). Oil reserves are currently 1.1 TBO; world consumption is about .028 TBO per year. Natural gas reserves are about .8 TBOE; world consumption is about .014 TBOE. Thus, without any additional discoveries of oil, gas or natural gas liquids, we have about 2 TBOE of proved petroleum reserves. Of the oil and gas endowment of about 5.6 TBOE, we estimate that the world has consumed about 1 TBOE, or 18 percent leaving about 82 percent of endowment to be utilized or found. Half of the world's undiscovered potential is offshore. Arctic basins with about 25 percent of undiscovered petroleum resources make up the next great frontier. An additional 279 provinces contain some oil and gas and, if considered, would increase the oil and gas endowment estimates. While petroleum resources in the world appear to be significant, certain countries such as the U.S. may run into import deficits particularly oil imports from Mexico and natural gas from Canada. The new assessment has been used as the reference supply case in energy supply models by the International Energy Agency and the Energy Information Agency of the Department of Energy. Climate energy modeling groups such as Stanford, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and others have also used the estimates in global climate models. Many of these models using the USGS estimates, converge on potential oil shortfalls in 2036-2040. A transition to increased use of natural gas is expected, but gas in turn may experience similar supply concerns in the 2050-2060 time frame. A coal bridge-to-the-future model as well a realistic view of non-renewable resources in the future will be discussed. Non-conventional oil and gas are quite common in the petroleum provinces of the world and represent a significant resource yet to be fully studied and developed. Seventeen non-conventional AU, including coal-bed methane, basin-center gas, continuous oil, and gas hydrate occurrences, have been preliminarily identified for future assessment. Initial efforts to assess heavy oil deposits and other non-conventional oil and gas deposits are also underway. Digital products from the World Energy Project may be downloaded at (http://energy.cr.usgs.gov/energy/WorldEnergy/WEnergy.html).

Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources, onshore Claiborne Group, United Statespart of the northern Gulf of Mexico Basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hackley, P.C.; Ewing, T.E.

2010-01-01

The middle Eocene Claiborne Group was assessed for undiscovered conventional hydrocarbon resources using established U.S. Geological Survey assessment methodology. This work was conducted as part of a 2007 assessment of Paleogene-Neogene strata of the northern Gulf of Mexico Basin, including the United States onshore and state waters (Dubiel et al., 2007). The assessed area is within the Upper Jurassic-CretaceousTertiary composite total petroleum system, which was defined for the assessment. Source rocks for Claiborne oil accumulations are interpreted to be organic-rich, downdip, shaley facies of the Wilcox Group and the Sparta Sand of the Claiborne Group; gas accumulations may have originated from multiple sources, including the Jurassic Smackover Formation and the Haynesville and Bossier shales, the Cretaceous Eagle Ford and Pearsall (?) formations, and the Paleogene Wilcox Group and Sparta Sand. Hydrocarbon generation in the basin started prior to deposition of Claiborne sediments and is currently ongoing. Primary reservoir sandstones in the Claiborne Group include, from oldest to youngest, the Queen City Sand, Cook Mountain Formation, Sparta Sand, Yegua Formation, and the laterally equivalent Cockfield Formation. A geologic model, supported by spatial analysis of petroleum geology data, including discovered reservoir depths, thicknesses, temperatures, porosities, permeabilities, and pressures, was used to divide the Claiborne Group into seven assessment units (AUs) with three distinctive structural and depositional settings. The three structural and depositional settings are (1) stable shelf, (2) expanded fault zone, and (3) slope and basin floor; the seven AUs are (1) lower Claiborne stable-shelf gas and oil, (2) lower Claiborne expanded fault-zone gas, (3) lower Claiborne slope and basin-floor gas, (4) lower Claiborne Cane River, (5) upper Claiborne stable-shelf gas and oil, (6) upper Claiborne expanded fault-zone gas, and (7) upper Claiborne slope and basin-floor gas. Based on Monte Carlo simulation of justified input parameters, the total estimated mean undiscovered conventional hydrocarbon resources in the seven AUs combined are 52 million bbl of oil, 19.145 tcf of natural gas, and 1.205 billion bbl of natural gas liquids. This article describes the conceptual geologic model used to define the seven Claiborne AUs, the characteristics of each AU, and the justification behind the input parameters used to estimate undiscovered resources for each AU. The great bulk of undiscovered hydrocarbon resources are predicted to be nonassociated gas and natural gas liquids contained in deep (mostiy >12,000-ft [3658 m], present-day drilling depths), overpressured, structurally complex outer shelf or slope and basin-floor Claiborne reservoirs. The continuing development of these downdip objectives is expected to be the primary focus of exploration activity for the onshore middle Eocene Gulf Coast in the coming decades. ?? 2010 U.S. Geological Survey. All rights reserved.

Undiscovered oil and gas resources and leasing status of forestlands in Wyoming

USGS Publications Warehouse

Holm, M.R.; Powers, R.B.; Dolton, G.L.; Law, B.E.; Fox, J.E.; Dersch, J.S.

1993-01-01

All of four national forests, one national grassland, and parts of four additional forests lie within the State of Wyoming. Some of these National Forest System lands have moderate to high potential for undiscovered oil and gas resources. In the 1989 National Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas and in various Open-File Reports, the U.S. Geological Survey described oil and gas plays and presented estimates of recoverable conventional oil and gas resources for these plays. Estimated resources in plays affecting NFS lands in Wyoming are substantial. Of special significance are undiscovered recoverable conventional resources (mean estimate) of approximately 1,010 million barrels of oil, 10,611 billion cubic feet of gas, and 188 million barrels of natural gas liquids assessed in ten plays that include National Forest System lands in the Thunder Basin National Grassland and the Bridger-Teton, Targhee, Caribou, and Shoshone National Forests in Wyoming. Approximately 5,715,570 acres in the forests and grassland are available for leasing or are expected to be available for leasing by mid-1993.Poor accessibility, environmental concerns, and geologic factors such as complex structure and greater drilling depths to potential reservoirs may cause higher exploration risks and operating costs on NFS lands. However, cooperative arrangements with the U.S. Forest Service, in addition to carefully planned exploration and development programs, can facilitate operations in remote and environmentally sensitive areas, and could result in opening new exploration frontiers in Wyoming.

Geologic Assessment of Undiscovered Gas Resources of the Eastern Oregon and Washington Province

USGS Publications Warehouse

U.S. Geological Survey Eastern Oregon and Washington Province Assessment Team, (compiler)

2008-01-01

The purpose of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Oil and Gas Assessment is to develop geology-based hypotheses regarding the potential for additions to oil and gas reserves in priority areas of the United States, focusing on the distribution, quantity, and availability of oil and natural gas resources. The USGS has completed an assessment of the undiscovered oil and gas potential of the Eastern Oregon and Washington Province of Oregon and Washington (USGS Province 5005). The province is a priority Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) province for the National Assessment because of its potential for oil and gas resources. The assessment of this province is based on geologic principles and uses the total petroleum system concept. The geologic elements of a total petroleum system include hydrocarbon source rocks (source rock maturation, hydrocarbon generation and migration), reservoir rocks (stratigraphy, sedimentology, petrophysical properties), and hydrocarbon traps (trap formation and timing). In the Eastern Oregon and Washington Province, the USGS used this geologic framework to define one total petroleum system and two assessment units within the total petroleum system, and quantitatively estimated the undiscovered gas resources within each assessment unit.

Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Nile Delta Basin Province, Eastern Mediterranean

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kirschbaum, Mark A.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Klett, Timothy R.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Pitman, Janet K.; Cook, Troy A.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.

2010-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey estimated means of 1.8 billion barrels of recoverable oil, 223 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas, and 6 billion barrels of natural gas liquids in the Nile Delta Basin Province using a geology-based assessment methodology.

Geologic Assessment of Undiscovered, Technically Recoverable Coalbed-Gas Resources in Cretaceous and Tertiary Rocks, North Slope and Adjacent State Waters, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Roberts, Stephen B.

2008-01-01

The purpose of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Oil and Gas Assessment is to develop geology-based hypotheses regarding the potential for additions to oil and gas reserves in priority areas of the United States, focusing on the distribution, quantity, and availability of oil and natural gas resources. The USGS has completed an assessment of the undiscovered, technically recoverable coalbed-gas resources in Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks underlying the North Slope and adjacent State waters of Alaska (USGS Northern Alaska Province 5001). The province is a priority Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) province for the National Assessment because of its potential for oil and gas resources. The assessment of this province is based on geologic principles and uses the total petroleum system concept. The geologic elements of a total petroleum system include hydrocarbon source rocks (source rock maturation, hydrocarbon generation and migration), reservoir rocks (stratigraphy, sedimentology, petrophysical properties), and hydrocarbon traps (trap formation and timing). In the Northern Alaska Province, the USGS used this geologic framework to define one composite coalbed gas total petroleum system and three coalbed gas assessment units within the petroleum system, and quantitatively estimated the undiscovered coalbed-gas resources within each assessment unit.

Petroleum systems and geologic assessment of undiscovered oil and gas, Cotton Valley group and Travis Peak-Hosston formations, East Texas basin and Louisiana-Mississippi salt basins provinces of the northern Gulf Coast region. Chapters 1-7.

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2006-01-01

The purpose of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Oil and Gas Assessment is to develop geologically based hypotheses regarding the potential for additions to oil and gas reserves in priority areas of the United States. The USGS recently completed an assessment of undiscovered oil and gas potential of the Cotton Valley Group and Travis Peak and Hosston Formations in the East Texas Basin and Louisiana-Mississippi Salt Basins Provinces in the Gulf Coast Region (USGS Provinces 5048 and 5049). The Cotton Valley Group and Travis Peak and Hosston Formations are important because of their potential for natural gas resources. This assessment is based on geologic principles and uses the total petroleum system concept. The geologic elements of a total petroleum system include hydrocarbon source rocks (source rock maturation, hydrocarbon generation and migration), reservoir rocks (sequence stratigraphy and petrophysical properties), and hydrocarbon traps (trap formation and timing). The USGS used this geologic framework to define one total petroleum system and eight assessment units. Seven assessment units were quantitatively assessed for undiscovered oil and gas resources.

Geologic assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in Aptian carbonates, onshore northern Gulf of Mexico Basin, United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hackley, Paul C.; Karlsen, Alexander W.

2014-01-01

Carbonate lithofacies of the Lower Cretaceous Sligo Formation and James Limestone were regionally evaluated using established U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessment methodology for undiscovered conventional hydrocarbon resources. The assessed area is within the Upper Jurassic–Cretaceous–Tertiary Composite total petroleum system, which was defined for the assessment. Hydrocarbons reservoired in carbonate platform Sligo-James oil and gas accumulations are interpreted to originate primarily from the Jurassic Smackover Formation. Emplacement of hydrocarbons occurred via vertical migration along fault systems; long-range lateral migration also may have occurred in some locations. Primary reservoir facies include porous patch reefs developed over paleostructural salt highs, carbonate shoals, and stacked linear reefs at the carbonate shelf margin. Hydrocarbon traps dominantly are combination structural-stratigraphic. Sealing lithologies include micrite, calcareous shale, and argillaceous lime mudstone. A geologic model, supported by discovery history analysis of petroleum geology data, was used to define a single regional assessment unit (AU) for conventional reservoirs in carbonate facies of the Sligo Formation and James Limestone. The AU is formally entitled Sligo-James Carbonate Platform Oil and Gas (50490121). A fully risked mean undiscovered technically recoverable resource in the AU of 50 million barrels of oil (MMBO), 791 billion cubic feet of natural gas (BCFG), and 26 million barrels of natural gas liquids was estimated. Substantial new development through horizontal drilling has occurred since the time of this assessment (2010), resulting in cumulative production of >200 BCFG and >1 MMBO.

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the East Coast Mesozoic basins of the Piedmont, Blue Ridge Thrust Belt, Atlantic Coastal Plain, and New England Provinces, 2011

USGS Publications Warehouse

Milici, Robert C.; Coleman, James L.; Rowan, Elisabeth L.; Cook, Troy A.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Kirschbaum, Mark A.; Klett, Timothy R.; Pollastro, Richard M.; Schenk, Christopher J.

2012-01-01

During the early opening of the Atlantic Ocean in the Mesozoic Era, numerous extensional basins formed along the eastern margin of the North American continent from Florida northward to New England and parts of adjacent Canada. The basins extend generally from the offshore Atlantic continental margin westward beneath the Atlantic Coastal Plain to the Appalachian Mountains. Using a geology-based assessment method, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated a mean undiscovered natural gas resource of 3,860 billion cubic feet and a mean undiscovered natural gas liquids resource of 135 million barrels in continuous accumulations within five of the East Coast Mesozoic basins: the Deep River, Dan River-Danville, and Richmond basins, which are within the Piedmont Province of North Carolina and Virginia; the Taylorsville basin, which is almost entirely within the Atlantic Coastal Plain Province of Virginia and Maryland; and the southern part of the Newark basin (herein referred to as the South Newark basin), which is within the Blue Ridge Thrust Belt Province of New Jersey. The provinces, which contain these extensional basins, extend across parts of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.

1995 National assessment of United States oil and gas resources; results, methodology, and supporting data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gautier, Donald L.; Dolton, G.L.; Takahashi, K.I.; Varnes, K.L.

1995-01-01

This report summarizes the results of a 3-year study of the oil and gas resources of the onshore and state waters of the United States by the U.S. Geological Survey. A parallel study of the Federal offshore is being conducted by the Minerals Management Service. Estimates are made of technically recoverable oil, including measured (proved) reserves, future additions to reserves in existing fields, and undiscovered resources. Estimates are also made of the technically recoverable conventional resources of natural gas in measured reserves, in anticipated growth of reserves in existing fields, and in undiscovered resources. Additionally, an assessment is made of recoverable resources in continuous-type (largely unconventional) accumulations in sandstones, shales, chalks, and coal beds.

Assessment of undiscovered continuous oil and gas resources in the Monterey Formation, Los Angeles Basin Province, California, 2015

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Klett, Timothy R.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Pitman, Janet K.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Hawkins, Sarah J.; Le, Phuong A.; Lillis, Paul G.; Marra, Kristen R.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Schenk, Christopher J.

2016-07-08

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey assessed technically recoverable mean resources of 13 million barrels of oil, 22 billion cubic feet of gas, and 1 million barrels of natural gas liquids in the Monterey Formation of the Los Angeles Basin Province, California.

Geology and assessment of the undiscovered, technically recoverable petroleum resources of Armenia, 2013

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klett, T.R.

2016-02-23

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessed the undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources of Armenia in 2013. A Paleozoic and a Cenozoic total petroleum system (TPS) were identified within the country of Armenia. The postulated petroleum system elements are uncertain, resulting in low geologic probabilities for significant oil an gas resources. Two assessment units (AU) were delineated in each TPS—a Paleozoic-Sourced Conventional Reservoirs AU and a Permian Shale Gas AU in the Paleozoic Composite TPS and a Paleogene-Sourced Conventional Reservoirs AU and a Cenozoic Coalbed Gas AU in the Cenozoic Composite TPS. The TPS elements are largely uncertain and risked, and so only the Paleogene-Sourced Conventional Reservoirs AU was quantitatively assessed because the geologic probability is more than the threshold of 10 percent (that is, the probability of at least one conventional oil or gas accumulation of 5 million barrels of oil equivalent or greater based on postulated petroleum-system elements). The USGS estimated fully risked mean volumes of about 1 million barrels of oil (MMBO), about 6 billion cubic feet of natural gas (BCFG), and less than 1 million barrels of natural gas liquids (MMBNGL).

Petroleum Systems and Geologic Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas, Navarro and Taylor Groups, Western Gulf Province, Texas

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2006-01-01

The purpose of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Oil and Gas Assessment is to develop geologically based hypotheses regarding the potential for additions to oil and gas reserves in priority areas of the United States. The USGS recently completed an assessment of undiscovered oil and gas potential of the Late Cretaceous Navarro and Taylor Groups in the Western Gulf Province in Texas (USGS Province 5047). The Navarro and Taylor Groups have moderate potential for undiscovered oil resources and good potential for undiscovered gas resources. This assessment is based on geologic principles and uses the total petroleum system concept. The geologic elements of a total petroleum system include hydrocarbon source rocks (source rock maturation, hydrocarbon generation and migration), reservoir rocks (sequence stratigraphy and petrophysical properties), and hydrocarbon traps (trap formation and timing). The USGS used this geologic framework to define one total petroleum system and five assessment units. Five assessment units were quantitatively assessed for undiscovered oil and gas resources.

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Susitna Basin, southern Alaska, 2017

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stanley, Richard G.; Potter, Christopher J.; Lewis, Kristen A.; Lillis, Paul G.; Shah, Anjana K.; Haeussler, Peter J.; Phillips, Jeffrey D.; Valin, Zenon C.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Klett, Timothy R.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Drake II, Ronald M.; Finn, Thomas M.; Haines, Seth S.; Higley, Debra K.; Houseknecht, David W.; Le, Phuong A.; Marra, Kristen R.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Paxton, Stanley T.; Pearson, Ofori N.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Woodall, Cheryl A.; Zyrianova, Margarita V.

2018-05-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed an assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources in the Susitna Basin of southern Alaska. Using a geology-based methodology, the USGS estimates that mean undiscovered volumes of about 2 million barrels of oil and nearly 1.7 trillion cubic feet of gas may be found in this area.

2010 updated assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPRA)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Houseknecht, D.W.; Bird, K.J.; Schuenemeyer, J.H.; Attanasi, E.D.; Garrity, C.P.; Schenk, C.J.; Charpentier, R.R.; Pollastro, R.M.; Cook, T.A.; and Klett, T.R.

2010-01-01

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean volumes of 896 million barrels of oil (MMBO) and about 53 trillion cubic feet (TCFG) of nonassociated natural gas in conventional, undiscovered accumulations within the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska and adjacent State waters. The estimated volume of undiscovered oil is significantly lower than estimates released in 2002, owing primarily to recent exploration drilling that revealed an abrupt transition from oil to gas and reduced reservoir quality in the Alpine sandstone 15-20 miles west of the giant Alpine oil field. The National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPRA) has been the focus of oil exploration during the past decade, stimulated by the mid-1990s discovery of the adjacent Alpine field-the largest onshore oil discovery in the United States during the past 25 years. Recent activities in NPRA, including extensive 3-D seismic surveys, six Federal lease sales totaling more than $250 million in bonus bids, and completion of more than 30 exploration wells on Federal and Native lands, indicate in key formations more gas than oil and poorer reservoir quality than anticipated. In the absence of a gas pipeline from northern Alaska, exploration has waned and several petroleum companies have relinquished assets in the NPRA. This fact sheet updates U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimates of undiscovered oil and gas in NPRA, based on publicly released information from exploration wells completed during the past decade and on the results of research that documents significant Cenozoic uplift and erosion in NPRA. The results included in this fact sheet-released in October 2010-supersede those of a previous assessment completed by the USGS in 2002.

Assessment of Appalachian basin oil and gas resources:Devonian shale - Middle and Upper Paleozoic Total Petroleum System

USGS Publications Warehouse

Milici, Robert C.; Swezey, Christopher S.

2006-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed an assessment of the technically recoverable undiscovered hydrocarbon resources of the Appalachian Basin Province. The assessment province includes parts of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. The assessment was based on six major petroleum systems, which include strata that range in age from Cambrian to Pennsylvanian. The Devonian Shale-Middle and Upper Paleozoic Total Petroleum System (TPS) extends generally from New York to Tennessee. This petroleum system has produced a large proportion of the oil and natural gas that has been discovered in the Appalachian basin since the drilling of the Drake well in Pennsylvania in 1859. For assessment purposes, the TPS was divided into 10 assessment units (plays), 4 of which were classified as conventional and 6 as continuous. The results were reported as fully risked fractiles (F95, F50, F5 and the Mean), with the fractiles indicating the probability of recovery of the assessment amount. Products reported were oil (millions of barrels of oil, MMBO), gas (billions of cubic feet of gas, BCFG), and natural gas liquids (millions of barrels of natural gas liquids, MMBNGL). The mean estimates for technically recoverable undiscovered hydrocarbons in the TPS are: 7.53 MMBO, 31,418.88 BCFG (31.42 trillion cubic feet) of gas, and 562.07 MMBNGL.

Chapter 4: The GIS Project for the Geologic Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas in the Upper Cretaceous Navarro and Taylor Groups, Western Gulf Province, Texas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Biewick, Laura

2006-01-01

A geographic information system (GIS) focusing on the Upper Cretaceous Navarro and Taylor Groups in the Gulf Coast region was developed as a visual-analysis tool for the U.S. Geological Survey's 2003 assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and natural gas resources in the Western Gulf Province. The Central Energy Resources Team of the U.S. Geological Survey has also developed an Internet Map Service to deliver the GIS data to the general public. This mapping tool utilizes information from a database about the oil and natural gas endowment of the United States - including physical locations of geologic and geographic data - and converts the data into visual layers. Portrayal and analysis of geologic features on an interactive map provide an excellent tool for understanding domestic oil and gas resources for strategic planning, formulating economic and energy policies, evaluating lands under the purview of the Federal Government, and developing sound environmental policies. Assessment results can be viewed and analyzed or downloaded from the internet web site.

Assessment of undiscovered shale gas and shale oil resources in the Mississippian Barnett Shale, Bend Arch–Fort Worth Basin Province, North-Central Texas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Marra, Kristen R.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Lewan, Michael D.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Klett, Timothy R.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Le, Phuong A.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Pitman, Janet K.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.

2015-12-17

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean volumes of 53 trillion cubic feet of shale gas, 172 million barrels of shale oil, and 176 million barrels of natural gas liquids in the Barnett Shale of the Bend Arch–Fort Worth Basin Province of Texas.

1995 National Assessment of United States Oil and Gas Resources: Results, Methodology, and Supporting Data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gautier, Donald L.; Dolton, Gordon L.; Takahashi, Kenneth I.; Varnes, Katharine L.

1996-01-01

This revised CD-ROM summarizes the results, released in 1995, of the 3-year study of the oil and gas resources of the onshore and state waters of the United States. Minor errors in the original DDS-30 (listed in DDS-35 and DDS-36) are corrected in this revised version and in the data files now released in DDS-35 and DDS-36. Estimates are made of technically recoverable oil, including measured (proved) reserves, future additions to reserves in existing fields, and undiscovered resources. Estimates are also made of the technically recoverable conventional resources of natural gas in measured reserves, in anticipated growth of reserves in existing fields, and in undiscovered resources. Additionally, an assessment is made of recoverable resources in continuous-type (largely unconventional) accumulations in sandstones, shales, chalks, and coal beds.

The Progreso Basin Province of Northwestern Peru and Southwestern Ecuador: Neogene and Cretaceous-Paleogene Total Petroleum Systems

USGS Publications Warehouse

Higley, Debra K.

2004-01-01

The Progreso Basin province (6083) in northwestern Peru and southwestern Ecuador consists of the Paleogene Santa Elena block and Peru Bank, and the Neogene Tumbes-Progreso subbasin. The Santa Elena block and Peru Bank are part of the Cretaceous-Paleogene Total Petroleum System (TPS)(608302), which contains the Cretaceous-Paleogene Santa Elena Block Assessment Unit (60830201). The Tumbes- Progreso subbasin includes the Neogene TPS (608301) and associated Neogene Pull-Apart Basin Assessment Unit (60830101). The complex tectonic history of the Progreso Basin province influenced depositional and erosional patterns across the region, and also the location, timing, and types of seals, traps, possible source and reservoir rocks, and hydrocarbon generation and migration. Marine shales that are interbedded with and overlie reservoir intervals are the probable hydrocarbon source rocks. Timing of hydrocarbon generation and migration was probably Miocene and younger, following creation of the Tumbes-Progreso subbasin by movement along the Dolores-Guayaquil megashear. More than 220 million barrels of oil (MMBO) and 255 billion cubic feet of gas (BCFG) have been produced from the Progreso Basin province. The means of estimated recoverable oil, gas, and natural gas liquids (NGL) resources from undiscovered fields in the province are 237 MMBO, 695 BCFG, and 32 MMB NGL, respectively. The means of estimated recoverable oil, gas, and NGL resources from undiscovered onshore fields are 45 MMBO, 113 BCFG, and 5 MMBNGL, and from undiscovered offshore fields are 192 BBO, 582 BCFG, and 27 MMBNGL. These are USGS grown undiscovered resources that were determined by using a minimum field size of 1 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Geology and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Timan-Pechora Basin Province, Russia, 2008

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Moore, Thomas E.; Gautier, D.L.

2017-11-15

The Timan-Pechora Basin Province is a triangular area that represents the northeasternmost cratonic block of east European Russia. A 75-year history of petroleum exploration and production in the area there has led to the discovery of more than 16 billion barrels of oil (BBO) and 40 trillion cubic feet of gas (TCFG). Three geologic assessment units (AUs) were defined for assessing the potential for undiscovered oil and gas resources in the province: (1) the Northwest Izhma Depression AU, which includes all potential structures and reservoirs that formed in the northwestern part of the Izhma-Pechora Depression, although this part of the basin contains only sparse source and reservoir rocks and so was not assessed quantitatively; (2) the Main Basin Platform AU, which includes all potential structures and reservoirs that formed in the central part of the basin, where the tectonic and petroleum system evolution was complex; and (3) the Foredeep Basins AU, which includes all potential structures and reservoirs that formed within the thick sedimentary section of the foredeep basins west of the Uralian fold and thrust belt during the Permian and Triassic Uralian orogeny.For the Timan-Pechora Basin Province, the estimated means of undiscovered resources are 3.3 BBO, 17 TCFG, and 0.3 billion barrels of natural-gas liquids (BBNGL). For the AU areas north of the Arctic Circle in the province, the estimated means of undiscovered resources are 1.7 BBO, 9.0 TCFG, and 0.2 BBNGL. These assessment results indicate that exploration in the Timan-Pechora Basin Province is at a mature level.

Assessment of undiscovered gas resources of the Thrace Basin, Turkey, 2015

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Klett, Timothy R.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Pitman, Janet K.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Le, Phuong A.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Marra, Kristen R.; Hawkins, Sarah J.; Brownfield, Michael E.

2016-01-27

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey assessed undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 787 billion cubic feet of conventional gas and 1,630 billion cubic feet of unconventional gas in the Thrace Basin, Turkey.

Chapter 19: Geology and petroleum potential of the east Barents Sea Basins and Admiralty Arch

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klett, T.R.; Pitman, Janet K.

2011-01-01

The US Geological Survey (USGS) recently assessed the potential for undiscovered oil and gas resources of the East Barents Basins and Novaya Zemlya Basins and Admiralty Arch Provinces as part of the USGS Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal. These two provinces are located NE of Scandinavia and the northwestern Russian Federation, on the Barents Sea Shelf between Novaya Zemlya to the east and the Barents Platform to the west. Three assessment units (AUs) were defined in the East Barents Basins for this study - Kolguyev Terrace Assessment Unit (AU), South Barents Basin and Ludlov Saddle AU, and North Barents Basin AU. A fourth, defined as Novaya Zemlya Basins and Admiralty Arch AU, is coincident with the Novaya Zemlya basins and Admiralty Arch Province. These AUs, all lying north of the Arctic Circle, were assessed for undiscovered, technically recoverable resources resulting in total estimated mean volumes of approximately 7.4 billion barrels of crude oil, 318 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 1.4 billion barrels of natural gas liquids. ?? 2011 The Geological Society of London.

National Assessment of Oil and Gas Project: geologic assessment of undiscovered gas hydrate resources on the North Slope, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

USGS AK Gas Hydrate Assessment Team: Collett, Timothy S.; Agena, Warren F.; Lee, Myung Woong; Lewis, Kristen A.; Zyrianova, Margarita V.; Bird, Kenneth J.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Cook, Troy A.; Houseknecht, David W.; Klett, Timothy R.; Pollastro, Richard M.

2014-01-01

Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey have completed the first assessment of the undiscovered, technically recoverable gas hydrate resources beneath the North Slope of Alaska. This assessment indicates the existence of technically recoverable gas hydrate resources—that is, resources that can be discovered, developed, and produced using current technology. The approach used in this assessment followed standard geology-based USGS methodologies developed to assess conventional oil and gas resources. In order to use the USGS conventional assessment approach on gas hydrate resources, three-dimensional industry-acquired seismic data were analyzed. The analyses indicated that the gas hydrates on the North Slope occupy limited, discrete volumes of rock bounded by faults and downdip water contacts. This assessment approach also assumes that the resource can be produced by existing conventional technology, on the basis of limited field testing and numerical production models of gas hydrate-bearing reservoirs. The area assessed in northern Alaska extends from the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska on the west through the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on the east and from the Brooks Range northward to the State-Federal offshore boundary (located 3 miles north of the coastline). This area consists mostly of Federal, State, and Native lands covering 55,894 square miles. Using the standard geology-based assessment methodology, the USGS estimated that the total undiscovered technically recoverable natural-gas resources in gas hydrates in northern Alaska range between 25.2 and 157.8 trillion cubic feet, representing 95 percent and 5 percent probabilities of greater than these amounts, respectively, with a mean estimate of 85.4 trillion cubic feet.

USGS World Petroleum Assessment 2000: New Conventional Provinces

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ahlbrandt, T.S.; Klett, T.R.

2000-01-01

The USGS has completed a new assessment of the undiscovered oil and gas resources of the world. One hundred and five geologic provinces were analyzed for assessment. Assessment units (AU) that comprise Total Petroleum Systems (TPS) were identified and described for each of these provinces. The AU served as the basis for assessing undiscovered petroleum within these provinces, 157 TPS and 270 AU were assessed. Some of data included in the assessment include the cumulative percent of world known petroleum volume by ranked oil and gas provinces; undiscovered NGL; reserve growth of the worlds largest oil and gas fields; and world potential reserve growth for oil/gas/NGL.

Undiscovered oil and gas resources of Lower Silurian Qusaiba-Paleozoic total petroleum systems, Arabian Peninsula

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ahlbrandt, T.S.; Pollastro, R.M.; Schenk, C.J.

2002-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed an assessment of the undiscovered conventional oil and gas potential of 128 of the world’s petroleum provinces (U.S. Geological Survey World Energy Assessment Team, 2000). In each province, the USGS defined Total Petroleum Systems, and Assessment Units in each Total Petroleum System, and then quantitatively estimated the undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources. Of the eight global regions studied by the USGS, the Arabian Peninsula portion of the Middle East region was estimated to contain the greatest volumes of undiscovered oil and gas. The Lower Silurian Qusaiba Member of the Qalibah Formation is the source rock for some of the most important Total Petroleum Systems of the Middle East region. For example, the sources of the gas in the supergiant North field of Qatar and Iran and recent giant light oil discoveries in central Saudi Arabia were largely organic-rich, Qusaiba marine mudstones.

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in conventional and continuous petroleum systems in the Upper Cretaceous Eagle Ford Group, U.S. Gulf Coast region, 2011

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dubiel, Russell F.; Pitman, Janet K.; Pearson, Ofori N.; Pearson, Krystal; Kinney, Scott A.; Lewan, Michael D.; Burke, Lauri; Biewick, Laura; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Cook, Troy A.; Klett, Timothy R.; Pollastro, Richard M.; Schenk, Christopher J.

2012-01-01

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey assessed means of (1) 141 million barrels of oil (MMBO), 502 billion cubic feet of natural gas (BCFG), and 16 million barrels of natural gas liquids (MMBNGL) in the conventional Eagle Ford Updip Sandstone Oil and Gas Assessment Unit (AU); (2) 853 MMBO, 1,707 BCFG, and 34 MMBNGL in the continuous Eagle Ford Shale Oil AU; and (3) 50,219 BCFG and 2,009 MMBNGL in the continuous Eagle Ford Shale Gas AU in onshore lands and State waters of the Gulf Coast.

Geologic assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources--Middle Eocene Claiborne Group, United States part of the Gulf of Mexico Basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hackley, Paul C.

2012-01-01

The Middle Eocene Claiborne Group was assessed using established U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessment methodology for undiscovered conventional hydrocarbon resources as part of the 2007 USGS assessment of Paleogene-Neogene strata of the United States part of the Gulf of Mexico Basin including onshore and State waters. The assessed area is within the Upper Jurassic-Cretaceous-Tertiary Composite total petroleum system, which was defined as part of the assessment. Source rocks for Claiborne oil accumulations are interpreted to be organic-rich downdip shaley facies of the Wilcox Group and the Sparta Sand of the Claiborne Group; gas accumulations may have originated from multiple sources including the Jurassic Smackover and Haynesville Formations and Bossier Shale, the Cretaceous Eagle Ford and Pearsall(?) Formations, and the Paleogene Wilcox Group and Sparta Sand. Hydrocarbon generation in the basin started prior to deposition of Claiborne sediments and is ongoing at present. Emplacement of hydrocarbons into Claiborne reservoirs has occurred primarily via vertical migration along fault systems; long-range lateral migration also may have occurred in some locations. Primary reservoir sands in the Claiborne Group include, from oldest to youngest, the Queen City Sand, Cook Mountain Formation, Sparta Sand, Yegua Formation, and the laterally equivalent Cockfield Formation. Hydrocarbon traps dominantly are rollover anticlines associated with growth faults; salt structures and stratigraphic traps also are important. Sealing lithologies probably are shaley facies within the Claiborne and in the overlying Jackson Group. A geologic model, supported by spatial analysis of petroleum geology data including discovered reservoir depths, thicknesses, temperatures, porosities, permeabilities, and pressures, was used to divide the Claiborne Group into seven assessment units (AU) with distinctive structural and depositional settings. The AUs include (1) Lower Claiborne Stable Shelf Gas and Oil (50470120), (2) Lower Claiborne Expanded Fault Zone Gas (50470121), (3) Lower Claiborne Slope and Basin Floor Gas (50470122), (4) Lower Claiborne Cane River (50470123), (5) Upper Claiborne Stable Shelf Gas and Oil (50470124), (6) Upper Claiborne Expanded Fault Zone Gas (50470125), and (7) Upper Claiborne Slope and Basin Floor Gas (50470126). Total estimated mean undiscovered conventional hydrocarbon resources in the seven assessment units combined are 52 million barrels of oil, 19.145 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 1.205 billion barrels of natural gas liquids. A recurring theme that emerged from the evaluation of the seven Claiborne AUs is that the great bulk of undiscovered hydrocarbon resources comprise non-associated gas and condensate contained in deep (mostly >12,000 feet), overpressured, structurally complex outer shelf or slope and basin floor reservoirs. The continuing development of these downdip objectives is expected to be the primary focus of exploration activity for the onshore Middle Eocene Gulf Coast in the coming decades.

Chapter 5. Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources-Lower Cretaceous Travis Peak and Hosston formations, Jurassic Smackover interior salt basins total petroleum system, in the East Texas basin and Louisiana-Mississippi salt basins provinces.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dyman, T.S.; Condon, S.M.

2006-01-01

The petroleum assessment of the Travis Peak and Hosston Formations was conducted by using a total petroleum system model. A total petroleum system includes all of the important elements of a hydrocarbon fluid system needed to develop oil and gas accumulations, including source and reservoir rocks, hydrocarbon generation, migration, traps and seals, and undiscovered accumulations. A total petroleum system is mappable and may include one or more assessment units. For each assessment unit, reservoir rocks contain similar geology, exploration characteristics, and risk. The Jurassic Smackover Interior Salt Basins Total Petroleum System is defined for this assessment to include (1) Upper Jurassic Smackover carbonates and calcareous shales and organic-rich shales of the Upper Jurassic Bossier Shale of the Cotton Valley Group and (2) Lower Cretaceous Travis Peak and Hosston Formations. The Jurassic Smackover Interior Salt Basins Total Petroleum System includes three conventional Travis Peak-Hosston assessment units: Travis Peak-Hosston Gas and Oil (AU 50490205), Travis Peak-Hosston Updip Oil (AU 50490206), and Travis Peak-Hosston Hypothetical Updip Oil (AU 50490207). A fourth assessment unit, the Hosston Hypothetical Slope-Basin Gas Assessment Unit, was named and numbered (AU 50490208) but not geologically defined or quantitatively assessed owing to a lack of data. Together, assessment units 50490205 to 50490207 are estimated to contain a mean undiscovered conventional resource of 29 million barrels of oil, 1,136 billion cubic feet of gas, and 22 million barrels of natural gas liquids.

Geologic assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources—Lower Cretaceous Albian to Upper Cretaceous Cenomanian carbonate rocks of the Fredericksburg and Washita Groups, United States Gulf of Mexico Coastal Plain and State Waters

USGS Publications Warehouse

Swanson, Sharon M.; Enomoto, Catherine B.; Dennen, Kristin O.; Valentine, Brett J.; Cahan, Steven M.

2017-02-10

In 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessed Lower Cretaceous Albian to Upper Cretaceous Cenomanian carbonate rocks of the Fredericksburg and Washita Groups and their equivalent units for technically recoverable, undiscovered hydrocarbon resources underlying onshore lands and State Waters of the Gulf Coast region of the United States. This assessment was based on a geologic model that incorporates the Upper Jurassic-Cretaceous-Tertiary Composite Total Petroleum System (TPS) of the Gulf of Mexico basin; the TPS was defined previously by the USGS assessment team in the assessment of undiscovered hydrocarbon resources in Tertiary strata of the Gulf Coast region in 2007. One conventional assessment unit (AU), which extends from south Texas to the Florida panhandle, was defined: the Fredericksburg-Buda Carbonate Platform-Reef Gas and Oil AU. The assessed stratigraphic interval includes the Edwards Limestone of the Fredericksburg Group and the Georgetown and Buda Limestones of the Washita Group. The following factors were evaluated to define the AU and estimate oil and gas resources: potential source rocks, hydrocarbon migration, reservoir porosity and permeability, traps and seals, structural features, paleoenvironments (back-reef lagoon, reef, and fore-reef environments), and the potential for water washing of hydrocarbons near outcrop areas.In Texas and Louisiana, the downdip boundary of the AU was defined as a line that extends 10 miles downdip of the Lower Cretaceous shelf margin to include potential reef-talus hydrocarbon reservoirs. In Mississippi, Alabama, and the panhandle area of Florida, where the Lower Cretaceous shelf margin extends offshore, the downdip boundary was defined by the offshore boundary of State Waters. Updip boundaries of the AU were drawn based on the updip extent of carbonate rocks within the assessed interval, the presence of basin-margin fault zones, and the presence of producing wells. Other factors evaluated were the middle Cenomanian sea-level fall and erosion that removed large portions of platform and platform-margin carbonate sediments in the Washita Group of central Louisiana. The production history of discovered reservoirs and well data within the AU were examined to estimate the number and size of undiscovered oil and gas reservoirs within the AU. Using the USGS National Oil and Gas Assessment resource assessment methodology, mean volumes of 40 million barrels of oil, 622 billion cubic feet of gas, and 14 million barrels of natural gas liquids are the estimated technically recoverable undiscovered resources for the Fredericksburg-Buda Carbonate Platform-Reef Gas and Oil AU.

Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Red Sea Basin Province

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2010-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean volumes of 5 billion barrels of undiscovered technically recoverable oil and 112 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas in the Red Sea Basin Province using a geology-based assessment methodology.

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Cuyo Basin Province, Argentina, 2017

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Le, Phuong A.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Finn, Thomas M.; Hawkins, Sarah J.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Marra, Kristen R.; Klett, Timothy R.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Woodall, Cheryl A.

2017-07-18

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable resources of 236 million barrels of oil and 112 billion cubic feet of associated gas in the Cuyo Basin Province, Argentina.

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Lower Indus Basin, Pakistan, 2017

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Klett, Timothy R.; Finn, Thomas M.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Marra, Kristen R.; Le, Phuong A.; Hawkins, Sarah J.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.

2017-09-19

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable resources of 164 million barrels of oil and 24.6 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Lower Indus Basin, Pakistan.

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Lusitanian Basin Province, Portugal, 2016

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Klett, Timothy R.; Finn, Thomas M.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Marra, Kristen R.; Le, Phuong A.; Hawkins, Sarah J.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Paxton, Stanley T.

2016-11-04

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey assessed mean undiscovered, technically recoverable resources of 121 million barrels of oil and 212 billion cubic feet of gas in the Lusitanian Basin Province, Portugal.

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the North-Central Montana Province, 2017

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Woodall, Cheryl A.; Le, Phuong A.; Klett, Timothy R.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Finn, Thomas M.; Pitman, Janet K.; Marra, Kristen R.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.

2018-02-12

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable resources of 55 million barrels of oil and 846 billion cubic feet of gas in the North-Central Montana Province.

Assessment of undiscovered continuous oil and gas resources in the Hanoi Trough, Vietnam, 2017

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Woodall, Cheryl A.; Le, Phuong A.; Klett, Timothy R.; Finn, Thomas M.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Marra, Kristen R.

2018-02-13

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable continuous resources of 52 million barrels of oil and 591 billion cubic feet of gas in the Hanoi Trough of Vietnam.

Chapter 7. The GIS project for the geologic assessment of undiscovered oil and gas in the Cotton Valley group and Travis Peak and Hosston formations, East Texas basin and Louisiana-Mississippi salt basins provinces.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Biewick, Laura

2006-01-01

A geographic information system (GIS) focusing on the Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous Cotton Valley Group and the Lower Cretaceous Travis Peak and Hosston Formations in the northern Gulf Coast region was developed as a visual-analysis tool for the U.S. Geological Survey's 2002 assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and natural gas resources in the East Texas Basin and Louisiana-Mississippi Salt Basins Provinces. The Central Energy Resources Team of the U.S. Geological Survey has also developed an Internet Map Service to deliver the GIS data to the public. This mapping tool utilizes information from a database about the oil and natural gas endowment of the United States-including physical locations of geologic and geographic data-and converts the data into visual layers. Portrayal and analysis of geologic features on an interactive map provide an excellent tool for understanding domestic oil and gas resources for strategic planning, formulating economic and energy policies, evaluating lands under the purview of the Federal Government, and developing sound environmental policies. Assessment results can be viewed and analyzed or downloaded from the internet web site, http://energy.cr.usgs.gov/oilgas/noga/ .

Assessment of undiscovered conventional and continuous oil and gas resources of the Baltic Depression Province, 2014

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brownfield, Michael E.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Klett, Timothy R.; Pitman, Janet K.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Le, Phuong A.; Leathers, Heidi M.

2015-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean volumes of undiscovered, technically recoverable resources of 282 million barrels of conventional oil, 576 billion cubic feet of conventional gas, 1.3 billion barrels of continuous oil, and 4.6 trillion cubic feet of shale gas in the Baltic Depression Province.

Assessment of undiscovered continuous oil and gas resources in the Monterey Formation, San Joaquin Basin Province, California, 2015

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Klett, Timothy R.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Pitman, Janet K.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Hawkins, Sarah J.; Lillis, Paul G.; Marra, Kristen R.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Leathers, Heidi M.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Whidden, Katherine J.

2015-10-06

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey assessed mean volumes of 21 million barrels of oil (MMBO), 27 billion cubic feet of gas, and 1 million barrels of natural gas liquids in two assessment units (AUs) that may contain continuous oil resources. Mean volumes of oil for the individual assessment units are 14 MMBO in the Monterey Buttonwillow AU and 7 MMBO in the Monterey Maricopa AU.

Undiscovered petroleum resources for the Woodford Shale and Thirteen Finger Limestone-Atoka Shale assessment units, Anadarko Basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Higley, Debra K.

2011-01-01

In 2010 the U.S. Geological Survey assessed undiscovered oil and gas resources for the Anadarko Basin Province of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. The assessment included three continuous (unconventional) assessment units (AU). Mean undiscovered resources for the (1) Devonian Woodford Shale Gas AU are about 16 trillion cubic feet of gas (TCFG) and 192 million barrels of natural gas liquids (MMBNGL), (2) Woodford Shale Oil AU are 393 million barrels of oil (MMBO), 2 TCFG, and 59 MMBNGL, and (3) Pennsylvanian Thirteen Finger Limestone-Atoka Shale Gas AU are 6.8 TCFG and 82 MMBNGL. The continuous gas AUs are mature for gas generation within the deep basin of Oklahoma and Texas. Gas generation from the Woodford Shale source rock started about 335 Ma, and from the Thirteen Finger Limestone-Atoka Shale AU about 300 Ma. Maturation results are based on vitrinite reflectance data, and on 1D and 4D petroleum system models that calculated vitrinite reflectance (Ro), and Rock-Eval and hydrous pyrolysis transformation (HP) ratios through time for petroleum source rocks. The Woodford Shale Gas AU boundary and sweet spot were defined mainly on (1) isopach thickness from well-log analysis and published sources; (2) estimated ultimate recoverable production from existing, mainly horizontal, wells; and (3) levels of thermal maturation. Measured and modeled Ro ranges from about 1.2% to 5% in the AU, which represents marginally mature to overmature for gas generation. The sweet spot included most of the Woodford that was deposited within eroded channels in the unconformably underlying Hunton Group. The Thirteen Finger Limestone-Atoka Shale Gas AU has no known production in the deep basin. This AU boundary is based primarily on the gas generation window, and on thickness and distribution of organic-rich facies from these mainly thin shale and limestone beds. Estimates of organic richness were based on well-log signatures and published data.

Petroleum geology and total petroleum systems of the Widyan Basin and Interior Platform of Saudi Arabia and Iraq

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fox, James E.; Ahlbrandt, Thomas S.

2002-01-01

The Widyan Basin-Interior Platform Province (2023) ranks 17th in the world, exclusive of the United States, with 62.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent of total petroleum endowment (cumulative production plus remaining petroleum plus estimated mean undiscovered volumes). Mean estimates of undiscovered petroleum for the province, which includes both Paleozoic and Jurassic petroleum systems as well as portions of three additional total petroleum systems from adjacent provinces, are 21.22 billion barrels of oil, 94.75 trillion cubic feet of gas (15.8 billion barrels of oil equivalent), and 6.85 billion barrels of natural gas liquids. The Paleozoic total petroleum system is dominantly gas prone, whereas the volumetrically larger Jurassic total petroleum system is oil prone - resulting in the characterization of the province as an oil province. The discovery maturity for the province is a relatively low 31 percent, meaning that much of the province petroleum potential lies in the future.

Total petroleum systems of the Illizi Province, Algeria and Libya; Tanezzuft-Illizi

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klett, T.R.

2000-01-01

Undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources were assessed within a total petroleum system of the Illizi Province (2056) as part of the U.S. Geological Survey World Petroleum Assessment 2000. The Illizi Province is in eastern Algeria and a small portion of western Libya. The province and its total petroleum system coincide with the Illizi Basin. Although several total petroleum systems may exist within the Illizi Province, only one “composite” total petroleum system is identified. This total petroleum system comprises a single assessment unit. The main source rocks are the Silurian Tanezzuft Formation (or lateral equivalents) and Middle to Upper Devonian mudstone. The total petroleum system was named after the oldest major source rock and the basin in which it resides. The estimated means of the undiscovered conventional petroleum volumes in the Tanezzuft-Illizi Total Petroleum System are 2,814 million barrels of oil (MMBO), 27,785 billion cubic feet of gas (BCFG), and 873 million barrels of natural gas liquids (MMBNGL).

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Canning Basin Province, Australia, 2017

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Woodall, Cheryl A.; Finn, Thomas M.; Le, Phuong A.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Marra, Kristen R.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.

2018-05-31

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable resources of 1.3 billion barrels of oil and 34.4 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Canning Basin Province of Australia.

Assessment of undiscovered continuous oil and gas resources in the Bohaiwan Basin Province, China, 2017

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Woodall, Cheryl A.; Finn, Thomas M.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Le, Phuong A.; Klett, Timothy R.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Marra, Kristen R.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Potter, Christopher J.

2018-02-07

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable continuous resources of 2.0 billion barrels of oil and 20.3 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Bohaiwan Basin Province, China.

Economics of Undiscovered Oil and Gas in the North Slope of Alaska: Economic Update and Synthesis

USGS Publications Warehouse

Attanasi, E.D.; Freeman, P.A.

2009-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has published assessments by geologists of undiscovered conventional oil and gas accumulations in the North Slope of Alaska; these assessments contain a set of scientifically based estimates of undiscovered, technically recoverable quantities of oil and gas in discrete oil and gas accumulations that can be produced with conventional recovery technology. The assessments do not incorporate economic factors such as recovery costs and product prices. The assessors considered undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources in four areas of the North Slope: (1) the central North Slope, (2) the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPRA), (3) the 1002 Area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), and (4) the area west of the NPRA, called in this report the 'western North Slope'. These analyses were prepared at different times with various minimum assessed oil and gas accumulation sizes and with slightly different assumptions. Results of these past studies were recently supplemented with information by the assessment geologists that allowed adjustments for uniform minimum assessed accumulation sizes and a consistent set of assumptions. The effort permitted the statistical aggregation of the assessments of the four areas composing the study area. This economic analysis is based on undiscovered assessed accumulation distributions represented by the four-area aggregation and incorporates updates of costs and technological and fiscal assumptions used in the initial economic analysis that accompanied the geologic assessment of each study area.

Assessment of undiscovered continuous gas resources in the Amu Darya Basin Province of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, and Afghanistan, 2017

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Hawkins, Sarah J.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Marra, Kristen R.; Klett, Timothy R.; Le, Phuong A.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Woodall, Cheryl A.

2017-08-17

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable continuous resources of 35.1 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Amu Darya Basin Province of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, and Afghanistan.

Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources in the Wyoming Thrust Belt Province, Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah, 2017

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Woodall, Cheryl A.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Le, Phuong A.; Klett, Timothy R.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Finn, Thomas M.; Marra, Kristen R.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.

2018-02-16

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable resources of 26 million barrels of oil and 700 billion cubic feet of gas in the Wyoming Thrust Belt Province, Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah.

Assessment of the Mesaverde Total Petroleum System in Southwestern Wyoming Province: a petroleum system approach to assessing undiscovered oil and gas resources

USGS Publications Warehouse

Johnson, Ronald C.; Finn, Thomas M.

2003-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey, in a recent assessment of the undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Southwestern Wyoming Province using a Total Petroleum System (TPS) approach, estimated a mean of 84.6 trillion cubic feet of gas (TCFG), 131 million barrels of oil (MMBO) and 2.6 billion barrels of natural gas liquids (BBNGL) that have the potential to be added to reserves over the next 30 years. Only a fraction of this, however, may be economically recoverable . Of the total estimate of 84.6 TCFG, a mean of 25.78 TCFG is in continuous-type reservoirs in the Mesaverde TPS. The Mesaverde TPS is defined as all reservoirs predominantly containing gas derived from the Mesaverde Group east of the pinchout of the Lewis Shale, which acts as a top seal separating the Mesaverde TPS from the overlying Lewis TPS. Continuous-type reservoirs in the Mesaverde TPS were subdivided into the Almond Continuous Gas Assessment Unit (AU) (mean of 13.35 TCFG), Rock Springs-Ericson Continuous Gas AU (mean of 12.18 TCFG), and the Mesaverde Coalbed Gas AU (mean of 0.25 TCFG). Geologic analysis was used to determine the favorable ?sweet spots? for potential gas resources. The Almond AU has been heavily explored at depths less than 11,000 ft, thus additions to reserves will most likely be the result of infill drilling in existing fields and the discovery of sweet spots at depths greater than 11,000 ft. There is much uncertainty in the size of undiscovered resource in the Rock Springs-Ericson AU because potential reservoirs are only sparsely explored. Only a small fraction of in-place coal-bed gas is considered to be recoverable because of low permeability and problems posed by produced water.

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Taoudeni Basin Province, Mali and Mauritania, 2015

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brownfield, Michael E.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Klett, Timothy R.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Pitman, Janet K.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Le, Phuong A.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Marra, Kristen R.; Hawkins, Sarah J.

2016-03-31

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 160 million barrels of conventional oil, 1,880 billion cubic feet of conventional gas, 602 million barrels of shale oil, and 6,395 billion cubic feet of shale gas in the Taoudeni Basin Province in Mali and Mauritania.

Assessment of the undiscovered oil and gas of the Senegal province, Mauritania, Senegal, the Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau, northwest Africa

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brownfield, Michael E.; Charpentier, Ronald R.

2003-01-01

Undiscovered, conventional oil and gas resources were assessed in the Senegal Province as part of the U.S. Geological Survey World Petroleum Assessment 2000 (U.S. Geological Survey World Energy Assessment Team, 2000). Although several total petroleum systems may exist in the province, only one composite total petroleum system, the Cretaceous-Tertiary Composite Total Petroleum System, was defined with one assessment unit, the Coastal Plain and Offshore Assessment Unit, having sufficient data to allow quantitative assessment. The primary source rocks for the Cretaceous-Tertiary Composite Total Petroleum System are the Cenomanian-Turonian marine shales. The Turonian shales can be as much as 150 meters thick and contain Type II organic carbon ranging from 3 to 10 weight percent. In the Senegal Province, source rocks are mature even when situated at depths relatively shallow for continental passive margin basins. Reservoir rocks consist of Upper Cretaceous sandstones and lower Tertiary clastic and carbonate rocks. The Lower Cretaceous platform carbonate rocks (sealed by Cenomanian shales) have porosities ranging from 10 to 23 percent. Oligocene carbonate rock reservoirs exist, such as the Dome Flore field, which contains as much as 1 billion barrels of heavy oil (10? API, 1.6 percent sulfur) in place. The traps are a combination of structural closures and stratigraphic pinch-outs. Hydrocarbon production in the Senegal Province to date has been limited to several small oil and gas fields around Cape Verde (also known as the Dakar Peninsula) from Upper Cretaceous sandstone reservoirs bounded by normal faults, of which three fields (two gas and one oil) exceed the minimum size assessed in this study (1 MMBO; 6 BCFG). Discovered known oil resources in the Senegal Province are 10 MMBO, with known gas resources of 49 BCFG (Petroconsultants, 1996). This study estimates that 10 percent of the total number of potential oil and gas fields (both discovered and undiscovered) of at least the minimum size have been discovered. The estimated mean size and number of assessed, undiscovered oil fields are 13 MMBO and 13 fields, respectively, whereas the mean size and number of undiscovered gas fields are estimated to be 50 BCFG and 11 fields. The mean estimates for undiscovered conventional petroleum resources are 157 MMBO, 856 BCFG, and 43 MMBNGL (table 2). The mean sizes of the largest anticipated undiscovered oil and gas fields are 66 MMBO and 208 BCFG, respectively. The Senegal Province is underexplored considering its large size. The province has hydrocarbon potential in both the offshore and onshore, and undiscovered gas resources may be significant and accessible in areas where the zone of oil generation is relatively shallow.

Supporting data for the U.S. Geological Survey 2012 world assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources

USGS Publications Warehouse

World Conventional Resources Assessment Team, USGS

2013-01-01

This report provides information pertaining to the 2012 U.S. Geological Survey assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable conventional oil and gas resources of the world, exclusive of the United States. Some of the results were previously published, mostly in USGS fact sheet series.

Executive summary--2002 assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the San Juan Basin Province, exclusive of Paleozoic rocks, New Mexico and Colorado: Chapter 1 in Total petroleum systems and geologic assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the San Juan Basin Province, exclusive of Paleozoic rocks, New Mexico and Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2013-01-01

In 2002, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimated undiscovered oil and gas resources that have the potential for additions to reserves in the San Juan Basin Province (5022), New Mexico and Colorado (fig. 1). Paleozoic rocks were not appraised. The last oil and gas assessment for the province was in 1995 (Gautier and others, 1996). There are several important differences between the 1995 and 2002 assessments. The area assessed is smaller than that in the 1995 assessment. This assessment of undiscovered hydrocarbon resources in the San Juan Basin Province also used a slightly different approach in the assessment, and hence a number of the plays defined in the 1995 assessment are addressed differently in this report. After 1995, the USGS has applied a total petroleum system (TPS) concept to oil and gas basin assessments. The TPS approach incorporates knowledge of the source rocks, reservoir rocks, migration pathways, and time of generation and expulsion of hydrocarbons; thus the assessments are geologically based. Each TPS is subdivided into one or more assessment units, usually defined by a unique set of reservoir rocks, but which have in common the same source rock. Four TPSs and 14 assessment units were geologically evaluated, and for 13 units, the undiscovered oil and gas resources were quantitatively assessed.

Petroleum Systems and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas in the Raton Basin - Sierra Grande Uplift Province, Colorado and New Mexico - USGS Province 41

USGS Publications Warehouse

Higley, Debra K.

2007-01-01

Introduction The purpose of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Oil and Gas Assessment is to develop geologically based hypotheses regarding the potential for additions to oil and gas reserves in priority areas of the United States. The USGS recently completed an assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Raton Basin-Sierra Grande Uplift Province of southeastern Colorado and northeastern New Mexico (USGS Province 41). The Cretaceous Vermejo Formation and Cretaceous-Tertiary Raton Formation have production and undiscovered resources of coalbed methane. Other formations in the province exhibit potential for gas resources and limited production. This assessment is based on geologic principles and uses the total petroleum system concept. The geologic elements of a total petroleum system include hydrocarbon source rocks (source rock maturation, hydrocarbon generation and migration), reservoir rocks (sequence stratigraphy and petrophysical properties), and hydrocarbon traps (trap formation and timing). The USGS used this geologic framework to define two total petroleum systems and five assessment units. All five assessment units were quantitatively assessed for undiscovered gas resources. Oil resources were not assessed because of the limited potential due to levels of thermal maturity of petroleum source rocks.

National Assessment of Oil and Gas Project: Petroleum Systems and Geologic Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas, Hanna, Laramie, and Shirley Basins Province, Wyoming

USGS Publications Warehouse

U.S. Geological Survey Hanna, Laramie

2007-01-01

INTRODUCTION The purpose of the U.S. Geological Survey?s (USGS) National Oil and Gas Assessment is to develop geologically based hypotheses regarding the potential for additions to oil and gas reserves in priority areas of the United States. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed an assessment of the undiscovered oil and gas potential of the Hanna, Laramie, and Shirley Basins Province in Wyoming and northeastern Colorado. The assessment is based on the geologic elements of each total petroleum system (TPS) defined in the province, including hydrocarbon source rocks (source-rock maturation, hydrocarbon generation, and migration), reservoir rocks (sequence stratigraphy and petrophysical properties), and hydrocarbon traps (trap formation and timing). Using this geologic framework, the USGS defined three TPSs and seven assessment units (AUs) within them; undiscovered resources for three of the seven AUs were quantitatively assessed.

Assessment of undiscovered continuous oil and gas resources in the Heath Formation, central Montana and western North Dakota, 2016

USGS Publications Warehouse

Drake, Ronald M.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Klett, Timothy R.; Le, Phuong A.; Leathers, Heidi M.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Finn, Thomas M.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Marra, Kristen R.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.

2017-06-07

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 884 million barrels of oil and 106 billion cubic feet of gas in the North-Central Montana and Williston Basin Provinces of central Montana and western North Dakota.

Assessment of undiscovered continuous oil and gas resources in the Domanik-type formations of the Volga-Ural Region Province, Russia, 2017

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klett, Timothy R.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Finn, Thomas M.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Le, Phuong A.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Marra, Kristen R.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Pitman, Janet K.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Woodall, Cheryl A.

2018-02-27

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable continuous resources of 2.8 billion barrels of oil and 34 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Domanik-type formations of the Volga-Ural Region Province, Russia.

Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Uinta-Piceance Province of Colorado and Utah, 2002

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2002-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed an assessment of the undiscovered oil and gas potential of the UintaPiceance Province of northwestern Colorado and northeastern Utah (fig. 1). The assessment of the Uinta-Piceance Province is geology based and uses the Total Petroleum System concept. The geologic elements of Total Petroleum Systems include hydrocarbon source rocks (source rock maturation, hydrocarbon generation and migration), reservoir rocks (sequence stratigraphy, petrophysical properties), and hydrocarbon traps (trap formation and timing). Using this geologic framework, the USGS defined five Total Petroleum Systems and 20 Assessment Units within these Total Petroleum Systems, and quantitatively estimated the undiscovered oil and gas resources within each Assessment Unit (table 1).

Total petroleum system assessment of undiscovered resources in the giant Barnett Shale continuous (unconventional) gas accumulation, Fort Worth Basin, Texas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pollastro, R.M.

2007-01-01

Undiscovered natural gas having potential for additions to reserves in the Mississippian Barnett Shale of the Fort Worth Basin, north-central Texas, was assessed using the total petroleum system assessment unit concept and a cell-based methodology for continuous-type (Unconventional) resources. The Barnett-Paleozoic total petroleum system is defined in the Bend arch-Fort Worth Basin as encompassing the area in which the organic-rich Barnett is the primary source rock for oil and gas produced from Paleozoic carbonate and clastic reservoirs. Exploration, technology, and drilling in the Barnett Shale play have rapidly evolved in recent years, with about 3500 vertical and 1000 horizontal wells completed in the Barnett through 2005 and more than 85% of the them completed since 1999. Using framework geology and historical production data, assessment of the Barnett Shale was performed by the U.S. Geological Survey using vertical wells at the peak of vertical well completions and before a transition to completions with horizontal wells. The assessment was performed after (1) mapping critical geological and geochemical parameters to define assessment unit areas with future potential, (2) defining distributions of drainage area (cell size) and estimating ultimate recovery per cell, and (3) estimating future success rates. Two assessment units are defined and assessed for the Barnett Shale continuous gas accumulation, resulting in a total mean undiscovered volume having potential for additions to reserves of 26.2 TCFG. The greater Newark East fracture-barrier continuous Barnett Shale gas assessment unit represents a core-producing area where thick, organic-rich, siliceous Barnett Shale is within the thermal window for gas generation (Ro ??? 1.1%) and is overlain and underlain by impermeable limestone barriers (Pennsylvanian Marble Falls Limestone and Ordovician Viola Limestone, respectively) that serve to confine induced fractures during well completion to maximize gas recovery. The extended continuous Barnett Shale gas assessment unit, which had been less explored, defines a geographic area where Barnett Shale is (1) within the thermal window for gas generation, (2) greater than 100 ft (30 m) thick, and (3) where at least one impermeable limestone barrier is absent. Mean undiscovered gas having potential for additions to reserves in the greater Newark East assessment unit is estimated at 14.6 tcf, and in the less tested extended assessment unit, a mean resource is estimated at 11.6 TCFG. A third hypothetical basin-arch Barnett Shale oil assessment unit was defined but not assessed because of a lack of production data. Copyright ?? 2007. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All rights reserved.

National Assessment of Oil and Gas Project: Geologic Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Eastern Great Basin Province, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, and Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2007-01-01

Introduction The purpose of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Oil and Gas Assessment is to develop geologically based hypotheses regarding the potential for additions to oil and gas reserves in priority areas of the United States. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed an assessment of the undiscovered oil and gas potential of the Eastern Great Basin Province of eastern Nevada, western Utah, southeastern Idaho, and northwestern Arizona. This assessment is based on geologic principles and uses the total petroleum system concept. The geologic elements of a total petroleum system include hydrocarbon source rocks (source rock maturation, hydrocarbon generation and migration), reservoir rocks (sequence stratigraphy and petrophysical properties), and hydrocarbon traps (trap formation and timing). The USGS used this geologic framework to define one total petroleum system and three assessment units. All three assessment units were quantitatively assessed for undiscovered oil and gas resources.

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Ventura Basin Province, California, 2016

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Pitman, Janet K.; Lillis, Paul G.; Klett, Timothy R.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Finn, Thomas M.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Hawkins, Sarah J.; Marra, Kristen R.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Le, Phuong A.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.

2017-10-02

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed a geology-based assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable conventional and continuous oil and gas resources in the part of the Ventura Basin Province that lies onshore or within State waters (within 3 miles of the shoreline) of California (fig. 1). Conventional oil and gas resources are those that have migrated upward into structural or stratigraphic traps from deep zones where the oil and gas is generated; water is present below the oil or gas. Continuous accumulations, in contrast, are those in which oil or gas is pervasively present in essentially all wells that penetrate them, that may not be structurally or stratigraphically trapped, and that typically lack oil-water or gas-water contacts. They are commonly produced with well-stimulation technology, such as hydraulic fracturing, referred to as “unconventional.” The same stimulation technology, however, is also used in many conventionally trapped accumulations. We estimated both the likely range of oil and gas volumes remaining to be discovered in accumulations similar to existing conventional oil and gas fields in the Ventura Basin Province (previously assessed by Keller [1995] as 1,060 million barrels of oil [MMBO], 1,900 billion cubic feet of gas [BCFG], and 60 million barrels of natural gas liquids [MMBNGL]), and the potential for oil and gas that might be present in a continuous accumulation at extreme depth in the floor of the basin.

Total petroleum systems and geologic assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the San Juan Basin Province, exclusive of Paleozoic rocks, New Mexico and Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2013-01-01

In 2002, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimated undiscovered oil and gas resources that have the potential for additions to reserves in the San Juan Basin Province, New Mexico and Colorado. Paleozoic rocks were not appraised. The last oil and gas assessment for the province was in 1995. There are several important differences between the 1995 and 2002 assessments. The area assessed is smaller than that in the 1995 assessment. This assessment of undiscovered hydrocarbon resources in the San Juan Basin Province also used a slightly different approach in the assessment, and hence a number of the plays defined in the 1995 assessment are addressed differently in this report. After 1995, the USGS has applied a total petroleum system (TPS) concept to oil and gas basin assessments. The TPS approach incorporates knowledge of the source rocks, reservoir rocks, migration pathways, and time of generation and expulsion of hydrocarbons; thus the assessments are geologically based. Each TPS is subdivided into one or more assessment units, usually defined by a unique set of reservoir rocks, but which have in common the same source rock. Four TPSs and 14 assessment units were geologically evaluated, and for 13 units, the undiscovered oil and gas resources were quantitatively assessed.

Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources in the downdip Paleogene formations, U.S. Gulf Coast, 2017

USGS Publications Warehouse

Buursink, Marc L.; Doolan, Colin A.; Enomoto, Catherine B.; Craddock, William H.; Coleman, James L.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Klett, Timothy R.; Le, Phuong A.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Marra, Kristen R.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Pearson, Ofori N.; Pitman, Janet K.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Whidden, Katherine J.; Woodall, Cheryl A.

2018-05-25

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable conventional resources of 100 million barrels of oil and 16.5 trillion cubic feet of gas in the downdip Paleogene formations in onshore lands and State waters of the U.S. Gulf Coast region.

Assessment of undiscovered continuous oil and gas resources of Upper Cretaceous Shales in the Songliao Basin of China, 2017

USGS Publications Warehouse

Potter, Christopher J.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Pitman, Janet K.; Klett, Timothy R.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Finn, Thomas M.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Marra, Kristen R.; Woodall, Cheryl A.

2018-05-03

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable resources of 3.3 billion barrels of oil and 887 billion cubic feet of gas in shale reservoirs of the Upper Cretaceous Qingshankou and Nenjiang Formations in the Songliao Basin of northeastern China.

Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources in the West Korea Bay–North Yellow Sea Basin, North Korea and China, 2017

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Hawkins, Sarah J.; Finn, Thomas M.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Marra, Kristen R.; Klett, Timothy R.; Le, Phuong A.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Woodall, Cheryl A.

2017-07-11

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable conventional resources of 1.1 billion barrels of oil and 2.2 trillion cubic feet of gas in the West Korea Bay–North Yellow Sea Basin, North Korea and China.

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Haynesville Formation, U.S. Gulf Coast, 2016

USGS Publications Warehouse

Paxton, Stanley T.; Pitman, Janet K.; Kinney, Scott A.; Gianoutsos, Nicholas J.; Pearson, Ofori N.; Whidden, Katherine J.; Dubiel, Russell F.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Burke, Lauri A.; Klett, Timothy R.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Haines, Seth S.; Varela, Brian A.; Le, Phuong A.; Finn, Thomas M.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Hawkins, Sarah J.; Marra, Kristen R.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.

2017-04-13

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 1.1 billion barrels of conventional oil and 195.8 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Upper Jurassic Haynesville Formation in onshore lands and State waters of the U.S. Gulf Coast region.

Comparison of two probability distributions used to model sizes of undiscovered oil and gas accumulations: Does the tail wag the assessment?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Attanasi, E.D.; Charpentier, R.R.

2002-01-01

Undiscovered oil and gas assessments are commonly reported as aggregate estimates of hydrocarbon volumes. Potential commercial value and discovery costs are, however, determined by accumulation size, so engineers, economists, decision makers, and sometimes policy analysts are most interested in projected discovery sizes. The lognormal and Pareto distributions have been used to model exploration target sizes. This note contrasts the outcomes of applying these alternative distributions to the play level assessments of the U.S. Geological Survey's 1995 National Oil and Gas Assessment. Using the same numbers of undiscovered accumulations and the same minimum, medium, and maximum size estimates, substitution of the shifted truncated lognormal distribution for the shifted truncated Pareto distribution reduced assessed undiscovered oil by 16% and gas by 15%. Nearly all of the volume differences resulted because the lognormal had fewer larger fields relative to the Pareto. The lognormal also resulted in a smaller number of small fields relative to the Pareto. For the Permian Basin case study presented here, reserve addition costs were 20% higher with the lognormal size assumption. ?? 2002 International Association for Mathematical Geology.

Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the West Greenland-East Canada Province, 2008

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Bird, Kenneth J.; Brown, Philip J.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Gautier, Donald L.; Houseknecht, David W.; Klett, Timothy R.; Pawlewicz, Mark J.; Shah, Anjana; Tennyson, Marilyn E.

2008-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently assessed the undiscovered oil and gas potential of the West Greenland?East Canada Province as part of the USGS Circum-Arctic Oil and Gas Resource Appraisal effort. The West Greenland?East Canada Province is essentially the offshore area between west Greenland and east Canada and includes Baffin Bay, Davis Strait, Lancaster Sound, and Nares Strait west of and including Kane Basin. The tectonic evolution of the West Greenland?East Canada Province led to the formation of several major structural domains that are the geologic basis for the five assessment units (AU) defined in this study. The five AUs encompass the entire province. Each AU was assessed in its entirety for undiscovered, technically recoverable (assuming absence of sea ice) oil and gas resources, but the assessment results reported here are only for those portions of each AU that are north of the Arctic Circle, as that latitude defines the area of the Circum-Arctic oil and gas assessment.

Assessment of Undiscovered Technically Recoverable Oil and Gas Resources of the Bakken Formation, Williston Basin, Montana and North Dakota, 2008

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pollastro, R.M.; Roberts, L.N.R.; Cook, T.A.; Lewan, M.D.

2008-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has completed an assessment of the undiscovered oil and associated gas resources of the Upper Devonian to Lower Mississippian Bakken Formation in the U.S. portion of the Williston Basin of Montana and North Dakota and within the Williston Basin Province. The assessment is based on geologic elements of a total petroleum system (TPS), which include (1) source-rock distribution, thickness, organic richness, maturation, petroleum generation, and migration; (2) reservoir-rock type (conventional or continuous), distribution, and quality; and (3) character of traps and time of formation with respect to petroleum generation and migration. Framework studies in stratigraphy and structural geology and modeling of petroleum geochemistry, combined with historical exploration and production analyses, were used to estimate the undiscovered, technically recoverable oil resource of the Bakken Formation. Using this framework, the USGS defined a Bakken-Lodgepole TPS and seven assessment units (AU) within the system. For the Bakken Formation, the undiscovered oil and associated gas resources were quantitatively estimated for six of these AUs.

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Mississippian Sunbury shale and Devonian–Mississippian Chattanooga shale in the Appalachian Basin Province, 2016

USGS Publications Warehouse

Higley, Debra K.; Rouse, William A.; Enomoto, Catherine B.; Trippi, Michael H.; Klett, Timothy R.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Drake, Ronald M.; Finn, Thomas M.; Gianoutsos, Nicholas J.; Pearson, Ofori N.; Doolan, Colin A.; Le, Phuong A.; Schenk, Christopher J.

2016-11-08

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable continuous resources that total 464 million barrels of oil and 4.08 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Lower Mississippian Sunbury Shale and Middle Devonian–Lower Mississippian Chattanooga Shale of the Appalachian Basin Province.

Shahejie-Shahejie/Guantao/Wumishan and Carboniferous/Permian Coal-Paleozoic Total Petroleum Systems in the Bohaiwan Basin, China (based on geologic studies for the 2000 World Energy Assessment Project of the U.S. Geological Survey)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ryder, Robert T.; Qiang, Jin; McCabe, Peter J.; Nuccio, Vito F.; Persits, Felix

2012-01-01

This report discusses the geologic framework and petroleum geology used to assess undiscovered petroleum resources in the Bohaiwan basin province for the 2000 World Energy Assessment Project of the U.S. Geological Survey. The Bohaiwan basin in northeastern China is the largest petroleum-producing region in China. Two total petroleum systems have been identified in the basin. The first, the Shahejie&ndashShahejie/Guantao/Wumishan Total Petroleum System, involves oil and gas generated from mature pods of lacustrine source rock that are associated with six major rift-controlled subbasins. Two assessment units are defined in this total petroleum system: (1) a Tertiary lacustrine assessment unit consisting of sandstone reservoirs interbedded with lacustrine shale source rocks, and (2) a pre-Tertiary buried hills assessment unit consisting of carbonate reservoirs that are overlain unconformably by Tertiary lacustrine shale source rocks. The second total petroleum system identified in the Bohaiwan basin is the Carboniferous/Permian Coal–Paleozoic Total Petroleum System, a hypothetical total petroleum system involving natural gas generated from multiple pods of thermally mature coal beds. Low-permeability Permian sandstones and possibly Carboniferous coal beds are the reservoir rocks. Most of the natural gas is inferred to be trapped in continuous accumulations near the center of the subbasins. This total petroleum system is largely unexplored and has good potential for undiscovered gas accumulations. One assessment unit, coal-sourced gas, is defined in this total petroleum system.

Methodology for assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources for the 2008 Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal

USGS Publications Warehouse

Charpentier, Ronald R.; Moore, Thomas E.; Gautier, D.L.

2017-11-15

The methodological procedures used in the geologic assessments of the 2008 Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal (CARA) were based largely on the methodology developed for the 2000 U.S. Geological Survey World Petroleum Assessment. The main variables were probability distributions for numbers and sizes of undiscovered accumulations with an associated risk of occurrence. The CARA methodology expanded on the previous methodology in providing additional tools and procedures more applicable to the many Arctic basins that have little or no exploration history. Most importantly, geologic analogs from a database constructed for this study were used in many of the assessments to constrain numbers and sizes of undiscovered oil and gas accumulations.

Mineral resources of the Scorpion Wilderness study area, Garfield and Kane counties, Utah

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bartsch-Winkler, S.; Jones, J.L.; Kilburn, J.E.

1989-01-01

This paper reports on the Scorpion Wilderness Study Area which covers 14,978 acres in south- central Utah in Garfield and Kane counties. No mining claims or oil and gas leases or lease applications extend inside this study-area boundary. Demonstrated subeconomic resources of less than 30,000 tons of gypsum are in this study area. The mineral resource potential is low for undiscovered gypsum in the Carmel Formation, for undiscovered uranium in the Chinle Formation in the subsurface, and for undiscovered metals other than uranium. The energy resource potential is low for geothermal resources and is moderate for oil, gas, and carbonmore » dioxide.« less

US Rockies gas focus points up need for access, risk takers, infrastructure

USGS Publications Warehouse

Thomasson, M.R.; Belanger, P.E.; Cook, L.

2004-01-01

The last 20 yr of the Rocky Mountains oil and gas exploration and production business have been turbulent. Most of the major companies have left; they have been replaced with, independents and small to larger private and public companies. Natural gas become the primary focus of exploration. A discussion covers the shift of interest from drilling for oil to gas exploration and development in the Rockies since 1980; resource pyramid, showing relative volumes, reserves, resources, and undiscovered gas; the Wyoming fields that boost US gas supply, i.e., Jonah (6-12 tcf), Pinedale Anticline (10-20 tcf); Big Piney-LaBarge (15-25 tcf), Madden (3-5 tcf), and Powder river (24-27 tcf); and the future.

Chapter 2: 2003 Geologic Assessment of Undiscovered Conventional Oil and Gas Resources in the Upper Cretaceous Navarro and Taylor Groups, Western Gulf Province, Texas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Condon, S.M.; Dyman, T.S.

2006-01-01

The Upper Cretaceous Navarro and Taylor Groups in the western part of the Western Gulf Province were assessed for undiscovered oil and gas resources in 2003. The area is part of the Smackover-Austin-Eagle Ford Composite Total Petroleum System. The rocks consist of, from youngest to oldest, the Escondido and Olmos Formations of the Navarro Group and the San Miguel Formation and the Anacacho Limestone of the Taylor Group (as well as the undivided Navarro Group and Taylor Group). Some units of the underlying Austin Group, including the 'Dale Limestone' (a term of local usage that describes a subsurface unit), were also part of the assessment in some areas. Within the total petroleum system, the primary source rocks comprise laminated carbonate mudstones and marine shales of the Upper Jurassic Smackover Formation, mixed carbonate and bioclastic deposits of the Upper Cretaceous Eagle Ford Group, and shelf carbonates of the Upper Cretaceous Austin Group. Possible secondary source rocks comprise the Upper Jurassic Bossier Shale and overlying shales within the Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous Cotton Valley Group, Lower Cretaceous marine rocks, and the Upper Cretaceous Taylor Group. Oil and gas were generated in the total petroleum system at different times because of variations in depth of burial, geothermal gradient, lithology, and organic-matter composition. A burial-history reconstruction, based on data from one well in the eastern part of the study area (Jasper County, Tex.), indicated that (1) the Smackover generated oil from about 117 to 103 million years ago (Ma) and generated gas from about 52 to 41 Ma and (2) the Austin and Eagle Ford Groups generated oil from about 42 to 28 Ma and generated gas from about 14 Ma to the present. From the source rocks, oil and gas migrated upsection and updip along a pervasive system of faults and fractures as well as along bedding planes and within sandstone units. Types of traps include stratigraphic pinchouts, folds, faulted folds, and combinations of these. Seals consist of interbedded shales and mudstones and diagenetic cementation. The area assessed is divided into five assessment units (AUs): (1) Travis Volcanic Mounds Oil (AU 50470201), (2) Uvalde Volcanic Mounds Gas and Oil (AU 50470202), (3) Navarro-Taylor Updip Oil and Gas (AU 50470203), (4) Navarro-Taylor Downdip Gas and Oil (AU 50470204), and (5) Navarro-Taylor Slope-Basin Gas (AU 50470205). Total estimated mean undiscovered conventional resources in the five assessment units combined are 33.22 million barrels of oil, 1,682.80 billion cubic feet of natural gas, and 34.26 million barrels of natural gas liquids.

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Eagle Ford Group and associated Cenomanian–Turonian Strata, U.S. Gulf Coast, Texas, 2018

USGS Publications Warehouse

Whidden, Katherine J.; Pitman, Janet K.; Pearson, Ofori N.; Paxton, Stanley T.; Kinney, Scott A.; Gianoutsos, Nicholas J.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Birdwell, Justin E.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Burke, Lauri A.; Dubiel, Russell F.; French, Katherine L.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Haines, Seth S.; Le, Phuong A.; Marra, Kristen R.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Woodall, Cheryl A.

2018-06-22

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 8.5 billion barrels of oil and 66 trillion cubic feet of gas in continuous accumulations in the Upper Cretaceous Eagle Ford Group and associated Cenomanian–Turonian strata in onshore lands of the U.S. Gulf Coast region, Texas.

Chapter 4: The Cretaceous-Lower Tertiary Composite Total Petroleum System, Wind River Basin, Wyoming

USGS Publications Warehouse

Johnson, R.C.; Finn, Thomas M.; Kirschbaum, Mark A.; Roberts, Stephen B.; Roberts, Laura N.R.; Cook, Troy; Taylor, David J.

2007-01-01

The Cretaceous-Lower Tertiary Composite Total Petroleum System (TPS) of the Wind River Basin Province includes all strata from the base of the Lower Cretaceous Cloverly Formation to the base of the Waltman Shale Member of the Paleocene age Fort Union Formation and, where the Waltman is absent, includes strata as young as the Eocene Wind River Formation. Locally, Cretaceous-sourced gas migrated into strata as old as the Mississippian Madison Limestone, and in these areas the TPS extends stratigraphically downward to include these reservoirs. The extensive vertical migration of gases in highly fractured areas of the Wind River Basin led to the commingling of gases from several Upper Cretaceous and lower Tertiary sources, thus only two petroleum systems are recognized in these rocks, the Cretaceous-Lower Tertiary Composite TPS, the subject of this report, and the Waltman Shale TPS described by Roberts and others (Chapter 5, this CD-ROM). The Cretaceous-lower Tertiary Composite TPS was subdivided into (1) seven continuous gas assessment units (AU): (a) Frontier-Muddy Continuous Gas AU, (b) Cody Sandstone Continuous Gas AU, (c) Mesaverde--Meeteetse Sandstone Gas AU, (d) Lance-Fort Union Sandstone Gas AU, (e) Mesaverde Coalbed Gas AU, (f) Meeteetse Coalbed Gas AU, and (g) Fort Union Coalbed Gas AU; (2) one continuous oil assessement unit--- Cody Fractured Shale Continuous Oil AU; and (3) one conventional assessment Unit--- Cretaceous-Tertiary Conventional Oil and Gas AU. Estimates of undiscovered resources having the potential for additions to reserves were made for all but the Cody Fractured Shale Continuous Oil AU, which is considered hypothetical and was not quantitively assessed. The mean estimate of the total oil is 41.99 million barrels, mean estimate of gas is 2.39 trillion cubic feet, and mean estimate of natural gas liquids is 20.55 million barrels. For gas, 480.66 billion cubic feet (BCFG) is estimated for the Frontier-Muddy Continuous Gas AU, 115.34 BCFG for the Cody Sandstone Continuous Gas AU, 383.16 BCFG for the Mesaverde-Meeteetse Sandstone Continuous Gas AU, 711.30 BCFG for the Lance-Fort Union Sandstone Gas AU, 107.18 BCFG for the Mesaverde Coalbed Gas AU, 21.29 BCFG for the Meeteetse Coalbed Gas AU, and 118.08 BCFG for the Fort Union Coalbed Gas AU. All the undiscovered oil and 98.94 BCFG of undiscovered gas is in the Cretaceous-Tertiary Conventional Oil and Gas AU.

Map of assessed tight-gas resources in the United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Biewick, Laura R. H.; ,

2014-01-01

This report presents a digital map of tight-gas resource assessments in the United States as part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) National Assessment of Oil and Gas Project. Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the USGS quantitatively estimated potential volumes of undiscovered, technically recoverable natural gas resources within tight-gas assessment units (AUs). This is the second digital map product in a series of USGS unconventional oil and gas resource maps. The map plate included in this report can be printed in hard-copy form or downloaded in a Geographic Information System (GIS) data package, including an ArcGIS ArcMap document (.mxd), geodatabase (.gdb), and published map file (.pmf). In addition, the publication access table contains hyperlinks to current USGS tight-gas assessment publications and web pages.

Map of assessed coalbed-gas resources in the United States, 2014

USGS Publications Warehouse

,; Biewick, Laura R. H.

2014-01-01

This report presents a digital map of coalbed-gas resource assessments in the United States as part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) National Assessment of Oil and Gas Project. Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the USGS quantitatively estimated potential volumes of undiscovered, technically recoverable natural gas resources within coalbed-gas assessment units (AUs). This is the third digital map product in a series of USGS unconventional oil and gas resource maps. The map plate included in this report can be printed in hardcopy form or downloaded in a Geographic Information System (GIS) data package, including an ArcGIS ArcMap document (.mxd), geodatabase (.gdb), and published map file (.pmf). In addition, the publication access table contains hyperlinks to current USGS coalbed-gas assessment publications and web pages.

Developments in Oil Shale

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-11-17

shale oil.7 The Mahogany zone can reach 200 feet in thickness in the Uinta Basin of Utah, and thus could represent a technical potential of producing...undiscovered technically recoverable conventional oil and natural gas liquids are estimated to underlie the Uinta -Piceance Basin of Utah-Colorado and...River formation over maps of access categories prepared for the EPCA inventory (Figure 6). The Uinta basin in Utah is shown as being subject to

Chapter 27: Geology and petroleum potential of the north and east margins of the Siberian Craton, north of the Arctic Circle

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klett, T.R.; Wandrey, C.J.; Pitman, Janet K.

2011-01-01

The Siberian Craton consists of crystalline rocks and superimposed Precambrian sedimentary rocks deposited in rift basins. Palaeozoic rocks, mainly carbonates, were deposited along the margins of the craton to form an outwardly younger concentric pattern that underlies an outward-thickening Mesozoic sedimentary section. The north and east margins of the Siberian Craton subsequently became foreland basins created by compressional deformation during collision with other tectonic plates. The Tunguska Basin developed as a Palaeozoic rift/sag basin over Proterozoic rifts. The geological provinces along the north and east margins of the Siberian Craton are immature with respect to exploration, so exploration-history analysis alone cannot be used for assessing undiscovered petroleum resources. Therefore, other areas from around the world having greater petroleum exploration maturity and similar geological characteristics, and which have been previously assessed, were used as analogues to aid in this assessment. The analogues included those of foreland basins and rift/sag basins that were later subjected to compression. The US Geological Survey estimated the mean undiscovered, technically recoverable conventional petroleum resources to be approximately 28 billion barrels of oil equivalent, including approximately 8 billion barrels of crude oil, 103 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 3 billion barrels of natural gas liquids. ?? 2011 The Geological Society of London.

Kimmeridgian Shales Total Petroleum System of the North Sea Graben Province

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gautier, Donald L.

2005-01-01

The North Sea Graben of northwestern Europe, World Energy Project Province 4025, is entirely offshore within the territorial waters of Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom. Extensional tectonics and failed rifting are fundamental to the distribution of oil and gas in the province. Accordingly, the geologic history and reser-voir rocks of the province are considered in the context of their temporal relationship to the principal extension and rifting events. The oil and gas accumulations of the province are considered part of a single petroleum system: the Kimmeridg-ian Shales Total Petroleum System (TPS). Source rocks of the Kimmeridgian Shales TPS were deposited in Late Jurassic to earliest Cretaceous time during the period of intensive exten-sion and rifting. The Kimmeridgian Shales contain typical 'type II' mixed kerogen. Oil and gas generation began locally in the North Sea Graben Province by Cretaceous time and has continued in various places ever since. Reservoirs are found in strata with ages ranging from Devonian to Eocene. Pre-rift reservoirs are found in fault-block structures activated during rifting and can be of any age prior to the Late Jurassic. Syn-rift reservoirs are restricted to strata actually deposited during maximum extension and include rocks of Late Jurassic to earliest Cretaceous age. Post-rift reservoirs formed after rifting and range in age from Early Cretaceous to Eocene. Seals are diverse, depending upon the structural setting and reservoir age. Pre-rift reservoirs com-monly have seals formed by fine-grained, post-rift sedimentary sequences that drape the Late Jurassic to earliest Cretaceous structures. Contemporaneous shales such as the Kimmeridge Clay seal many syn-rift reservoirs. Fields with post-rift res-ervoirs generally require seals in fine-grained Tertiary rocks. In most of the North Sea Graben, source rocks have been continuously buried since deposition. Structural trap forma-tion has also taken place continuously since Mesozoic time. As a result, oil and gas are present in a wide variety of settings within Province 4025. Assessment units for the World Energy Project were defined geographically in order to capture regional differ-ences in exploration history, geography, and geological evolution. Three geographic areas were assessed. The Viking Graben, in the northern part of the province, includes both United Kingdom and Norwegian territorial areas. The Moray Firth/Witch Ground in the west-central part of the province is entirely in United Kingdom. waters. The Central Graben in the southern part of the province includes territorial areas of Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom. The North Sea Graben is estimated to contain between 4.3 and 25.6 billion barrels (BBO) of undiscovered, conventionally recoverable oil. Of that total, the Viking Graben is believed to contain 2.2 to 14.8 BBO of undiscov-ered oil, the Moray Firth/Witch Ground may contain between 0.3 and 1.9 BBO, and the Central Graben was estimated to contain undiscovered oil resources of 1.7 to 8.8 BBO. Prov-ince 4025 was also estimated to hold between 11.8 and 75 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of undiscovered natural gas. Of this total, 6.8 to 44.5 TCF is thought to exist in the Viking Graben, 0.6 to 3.4 TCF is estimated to be in the Moray Firth/Witch Ground, and 4.5 to 27.1 TCF of undiscovered gas is estimated to be in the Central Graben.

Geological and geochemical characterization of the Lower Cretaceous Pearsall Formation, Maverick Basin, south Texas: A future shale gas resource?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hackley, Paul C.

2012-01-01

As part of an assessment of undiscovered hydrocarbon resources in the northern Gulf of Mexico onshore Mesozoic section, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) evaluated the Lower Cretaceous Pearsall Formation of the Maverick Basin, south Texas, as a potential shale gas resource. Wireline logs were used to determine the stratigraphic distribution of the Pearsall Formation and to select available core and cuttings samples for analytical investigation. Samples used for this study spanned updip to downdip environments in the Maverick Basin, including several from the current shale gas-producing area of the Pearsall Formation.The term shale does not adequately describe any of the Pearsall samples evaluated for this study, which included argillaceous lime wackestones from more proximal marine depositional environments in Maverick County and argillaceous lime mudstones from the distal Lower Cretaceous shelf edge in western Bee County. Most facies in the Pearsall Formation were deposited in oxygenated environments as evidenced by the presence of biota preserved as shell fragments and the near absence of sediment laminae, which is probably caused by bioturbation. Organic material is poorly preserved and primarily consists of type III kerogen (terrestrial) and type IV kerogen (inert solid bitumen), with a minor contribution from type II kerogen (marine) based on petrographic analysis and pyrolysis. Carbonate dominates the mineralogy followed by clays and quartz. The low abundance and broad size distribution of pyrite are consistent with the presence of oxic conditions during sediment deposition. The Pearsall Formation is in the dry gas window of hydrocarbon generation (mean random vitrinite reflectance values, Ro = 1.2–2.2%) and contains moderate levels of total organic carbon (average 0.86 wt. %), which primarily resides in the inert solid bitumen. Solid bitumen is interpreted to result from in-situ thermal cracking of liquid hydrocarbon generated from original type II kerogen that was prevented from expulsion and migration by low permeability. The temperature of maximum pyrolysis output (Tmax) is a poor predictor of thermal maturity because the pyrolysis (S2) peaks from Rock-Eval analysis are ill defined. Vitrinite reflectance values are consistent with the dry gas window and are the preferred thermal maturity parameter.A Maverick Basin Pearsall shale gas assessment unit was defined using political and geologic boundaries to denote its spatial extent and was evaluated following established USGS hydrocarbon assessment methodology. The assessment estimated a mean undiscovered technically recoverable natural gas resource of 8.8 tcf of gas and 3.4 and 17.8 tcf of gas at the F95 and F5 fractile confidence levels, respectively. Significant engineering challenges will likely need to be met in determining the correct stimulation and completion combination for the successful future development of undiscovered natural gas resources in the Pearsall Formation.

Introduction to the 2002 geologic assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the San Juan Basin Province, exclusive of Paleozoic rocks: Chapter 2 in Total petroleum systems and geologic assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the San Juan Basin Province, exclusive of Paleozoic rocks, New Mexico and Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2013-01-01

The U.S Geological Survey (USGS) periodically conducts assessments of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the United States. The purpose of the U.S. Geological Survey National Oil and Gas Assessment is to develop geologically based hypotheses regarding the potential for additions to oil and gas reserves in priority areas of the United States. The last major USGS assessment of oil and gas of the most important oil and gas provinces in the United States was in 1995 (Gautier and others, 1996). Since then a number of individual assessment provinces have been reappraised using new methodology. This was done particularly for those provinces where new information has become available, where new methodology was expected to reveal more insight to provide a better estimate, where additional geologic investigation was needed, or where continuous accumulations were deemed important. The San Juan Basin was reevaluated because of industry exploitation of new hydrocarbon accumulations that were not previously assessed and because of a change in application of assessment methodology to potential undiscovered hydrocarbon accumulations. Several changes have been made in this study. The methodology is different from that used in 1995 (Schmoker, 2003; Schmoker and Klett, 2003). In this study the total petroleum system (TPS) approach (Magoon and Dow, 1994) is used rather than the play approach. The Chama Basin is not included. The team of scientists studying the basin is different. The 1995 study focused on conventional accumulations, whereas in this 2002 assessment, it was a priority to assess continuous-type accumulations, including coal-bed gas. Consequently we are presenting here an entirely new study and results for the San Juan Basin Province. The results of this 2002 assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the San Juan Basin Province (5022) are presented in this report within the geologic context of individual TPSs and their assessment units (AU) (table 1). Results are reported as the estimated mean of potential additions to reserves as well as for the 95, 50, and 5 percent fractiles.

National Assessment of Oil and Gas Project: Petroleum systems and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas in the Denver Basin Province, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming - USGS Province 39

USGS Publications Warehouse

Higley, Debra K.

2007-01-01

The purpose of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Oil and Gas Assessment is to develop geologically based hypotheses regarding the potential for additions to oil and gas reserves in priority areas of the United States. The USGS recently completed an assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Denver Basin Province (USGS Province 39), Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming. Petroleum is produced in the province from sandstone, shale, and limestone reservoirs that range from Pennsylvanian to Upper Cretaceous in age. This assessment is based on geologic principles and uses the total petroleum system concept. The geologic elements of a total petroleum system include hydrocarbon source rocks (source rock maturation, hydrocarbon generation and migration), reservoir rocks (sequence stratigraphy and petrophysical properties), and hydrocarbon traps (trap formation and timing). The USGS used this geologic framework to define seven total petroleum systems and twelve assessment units. Nine of these assessment units were quantitatively assessed for undiscovered oil and gas resources. Gas was not assessed for two coal bed methane assessment units due to lack of information and limited potential; oil resources were not assessed for the Fractured Pierre Shale Assessment Unit due to its mature development status.

Assessment of undiscovered conventionally recoverable petroleum resources of the Arabian-Iranian Basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Masters, Charles D.; Klemme, H. Douglas; Coury, Anny B.

1982-01-01

The estimates of undiscovered conventionally recoverable petroleum resources in the Arabian-Iranian basin at probability levels of 95 percent, 5 percent, and statistical mean are for oil (in billions of barrels): 72, 337, and 174; and for gas (in trillions of cubic feet): 299, 1792, and 849. The occurrence of petroleum can be accounted for in five definitive geological settings or plays. The assessment of undiscovered resource potential assumes that the new discoveries will expand the occurrence of petroleum in these basic plays; no additional plays with significant petroleum potential were recognized. The five plays listed by geologic age are: (I) Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary, (II) Lower and Middle Cretaceous sandstone, (III) Lower and Middle Cretaceous limestone, (IV) Jurassic, and (V) Permian. The Permian play, located in the south-central Arabian Gulf region and extending northeast-southwest from southern Iran to the Ar Rub' al Khali in Saudi Arabia, accounts for over four-fifths of the mean estimate of undiscovered gas. The remainder of the gas is divided about equally among the other four plays. The Jurassic play, located on the south side of the Arabian Gulf, accounts for slightly less than one-third of the estimated undiscovered oil, which is split equally between Saudi Arabia and Iraq. The Lower and Middle Cretaceous limestone play is located in the southern Gulf region and accounts for about one-fifth of the undiscovered oil, most of which is located in Saudi Arabia and the remainder in the United Arab Emirates. The Lower and Middle Cretaceous sandstone play is centralized in Kuwait at the head of the Arabian Gulf with significant potential extending to the northwest in Iraq; the play accounts for about one-third of the undiscovered oil, the great majority of which is estimated to be in Iraq with the remainder divided between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The upper Cretaceous-Tertiary play is located in the Zagros fold belt of Iran and Iraq and accounts for about one-fifth of the undiscovered oil. Estimation of the resources in this vast area is hindered by lack of data from certain broad regions, abandoned wells, and several significant dry holes, but the regional geology is well enough reported that geologic projections can be made and inferences from selected wells can be drawn to permit estimation of the resource potential.

Geologic assessment of undiscovered hydrocarbon resources of the Western Oregon and Washington Province

USGS Publications Warehouse

,; Brownfield, Michael E.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Cook, Troy A.; Klett, Timothy R.; Pollastro, Richard M.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Le, P.A.; ,

2011-01-01

The purpose of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Oil and Gas Assessment is to develop geology-based hypotheses regarding the potential for additions to oil and gas reserves in priority areas of the United States, focusing on the distribution, quantity, and availability of oil and natural gas resources. The USGS has completed an assessment of the undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources in western Oregon and Washington (USGS Western Oregon and Washington Province 5004). The province includes all of Oregon and Washington north of the Klamath Mountains and west of the crest of the Cascade Range, and extends offshore to the 3-mi limit of State waters on the west and to the International Boundary in the Straits of Juan de Fuca and Canada on the north. It measures about 450 mi north-south and 50 to 160 mi east-west, encompassing more than 51,000 mi2. The assessment of the Western Oregon and Washington Province is geology based and used the total petroleum system (TPS) concept. The geologic elements of a TPS include hydrocarbon source rocks (source rock maturation and hydrocarbon generation and migration), reservoir rocks (quality and distribution), and traps for hydrocarbon accumulation. Using these geologic criteria, two conventional and one unconventional (continuous) total petroleum systems were defined, with one assessment unit (AU) in each TPS: (1) the Cretaceous-Tertiary Composite TPS and the Western Oregon and Washington Conventional Gas AU, (2) the Tertiary Marine TPS and the Tertiary-Marine Gas AU, and (3) the Tertiary Coalbed Gas TPS and the Eocene Coalbed Gas AU, in which a cell-based methodology was used to estimate coalbed-gas resources.

Geology and oil and gas assessment of the Mancos-Menefee Composite Total Petroleum System: Chapter 4 in Total petroleum systems and geologic assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the San Juan Basin Province, exclusive of Paleozoic rocks, New Mexico and Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ridgley, J.L.; Condon, S.M.; Hatch, J.R.

2013-01-01

Eight assessment units were defined in the Mancos-Menefee Composite TPS. Of the eight assessment units, four were assessed as conventional oil or gas accumulations and four as continuous-type accumulations. The conventional assessment units are Dakota-Greenhorn Conventional Oil and Gas Assessment Unit (AU), Gallup Sandstone Conventional Oil and Gas AU, Mancos Sandstones Conventional Oil AU, and the Mesaverde Updip Conventional Oil AU. Continuous-type assessments are Dakota-Greenhorn Continuous Gas AU, Mancos Sandstones Continuous Gas AU, Mesaverde Central-Basin Continuous Gas AU, and Menefee Coalbed Gas AU. The Mesaverde Updip Conventional AU was not quantitatively assessed for undiscovered oil and gas resources, because the producing oil fields were smaller than the 0.5 million barrel cutoff, and the potential of finding fields above this cutoff was considered to be low. Total oil resources that have the potential for additions to reserves in the next 30 years are estimated at a mean of 16.78 million barrels. Most of this resource will come from reservoirs in the Mancos Sandstones Oil AU. Gas resources that have the potential for additions to reserves in the next 30 years are estimated at a mean of 11.11 trillion cubic feet of gas (TCFG). Of this amount, 11.03 TCFG will come from continuous gas accumulations; the remainder will be gas associated with oil in conventional accumulations.Total natural gas liquids (NGL) that have the potential for additions to reserves in the next 30 years are estimated at a mean of 99.86 million barrels. Of this amount, 96.95 million barrels will come from the continuous gas assessment units, and 78.3 percent of this potential resource will come from the Mancos Sandstones Continuous Gas AU.

Guiding principles of USGS methodology for assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources

USGS Publications Warehouse

Charpentier, R.R.; Klett, T.R.

2005-01-01

During the last 30 years, the methodology for assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources used by the Geological Survey has undergone considerable change. This evolution has been based on five major principles. First, the U.S. Geological Survey has responsibility for a wide range of U.S. and world assessments and requires a robust methodology suitable for immaturely explored as well as maturely explored areas. Second, the assessments should be based on as comprehensive a set of geological and exploration history data as possible. Third, the perils of methods that solely use statistical methods without geological analysis are recognized. Fourth, the methodology and course of the assessment should be documented as transparently as possible, within the limits imposed by the inevitable use of subjective judgement. Fifth, the multiple uses of the assessments require a continuing effort to provide the documentation in such ways as to increase utility to the many types of users. Undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources are those recoverable volumes in undiscovered, discrete, conventional structural or stratigraphic traps. The USGS 2000 methodology for these resources is based on a framework of assessing numbers and sizes of undiscovered oil and gas accumulations and the associated risks. The input is standardized on a form termed the Seventh Approximation Data Form for Conventional Assessment Units. Volumes of resource are then calculated using a Monte Carlo program named Emc2, but an alternative analytic (non-Monte Carlo) program named ASSESS also can be used. The resource assessment methodology continues to change. Accumulation-size distributions are being examined to determine how sensitive the results are to size-distribution assumptions. The resource assessment output is changing to provide better applicability for economic analysis. The separate methodology for assessing continuous (unconventional) resources also has been evolving. Further studies of the relationship between geologic models of conventional and continuous resources will likely impact the respective resource assessment methodologies. ?? 2005 International Association for Mathematical Geology.

The Talara Basin province of northwestern Peru: cretaceous-tertiary total petroleum system

USGS Publications Warehouse

Higley, Debra K.

2004-01-01

More than 1.68 billion barrels of oil (BBO) and 340 billion cubic feet of gas (BCFG) have been produced from the Cretaceous-Tertiary Total Petroleum System in the Talara Basin province, northwestern Peru. Oil and minor gas fields are concentrated in the onshore northern third of the province. Current production is primarily oil, but there is excellent potential for offshore gas resources, which is a mostly untapped resource because of the limited local market for gas and because there are few pipelines. Estimated mean recoverable resources from undiscovered fields in the basin are 1.71 billion barrels of oil (BBO), 4.79 trillion cubic feet of gas (TCFG), and 255 million barrels of natural gas liquids (NGL). Of this total resource, 15 percent has been allocated to onshore and 85 percent to offshore; volumes are 0.26 BBO and 0.72 TCFG onshore, and 1.45 BBO and 4.08 TCFG offshore. The mean estimate of numbers of undiscovered oil and gas fields is 83 and 27, respectively. Minimum size of fields that were used in this analysis is 1 million barrels of oil equivalent and (or) 6 BCFG. The Paleocene Talara forearc basin is superimposed on a larger, Mesozoic and pre-Mesozoic basin. Producing formations, ranging in age from Pennsylvanian to Oligocene, are mainly Upper Cretaceous through Oligocene sandstones of fluvial, deltaic, and nearshore to deep-marine depositional origins. The primary reservoirs and greatest potential for future development are Eocene sandstones that include turbidites of the Talara and Salinas Groups. Additional production and undiscovered resources exist within Upper Cretaceous, Paleocene, and Oligocene formations. Pennsylvanian Amotape quartzites may be productive where fractured. Trap types in this block-faulted basin are mainly structural or a combination of structure and stratigraphy. Primary reservoir seals are interbedded and overlying marine shales. Most fields produce from multiple reservoirs, and production is reported commingled. For this reason, and also because geochemical data on oils and source rocks is very limited, Tertiary and Cretaceous production is grouped into one total petroleum system. The most likely source rocks are Tertiary marine shales, but some of the Cretaceous marine shales are also probable source rocks, and these would represent separate total petroleum systems. Geochemical data on one oil sample from Pennsylvanian rock indicates that it was probably also sourced from Tertiary shales.

Climate change, future Arctic Sea ice, and the competitiveness of European Arctic offshore oil and gas production on world markets.

PubMed

Petrick, Sebastian; Riemann-Campe, Kathrin; Hoog, Sven; Growitsch, Christian; Schwind, Hannah; Gerdes, Rüdiger; Rehdanz, Katrin

2017-12-01

A significant share of the world's undiscovered oil and natural gas resources are assumed to lie under the seabed of the Arctic Ocean. Up until now, the exploitation of the resources especially under the European Arctic has largely been prevented by the challenges posed by sea ice coverage, harsh weather conditions, darkness, remoteness of the fields, and lack of infrastructure. Gradual warming has, however, improved the accessibility of the Arctic Ocean. We show for the most resource-abundant European Arctic Seas whether and how a climate induced reduction in sea ice might impact future accessibility of offshore natural gas and crude oil resources. Based on this analysis we show for a number of illustrative but representative locations which technology options exist based on a cost-minimization assessment. We find that under current hydrocarbon prices, oil and gas from the European offshore Arctic is not competitive on world markets.

Geologic assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources: Oligocene Frio and Anahuac Formations, United States Gulf of Mexico coastal plain and State waters

USGS Publications Warehouse

Swanson, Sharon M.; Karlsen, Alexander W.; Valentine, Brett J.

2013-01-01

The Oligocene Frio and Anahuac Formations were assessed as part of the 2007 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessment of Tertiary strata of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico Basin onshore and State waters. The Frio Formation, which consists of sand-rich fluvio-deltaic systems, has been one of the largest hydrocarbon producers from the Paleogene in the Gulf of Mexico. The Anahuac Formation, an extensive transgressive marine shale overlying the Frio Formation, contains deltaic and slope sandstones in Louisiana and Texas and carbonate rocks in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. In downdip areas of the Frio and Anahuac Formations, traps associated with faulted, rollover anticlines are common. Structural traps commonly occur in combination with stratigraphic traps. Faulted salt domes in the Frio and Anahuac Formations are present in the Houston embayment of Texas and in south Louisiana. In the Frio Formation, stratigraphic traps are found in fluvial, deltaic, barrier-bar, shelf, and strandplain systems. The USGS Tertiary Assessment Team defined a single, Upper Jurassic-Cretaceous-Tertiary Composite Total Petroleum System (TPS) for the Gulf Coast basin, based on previous studies and geochemical analysis of oils in the Gulf Coast basin. The primary source rocks for oil and gas within Cenozoic petroleum systems, including Frio Formation reservoirs, in the northern, onshore Gulf Coastal region consist of coal and shale rich in organic matter within the Wilcox Group (Paleocene–Eocene), with some contributions from the Sparta Sand of the Claiborne Group (Eocene). The Jurassic Smackover Formation and Cretaceous Eagle Ford Formation also may have contributed substantial petroleum to Cenozoic reservoirs. Modeling studies of thermal maturity by the USGS Tertiary Assessment Team indicate that downdip portions of the basal Wilcox Group reached sufficient thermal maturity to generate hydrocarbons by early Eocene; this early maturation is the result of rapid sediment accumulation in the early Tertiary, combined with the reaction kinetic parameters used in the models. A number of studies indicate that the migration of oil and gas in the Cenozoic Gulf of Mexico basin is primarily vertical, occurring along abundant growth faults associated with sediment deposition or along faults associated with salt domes. The USGS Tertiary assessment team developed a geologic model based on recurring regional-scale structural and depositional features in Paleogene strata to define assessment units (AUs). Three general areas, as described in the model, are found in each of the Paleogene stratigraphic intervals assessed: “Stable Shelf,” “Expanded Fault,” and “Slope and Basin Floor” zones. On the basis of this model, three AUs for the Frio Formation were defined: (1) the Frio Stable Shelf Oil and Gas AU, containing reservoirs with a mean depth of about 4,800 feet in normally pressured intervals; (2) the Frio Expanded Fault Zone Oil and Gas AU, containing reservoirs with a mean depth of about 9,000 feet in primarily overpressured intervals; and (3) the Frio Slope and Basin Floor Gas AU, which currently has no production but has potential for deep gas resources (>15,000 feet). AUs also were defined for the Hackberry trend, which consists of a slope facies stratigraphically in the middle part of the Frio Formation, and the Anahuac Formation. The Frio Basin Margin AU, an assessment unit extending to the outcrop of the Frio (or basal Miocene), was not quantitatively assessed because of its low potential for production. Two proprietary, commercially available databases containing field and well production information were used in the assessment. Estimates of undiscovered resources for the five AUs were based on a total of 1,734 reservoirs and 586,500 wells producing from the Frio and Anahuac Formations. Estimated total mean values of technically recoverable, undiscovered resources are 172 million barrels of oil (MMBO), 9.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas (TCFG), and 542 million barrels of natural gas liquids for all of the Frio and Anahuac AUs. Of the five units assessed, the Frio Slope and Basin Floor Gas AU has the greatest potential for undiscovered gas resources, having an estimated mean of 5.6 TCFG. The Hackberry Oil and Gas AU shows the second highest potential for gas of the five units assessed, having an estimated mean of 1.8 TCFG. The largest undiscovered, conventional crude oil resource was estimated for the Frio Slope and Basin Floor Gas AU; the estimated mean for oil in this AU is 110 MMBO.

Assessment of water and proppant quantities associated with petroleum production from the Bakken and Three Forks Formations, Williston Basin Province, Montana and North Dakota, 2016

USGS Publications Warehouse

Haines, Seth S.; Varela, Brian A.; Hawkins, Sarah J.; Gianoutsos, Nicholas J.; Thamke, Joanna N.; Engle, Mark A.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Marra, Kristen R.; Kinney, Scott A.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Martinez, Cericia D.

2017-06-23

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has completed an assessment of water and proppant requirements and water production associated with the possible future production of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Three Forks and Bakken Formations (Late Devonian to Early Mississippian) of the Williston Basin Province in Montana and North Dakota. This water and proppant assessment is directly linked to the geology-based assessment of the undiscovered, technically recoverable continuous oil and gas resources that is described in USGS Fact Sheet 2013–3013.

Oil and Gas Resources of the Fergana Basin (Uzbekistan, Tadzhikistan, and Kyrgysztan)

EIA Publications

1994-01-01

Provides the most comprehensive assessment publicly available for oil and gas resources in the Fergana Basin. Includes projections of potential oil supply and U.S. Geological Survey estimates of undiscovered recoverable oil and gas.

Chapter 2. Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources--Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous Cotton Valley group, Jurassic Smackover interior salt basins total petroleum system, in the East Texas basin and Louisiana-Mississippi salt basins provinces.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dyman, T.S.; Condon, S.M.

2006-01-01

The Jurassic Smackover Interior Salt Basins Total Petroleum System is defined for this assessment to include (1) Upper Jurassic Smackover Formation carbonates and calcareous shales and (2) Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous Cotton Valley Group organic-rich shales. The Jurassic Smackover Interior Salt Basins Total Petroleum System includes four conventional Cotton Valley assessment units: Cotton Valley Blanket Sandstone Gas (AU 50490201), Cotton Valley Massive Sandstone Gas (AU 50490202), Cotton Valley Updip Oil and Gas (AU 50490203), and Cotton Valley Hypothetical Updip Oil (AU 50490204). Together, these four assessment units are estimated to contain a mean undiscovered conventional resource of 29.81 million barrels of oil, 605.03 billion cubic feet of gas, and 19.00 million barrels of natural gas liquids. The Cotton Valley Group represents the first major influx of clastic sediment into the ancestral Gulf of Mexico. Major depocenters were located in south-central Mississippi, along the Louisiana-Mississippi border, and in northeast Texas. Reservoir properties and production characteristics were used to identify two Cotton Valley Group sandstone trends across northern Louisiana and east Texas: a high-permeability blanket-sandstone trend and a downdip, low-permeability massive-sandstone trend. Pressure gradients throughout most of both trends are normal, which is characteristic of conventional rather than continuous basin-center gas accumulations. Indications that accumulations in this trend are conventional rather than continuous include (1) gas-water contacts in at least seven fields across the blanket-sandstone trend, (2) relatively high reservoir permeabilities, and (3) high gas-production rates without fracture stimulation. Permeability is sufficiently low in the massive-sandstone trend that gas-water transition zones are vertically extensive and gas-water contacts are poorly defined. The interpreted presence of gas-water contacts within the Cotton Valley massive-sandstone trend, however, suggests that accumulations in this trend are also conventional.

Total petroleum systems of the Pelagian Province, Tunisia, Libya, Italy, and Malta; the Bou Dabbous, Tertiary and Jurassic-Cretaceous composite

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klett, T.R.

2001-01-01

Undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources were assessed within total petroleum systems of the Pelagian Province (2048) as part of the U.S. Geological Survey World Petroleum Assessment 2000. The Pelagian Province is located mainly in eastern Tunisia and northwestern Libya. Small portions of the province extend into Malta and offshore Italy. Although several petroleum systems may exist, only two ?composite? total petroleum systems were identified. Each total petroleum system comprises a single assessment unit. These total petroleum systems are called the Bou Dabbous?Tertiary and Jurassic-Cretaceous Composite, named after the source-rock intervals and reservoir-rock ages. The main source rocks include mudstone of the Eocene Bou Dabbous Formation; Cretaceous Bahloul, Lower Fahdene, and M?Cherga Formations; and Jurassic Nara Formation. Known reservoirs are in carbonate rocks and sandstone intervals throughout the Upper Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Tertiary sections. Traps for known accumulations include fault blocks, low-amplitude anticlines, high-amplitude anticlines associated with reverse faults, wrench fault structures, and stratigraphic traps. The estimated means of the undiscovered conventional petroleum volumes in total petroleum systems of the Pelagian Province are as follows: [MMBO, million barrels of oil; BCFG, billion cubic feet of gas; MMBNGL, million barrels of natural gas liquids] Total Petroleum System MMBO BCFG MMBNGL Bou Dabbous?Tertiary 667 2,746 64 Jurassic-Cretaceous Composite 403 2,280 27

Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the Timan-Pechora Basin Province, Russia, 2008

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, C.J.; Bird, K.J.; Charpentier, R.R.; Gautier, D.L.; Houseknecht, D.W.; Klett, T.R.; Moore, T.; Pawlewicz, M.J.; Pittman, J.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.

2008-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently assessed the undiscovered oil and gas potential of the Timan-Pechora Basin Province in Russia as part of the USGS Circum-Arctic Oil and Gas Resource Appraisal program. Geologically, the Timan-Pechora Basin Province is a triangular-shaped cratonic block bounded by the northeast-southwest trending Ural Mountains and the northwest-southeast trending Timan Ridge. The northern boundary is shared with the South Barents Sea Province (fig.1). The Timan-Pechora Basin Province has a long history of oil and gas exploration and production. The first field was discovered in 1930 and, after 75 years of exploration, more than 230 fields have been discovered and more than 5,400 wells have been drilled. This has resulted in the discovery of more than 16 billion barrels of oil and 40 trillion cubic feet of gas.

Jurassic-Cretaceous Composite Total Petroleum System and Geologic Assessment of Oil and Gas Resources of the North Cuba Basin, Cuba

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2008-01-01

The purpose of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) World Oil and Gas Assessment is to develop geologically based hypotheses regarding the potential for additions to oil and gas reserves in priority areas of the world. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed an assessment of the undiscovered oil and gas potential of the North Cuba Basin. The assessment is based on the geologic elements of the total petroleum system (TPS) defined in the province, including petroleum source rocks (source-rock maturation, generation, and migration), reservoir rocks (sequence stratigraphy and petrophysical properties), and petroleum traps (Trap formation and timing). Using this geologic framework, the USGS defined a Jurassic-Cretaceous Total Petroleum System in the North Cuba Basin Province. Within this TPS, three assessment units were defined and assessed for undiscovered oil and gas resources.

Undiscovered hydrocarbon resources in the U.S. Gulf Coast Jurassic Norphlet and Smackover Formations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pearson, Ofori N.

2011-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey has completed assessments of undiscovered technically recoverable oil and gas resources in the Jurassic Norphlet and Smackover formations of the onshore coastal plain and State waters of the U.S. Gulf Coast. The Norphlet Formation consists of sandstones and interbedded shales and siltstones deposited during a marine transgression. Along its northeast margin, deposition of the Norphlet was in alluvial fans, fluvial systems, and dune and clastic sabkha environments. Mudstones of the underlying Smackover Formation act as source rocks for Norphlet reservoirs. The Norphlet was divided into the following three assessment units (AUs): the Norphlet Salt Basins and Updip AU, the Norphlet Mobile Bay Deep Gas AU, and the Norphlet South Texas Gas AU. The lower part of the Smackover consists primarily of dark carbonate mudstone and argillaceous limestone deposited in low-energy environments, and is one of the Gulf of Mexico Basin’s major source rocks. The upper part of the Smackover is comprised primarily of grain-supported carbonates deposited in high-energy environments. The Smackover was divided into the following four AUs: the Smackover Updip and Peripheral Fault Zone AU, the Smackover Salt Basin AU, the Smackover South Texas AU, and the Smackover Downdip Continuous Gas AU. Although the Norphlet and Smackover formations have been the focus of extensive exploration and production, they probably still contain significant undiscovered oil and gas resources.

Liquid fuel supplies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perry, H.

1980-06-01

This paper presents an overview of United States and world petroleum, natural gas, and natural gas liquids presumed recoverable but as yet undiscovered resources and suggests that the depletion of these fuels may not occur as quickly as frequently predicted. The paper points out that the construction of a synthetic fuels industry will be very costly and will provide only a small amount of increased energy independence. The fear is expressed that haste in accepting a specific synfuels process on the basis of present technology may serve to forestall the development of a better technology. The paper suggests that we construct relatively few plants now each using a different technology in order to gain better understanding of the various technologies, more information on costs and the essential but as yet unknown information on environmental and socioeconomic effects of large scale plants.

USGS National Assessment of Oil and Gas Online (NOGA Online)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Biewick, L.H.

2003-01-01

The Central Energy Resources Team (CERT) of the U.S. Geological Survey is providing results of the USGS National Assessment of Oil and Gas online (NOGA Online). In addition to providing resource estimates and geologic reports, NOGA Online includes an internet map application that allows interactive viewing and analysis of assessment data and results. CERT is in the process of reassessing domestic oil and natural gas resources in a series of priority basins in the United States using a Total Petroleum System (TPS) approach where the assessment unit is the basic appraisal unit (rather than the oil and gas play used in the 1995 study). Assessments of undiscovered oil and gas resources in five such priority provinces were recently completed to meet the requirements of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 2000 (EPCA 2000). New assessment results are made available at this site on an ongoing basis.

Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the West Siberian Basin Province, Russia, 2008

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Bird, Kenneth J.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Gautier, Donald L.; Houseknecht, David W.; Klett, Timothy R.; Moore, Thomas E.; Pawlewicz, Mark J.; Pitman, Janet K.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.

2008-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently assessed the undiscovered oil and gas potential of the West Siberian Basin Province in Russia as part of the USGS Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal program. This province is the largest petroleum basin in the world and has an areal extent of about 2.2 million square kilometers. It is a large rift-sag feature bounded to the west by the Ural fold belt, to the north by the Novaya Zemlya fold belt and North Siberian Sill, to the south by the Turgay Depression and Altay-Sayan fold belt, and to the east by the Yenisey Ridge, Turukhan-Igarka uplift, Yenisey-Khatanga Basin, and Taimyr High. The West Siberian Basin Province has a total discovered oil and gas volume of more than 360 billion barrels of oil equivalent (Ulmishek, 2000). Exploration has led to the discovery of tens of giant oil and gas fields, including the Urengoy gas field with more than 3500 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves and Samotlar oil field with reserves of nearly 28 billion barrels of oil (Ulmishek, 2003). This report summarizes the results of a reassessment of the undiscovered oil and gas potential of that part of the province north of the Arctic Circle; a previous assessment that included the entire province was completed in 2000 (Ulmishek, 2000). The total petroleum system (TPS) and assessment units (AU) defined by the USGS for the assessments in 2000 were adopted for this assessment. However, only those parts of the Aus lying wholly or partially north of the Arctic Circle were assessed for this study.

Petroleum reserves and undiscovered resources in the total petroleum systems of Iraq: Reserve growth and production implications

USGS Publications Warehouse

Verma, M.K.; Ahlbrandt, T.S.; Al-Gailani, M.

2004-01-01

Iraq is one of the world's most petroleum-rich countries and, in the future, it could become one of the main producers. Iraq's petroleum resources are estimated to be 184 billion barrels, which include oil and natural gas reserves, and undiscovered resources. With its proved (or remaining) reserves of 113 billion barrels of oil (BBO) as of January 2003, Iraq ranks second to Saudi Arabia with 259 BBO in the Middle East. Iraq's proved reserves of 110 trillion cubic feet of gas (TCFG) rank tenth in the world. In addition to known reserves, the combined undiscovered hydrocarbon potential for the three Total Petroleum Systems (Paleozoic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous/Tertiary) in Iraq is estimated to range from 14 to 84 BBO (45 BBO at the mean), and 37 to 227 TCFG (120 TCFG at the mean). Additionally, of the 526 known prospective structures, some 370 remain undrilled. Petroleum migration models and associated geological and geochemical studies were used to constrain the undiscovered resource estimates of Iraq. Based on a criterion of recoverable reserves of between 1 and 5 BBO for a giant field, and more than 5 BBO for a super-giant, Iraq has 6 super-giant and 11 giant fields, accounting for 88% of its recoverable reserves, which include proved reserves and cumulative production. Of the 28 producing fields, 22 have recovery factors that range from 15 to 42% with an overall average of less than 30%. The recovery factor can be increased with water injection, improved and enhanced oil recovery methods (IOR and EOR) in various reservoirs, thus potentially increasing Iraq's reserves by an additional 50 to 70 BBO. Reserve growth is a significant factor that has been observed, to some extent, in nearly all Iraqi oil fields. Historically, producing fields have shown an average growth of 1.6 fold (or 60%) in their recoverable reserves over a 20-year period (1981-2001). With periodic assessments of reservoirs, application of available technology, and an upgrading of facilities, increases in reserves are expected in the future.

The Pre-Messinian Total Petroleum System of the Provence Basin, Western Mediterranean Sea

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pawlewicz, Mark

2004-01-01

The Provence Basin is in that portion of the western Mediterranean Sea that is deeper than 2 kilometers. The basin lies essentially beyond the outer continental shelf, between the countries of France, Italy, and Algeria, the Balearic Islands, and the islands of Sardinia and Corsica. It encompasses nearly 300,000 square kilometers and includes the Rhone River submarine fan on the continental slope of southern France. It is province 4068 in the World Energy study. A single, hypothetical, total petroleum system (TPS), the Pre-Messinian TPS (406801), was described for the Provence Basin. The designation hypothetical is used because there is no hydrocarbon production from the basin. The Provence Basin is a deep-water Tertiary rift basin in which the geothermal gradients vary regionally. The Red Sea Basin shares a similar geologic and thermal history with the rifted western Mediterranean Sea and was used as an analog to better understand the genesis of the Provence Basin and as a guide to estimating possible undiscovered amounts of hydrocarbons. For this assessment the basin was given a potential, at the mean, for undiscovered resources of 51 trillion cubic feet (1.4 trillion cubic meters) gas, 0.42 billion barrels oil, and 2.23 million barrels natural gas liquids.

Comparison of methods used to estimate conventional undiscovered petroleum resources: World examples

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ahlbrandt, T.S.; Klett, T.R.

2005-01-01

Various methods for assessing undiscovered oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquid resources were compared in support of the USGS World Petroleum Assessment 2000. Discovery process, linear fractal, parabolic fractal, engineering estimates, PETRIMES, Delphi, and the USGS 2000 methods were compared. Three comparisons of these methods were made in: (1) the Neuquen Basin province, Argentina (different assessors, same input data); (2) provinces in North Africa, Oman, and Yemen (same assessors, different methods); and (3) the Arabian Peninsula, Arabian (Persian) Gulf, and North Sea (different assessors, different methods). A fourth comparison (same assessors, same assessment methods but different geologic models), between results from structural and stratigraphic assessment units in the North Sea used only the USGS 2000 method, and hence compared the type of assessment unit rather than the method. In comparing methods, differences arise from inherent differences in assumptions regarding: (1) the underlying distribution of the parent field population (all fields, discovered and undiscovered), (2) the population of fields being estimated; that is, the entire parent distribution or the undiscovered resource distribution, (3) inclusion or exclusion of large outlier fields; (4) inclusion or exclusion of field (reserve) growth, (5) deterministic or probabilistic models, (6) data requirements, and (7) scale and time frame of the assessment. Discovery process, Delphi subjective consensus, and the USGS 2000 method yield comparable results because similar procedures are employed. In mature areas such as the Neuquen Basin province in Argentina, the linear and parabolic fractal and engineering methods were conservative compared to the other five methods and relative to new reserve additions there since 1995. The PETRIMES method gave the most optimistic estimates in the Neuquen Basin. In less mature areas, the linear fractal method yielded larger estimates relative to other methods. A geologically based model, such as one using the total petroleum system approach, is preferred in that it combines the elements of petroleum source, reservoir, trap and seal with the tectono-stratigraphic history of basin evolution with petroleum resource potential. Care must be taken to demonstrate that homogeneous populations in terms of geology, geologic risk, exploration, and discovery processes are used in the assessment process. The USGS 2000 method (7th Approximation Model, EMC computational program) is robust; that is, it can be used in both mature and immature areas, and provides comparable results when using different geologic models (e.g. stratigraphic or structural) with differing amounts of subdivisions, assessment units, within the total petroleum system. ?? 2005 International Association for Mathematical Geology.

ECONOMICS AND APPRAISAL OF CONVENTIONAL OIL AND GAS IN THE WESTERN GULF OF MEXICO.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Attanasi, E.D.; Haynes, John L.

1984-01-01

The oil and gas industry frequently appraises undiscovered oil and gas resources on a regional basis to decide whether to start or continue exploration programs. The appraisals are of little value unless conditioned by estimates of the costs of finding and producing the resources. This paper presents an economic appraisal of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the western Gulf of Mexico. Also presented are a description of the model used to make the assessment, results of a sensitivity analysis, and a discussion of the implications of the results to the industry. The appraisal is shown to be relatively robust to changes in physical and engineering assumptions. Because the number of commercial discoveries was found to be quite sensitive to economic conditions, the analysis has important implications in terms of forecasting future industry drilling and other associated activities in the western Gulf of Mexico.

Executive Summary -- assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the San Joaquin Basin Province of California, 2003: Chapter 1 in Petroleum systems and geologic assessment of oil and gas in the San Joaquin Basin Province, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gautier, Donald L.; Scheirer, Allegra Hosford; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Peters, Kenneth E.; Magoon, Leslie B.; Lillis, Paul G.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Cook, Troy A.; French, Christopher D.; Klett, Timothy R.; Pollastro, Richard M.; Schenk, Christopher J.

2007-01-01

In 2003, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed an assessment of the oil and gas resource potential of the San Joaquin Basin Province of California (fig. 1.1). The assessment is based on the geologic elements of each Total Petroleum System defined in the province, including hydrocarbon source rocks (source-rock type and maturation and hydrocarbon generation and migration), reservoir rocks (sequence stratigraphy and petrophysical properties), and hydrocarbon traps (trap formation and timing). Using this geologic framework, the USGS defined five total petroleum systems and ten assessment units within these systems. Undiscovered oil and gas resources were quantitatively estimated for the ten assessment units (table 1.1). In addition, the potential was estimated for further growth of reserves in existing oil fields of the San Joaquin Basin.

Definition of Greater Gulf Basin Lower Cretaceous and Upper Cretaceous Lower Cenomanian Shale Gas Assessment Unit, United States Gulf of Mexico Basin Onshore and State Waters

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dennen, Kristin O.; Hackley, Paul C.

2012-01-01

An assessment unit (AU) for undiscovered continuous “shale” gas in Lower Cretaceous (Aptian and Albian) and basal Upper Cretaceous (lower Cenomanian) rocks in the USA onshore Gulf of Mexico coastal plain recently was defined by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The AU is part of the Upper Jurassic-Cretaceous-Tertiary Composite Total Petroleum System (TPS) of the Gulf of Mexico Basin. Definition of the AU was conducted as part of the 2010 USGS assessment of undiscovered hydrocarbon resources in Gulf Coast Mesozoic stratigraphic intervals. The purpose of defining the Greater Gulf Basin Lower Cretaceous Shale Gas AU was to propose a hypothetical AU in the Cretaceous part of the Gulf Coast TPS in which there might be continuous “shale” gas, but the AU was not quantitatively assessed by the USGS in 2010.

Assessment of undiscovered continuous gas resources of the Ordos Basin Province, China, 2015

USGS Publications Warehouse

Charpentier, Ronald R.; Klett, Timothy R.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Le, Phuong A.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Marra, Kristen R.; Mercier, Tracey J.

2016-01-11

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean resources of 28 trillion cubic feet of tight gas and 5.6 trillion cubic feet of coalbed gas in upper Paleozoic rocks in the Ordos Basin Province, China.

Alaska: A twenty-first-century petroleum province

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bird, K.J.

2001-01-01

Alaska, the least explored of all United States regions, is estimated to contain approximately 40% of total U.S. undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and natural-gas resources, based on the most recent U.S. Department of the Interior (U.S. Geological Survey and Minerals Management Service) estimates. Northern Alaska, including the North Slope and adjacent Beaufort and Chukchi continental shelves, holds the lion's share of the total Alaskan endowment of more than 30 billion barrels (4.8 billion m3) of oil and natural-gas liquids plus nearly 200 trillion cubic feet (5.7 trillion m3) of natural gas. This geologically complex region includes prospective strata within passive-margin, rift, and foreland-basin sequences. Multiple source-rock zones have charged several regionally extensive petroleum systems. Extensional and compressional structures provide ample structural objectives. In addition, recent emphasis on stratigraphic traps has demonstrated significant resource potential in shelf and turbidite systems in Jurassic to Tertiary strata. Despite robust potential, northern Alaska remains a risky exploration frontier - a nexus of geologic complexity, harsh economic conditions, and volatile policy issues. Its role as a major petroleum province in this century will depend on continued technological innovations, not only in exploration and drilling operations, but also in development of huge, currently unmarketable natural-gas resources. Ultimately, policy decisions will determine whether exploration of arctic Alaska will proceed.

Assessment of undiscovered hydrocarbon resources of sub-Saharan Africa

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brownfield, Michael E.

2016-01-01

The assessment was geology-based and used the total petroleum system (TPS) concept. The geologic elements of a TPS are hydrocarbon source rocks (source rock maturation and hydrocarbon generation and migration), reservoir rocks (quality and distribution), and traps where hydrocarbon accumulates. Using these geologic criteria, 16 conventional total petroleum systems and 18 assessment units in the 13 provinces were defined. The undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources were assessed for all assessment units.

Total petroleum systems of the Trias/Ghadames Province, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya; the Tanezzuft-Oued Mya, Tanezzuft-Melrhir, and Tanezzuft-Ghadames

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klett, T.R.

2000-01-01

Undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources were assessed within total petroleum systems of the Trias/Ghadames Province (2054) as part of the U.S. Geological Survey World Petroleum Assessment 2000. The Trias/Ghadames Province is in eastern Algeria, southern Tunisia, and westernmost Libya. The province and its total petroleum systems generally coincide with the Triassic Basin. The province includes the Oued Mya Basin, Melrhir Basin, and Ghadames (Berkine) Basin. Although several total petroleum systems may exist within each of these basins, only three “composite” total petroleum systems were identified. Each total petroleum system occurs in a separate basin, and each comprises a single assessment unit.The main source rocks are the Silurian Tanezzuft Formation (or lateral equivalents) and Middle to Upper Devonian mudstone. Maturation history and the major migration pathways from source to reservoir are unique to each basin. The total petroleum systems were named after the oldest major source rock and the basin in which it resides.The estimated means of the undiscovered conventional petroleum volumes in total petroleum systems of the Trias/Ghadames Province are as follows [MMBO, million barrels of oil; BCFG, billion cubic feet of gas; MMBNGL, million barrels of natural gas liquids]:Tanezzuft-Oued Mya 830 MMBO 2,341 BCFG 110 MMBNGLTanezzuft-Melrhir 1,875 MMBO 4,887 BCFG 269 MMBNGLTanezzuft-Ghadames 4,461 MMBO 12,035 BCFG 908 MMBNGL

Carboniferous-Rotliegend total petroleum system; description and assessment results summary

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gautier, Donald L.

2003-01-01

The Anglo-Dutch Basin and the Northwest German Basin are two of the 76 priority basins assessed by the U.S. Geological Survey World Energy Project. The basins were assessed together because most of the resources occur within a single petroleum system (the Carboniferous-Rotliegend Total Petroleum System) that transcends the combined Anglo-Dutch Basin and Northwest German Basin boundary. The juxtaposition of thermally mature coals and carbonaceous shales of the Carboniferous Coal Measures (source rock), sandstones of the Rotliegend sedimentary systems (reservoir rock), and the Zechstein evaporites (seal) define the total petroleum system (TPS). Three assessment units were defined, based upon technological and geographic (rather than geological) criteria, that subdivide the Carboniferous-Rotliegend Total Petroleum System. These assessment units are (1) the Southern Permian Basin-Offshore Europe Assessment Unit, (2) the Southern Permian Basin Onshore Europe Assessment Unit, and (3) the Southern Permian Basin Onshore United Kingdom Assessment Unit. Although the Carboniferous-Rotliegend Total Petroleum System is one of the most intensely explored volumes of rock in the world, potential remains for undiscovered resources. Undiscovered conventional resources associated with the TPS range from 22 to 184 million barrels of oil, and from 3.6 to 14.9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Of these amounts, approximately 62 million barrels of oil and 13 trillion cubic feet of gas are expected in offshore areas, and 26 million barrels of oil and 1.9 trillion cubic feet of gas are predicted in onshore areas.

A HYBRID THERMAL VIDEO AND FTTR SPECTROMETER FOR RAPIDLY LOCATING AND CHARACTERIZING GAS LEAKS

EPA Science Inventory

Undiscovered gas leaks, known as fugitive emissions, in chemical plants and refinery operations can impact regional air quality as well as being a public health problem. Surveying a facility for potential gas leaks can be a daunting task. An efficient, accurate and cost-effecti...

Petroleum Systems and Geologic Assessment of Oil and Gas Resources in the Wind River Basin Province, Wyoming

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2007-01-01

The purpose of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Oil and Gas Assessment is to develop geologically based hypotheses regarding the potential for additions to oil and gas reserves in priority areas of the United States. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed an assessment of the undiscovered oil and gas potential of the Wind River Basin Province which encompasses about 4.7 million acres in central Wyoming. The assessment is based on the geologic elements of each total petroleum system (TPS) defined in the province, including hydrocarbon source rocks (source-rock maturation, hydrocarbon generation, and migration), reservoir rocks (sequence stratigraphy and petrophysical properties), and hydrocarbon traps (trap formation and timing). Using this geologic framework, the USGS defined three TPSs: (1) Phosphoria TPS, (2) Cretaceous-Tertiary TPS, and (3) Waltman TPS. Within these systems, 12 Assessment Units (AU) were defined and undiscovered oil and gas resources were quantitatively estimated within 10 of the 12 AUs.

Chapter 1: Executive Summary - 2003 Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources in the Upper Cretaceous Navarro and Taylor Groups, Western Gulf Province, Gulf Coast Region, Texas

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2006-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed an assessment of the undiscovered oil and gas potential of the Upper Cretaceous Navarro and Taylor Groups in the Western Gulf Province of the Gulf Coast region (fig. 1) as part of a national oil and gas assessment effort (USGS Navarro and Taylor Groups Assessment Team, 2004). The assessment of the petroleum potential of the Navarro and Taylor Groups was based on the general geologic elements used to define a total petroleum system (TPS), including hydrocarbon source rocks (source rock maturation, hydrocarbon generation and migration), reservoir rocks (sequence stratigraphy and petrophysical properties), and hydrocarbon traps (trap formation and timing). Using this geologic framework, the USGS defined five assessment units (AU) in the Navarro and Taylor Groups as parts of a single TPS, the Smackover-Austin-Eagle Ford Composite TPS: Travis Volcanic Mounds Oil AU, Uvalde Volcanic Mounds Gas and Oil AU, Navarro-Taylor Updip Oil and Gas AU, Navarro-Taylor Downdip Gas and Oil AU, and Navarro-Taylor Slope-Basin Gas AU (table 1).

Offshore oil in the Alaskan Arctic

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weeks, W. F.; Weller, G.

1984-01-01

Oil and gas deposits in the Alaskan Arctic are estimated to contain up to 40 percent of the remaining undiscovered crude oil and oil-equivalent natural gas within U.S. jurisdiction. Most (65 to 70 percent) of these estimated reserves are believed to occuur offshore beneath the shallow, ice-covered seas of the Alaskan continental shelf. Offshore recovery operations for such areas are far from routine, with the primary problems associated with the presence of ice. Some problems that must be resolved if efficient, cost-effective, environmentally safe, year-round offshore production is to be achieved include the accurate estimation of ice forces on offshore structures, the proper placement of pipelines beneath ice-produced gouges in the sea floor, and the cleanup of oil spills in pack ice areas.

Assessment of Permian coalbed gas resources of the Karoo Basin Province, South Africa and Lesotho, 2016

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Klett, Timothy R.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Hawkins, Sarah J.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Marra, Kristen R.; Finn, Thomas M.; Le, Phuong A.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.

2017-02-21

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 5.27 trillion cubic feet of coalbed gas in the Karoo Basin Province.

Assessment of continuous gas resources in the Khorat Plateau Province, Thailand and Laos, 2016

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Klett, Timothy R.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Finn, Thomas M.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Marra, Kristen R.; Le, Phuong A.; Drake, Ronald M.

2017-05-25

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey assessed mean undiscovered, technically recoverable resources of 2.3 trillion cubic feet of continuous gas in the Khorat Plateau Province of Thailand and Laos.

Natural gas production and anomalous geothermal gradients of the deep Tuscaloosa Formation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Burke, Lauri

2011-01-01

For the largest producing natural gas fields in the onshore Gulf of Mexico Basin, the relation between temperature versus depth was investigated. Prolific natural gas reservoirs with the highest temperatures were found in the Upper Cretaceous downdip Tuscaloosa trend in Louisiana. Temperature and production trends from the deepest field, Judge Digby field, in Pointe Coupe Parish, Louisiana, were investigated to characterize the environment of natural gas in the downdip Tuscaloosa trend. The average production depth in the Judge Digby field is approximately 22,000 ft. Temperatures as high as 400 degrees F are typically found at depth in Judge Digby field and are anomalously low when compared to temperature trends extrapolated to similar depths regionally. At 22,000 ft, the minimum and maximum temperatures for all reservoirs in Gulf Coast producing gas fields are 330 and 550 degrees F, respectively; the average temperature is 430 degrees F. The relatively depressed geothermal gradients in the Judge Digby field may be due to high rates of sediment preservation, which may have delayed the thermal equilibration of the sediment package with respect to the surrounding rock. Analyzing burial history and thermal maturation indicates that the deep Tuscaloosa trend in the Judge Digby field is currently in the gas generation window. Using temperature trends as an exploration tool may have important implications for undiscovered hydrocarbons at greater depths in currently producing reservoirs, and for settings that are geologically analogous to the Judge Digby fiel

Geologic Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the West Greenland-East Canada Province

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.

2010-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently assessed the potential for undiscovered oil and gas resources of the West Greenland-East Canada Province as part of the USGS Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal program. The province lies in the offshore area between western Greenland and eastern Canada and includes Baffin Bay, Davis Strait, Lancaster Sound, and Nares Strait west of and including part of Kane Basin. A series of major tectonic events led to the formation of several distinct structural domains that are the geologic basis for defining five assessment units (AU) in the province, all of which are within the Mesozoic-Cenozoic Composite Total Petroleum System (TPS). Potential petroleum source rocks within the TPS include strata of Ordovician, Early and Late Cretaceous, and Paleogene ages. The five AUs defined for this study-the Eurekan Structures AU, Northwest Greenland Rifted Margin AU, Northeast Canada Rifted Margin AU, Baffin Bay Basin AU, and the Greater Ungava Fault Zone AU-encompass the entire province and were assessed for undiscovered, technically recoverable resources.

A Methodology for the Assessment of Unconventional (Continuous) Resources with an Application to the Greater Natural Buttes Gas Field, Utah

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Olea, Ricardo A., E-mail: olea@usgs.gov; Cook, Troy A.; Coleman, James L.

2010-12-15

The Greater Natural Buttes tight natural gas field is an unconventional (continuous) accumulation in the Uinta Basin, Utah, that began production in the early 1950s from the Upper Cretaceous Mesaverde Group. Three years later, production was extended to the Eocene Wasatch Formation. With the exclusion of 1100 non-productive ('dry') wells, we estimate that the final recovery from the 2500 producing wells existing in 2007 will be about 1.7 trillion standard cubic feet (TSCF) (48.2 billion cubic meters (BCM)). The use of estimated ultimate recovery (EUR) per well is common in assessments of unconventional resources, and it is one of themore » main sources of information to forecast undiscovered resources. Each calculated recovery value has an associated drainage area that generally varies from well to well and that can be mathematically subdivided into elemental subareas of constant size and shape called cells. Recovery per 5-acre cells at Greater Natural Buttes shows spatial correlation; hence, statistical approaches that ignore this correlation when inferring EUR values for untested cells do not take full advantage of all the information contained in the data. More critically, resulting models do not match the style of spatial EUR fluctuations observed in nature. This study takes a new approach by applying spatial statistics to model geographical variation of cell EUR taking into account spatial correlation and the influence of fractures. We applied sequential indicator simulation to model non-productive cells, while spatial mapping of cell EUR was obtained by applying sequential Gaussian simulation to provide multiple versions of reality (realizations) having equal chances of being the correct model. For each realization, summation of EUR in cells not drained by the existing wells allowed preparation of a stochastic prediction of undiscovered resources, which range between 2.6 and 3.4 TSCF (73.6 and 96.3 BCM) with a mean of 2.9 TSCF (82.1 BCM) for Greater Natural Buttes. A second approach illustrates the application of multiple-point simulation to assess a hypothetical frontier area for which there is no production information but which is regarded as being similar to Greater Natural Buttes.« less

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Paris Basin, France, 2015

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Klett, Timothy R.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Le, Phoung A.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Pitman, Janet K.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Marra, Kristen R.; Leathers, Heidi M.

2015-01-01

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated means of 222 million barrels of unconventional oil; 2,092 billion cubic feet of unconventional gas; 18 million barrels of conventional oil; and 47 billion cubic feet of conventional gas resources in the Paris Basin of France.

Assessment of shale-gas resources of the Karoo Province, South Africa and Lesotho, Africa, 2016

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brownfield, Michael E.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Klett, Timothy R.; Pitman, Janet K.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Le, Phuong A.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Finn, Thomas M.

2016-07-08

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resource of 44.5 trillion cubic feet of shale gas in the Karoo Province of South Africa and Lesotho, Africa.

Assessment of continuous oil and gas resources in the Perth Basin Province, Australia, 2017

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Finn, Thomas M.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Hawkins, Sarah J.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Marra, Kristen R.; Klett, Timothy R.; Le, Phuong A.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Woodall, Cheryl A.

2017-07-17

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey assessed undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 223 million barrels of oil and 14.5 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Perth Basin Province, Australia.

Total Petroleum Systems and Geologic Assessment of Oil and Gas Resources in the Powder River Basin Province, Wyoming and Montana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Anna, L.O.

2009-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey completed an assessment of the undiscovered oil and gas potential of the Powder River Basin in 2006. The assessment of undiscovered oil and gas used the total petroleum system concept, which includes mapping the distribution of potential source rocks and known petroleum accumulations and determining the timing of petroleum generation and migration. Geologically based, it focuses on source and reservoir rock stratigraphy, timing of tectonic events and the configuration of resulting structures, formation of traps and seals, and burial history modeling. The total petroleum system is subdivided into assessment units based on similar geologic characteristics and accumulation and petroleum type. In chapter 1 of this report, five total petroleum systems, eight conventional assessment units, and three continuous assessment units were defined and the undiscovered oil and gas resources within each assessment unit quantitatively estimated. Chapter 2 describes data used in support of the process being applied by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Oil and Gas Assessment (NOGA) project. Digital tabular data used in this report and archival data that permit the user to perform further analyses are available elsewhere on this CD-ROM. Computers and software may import the data without transcription from the Portable Document Format files (.pdf files) of the text by the reader. Because of the number and variety of platforms and software available, graphical images are provided as .pdf files and tabular data are provided in a raw form as tab-delimited text files (.tab files).

Mineral resources of the Adobe Town Wilderness Study Area, Sweetwater County, Wyoming

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Van Loenen, R.E.; Hill, R.H.; Bankey, V.

1989-01-01

The Adobe Town Wilderness Study Area is in Southwest Wyoming about 60 miles southeast of Rock Springs. This study area consists of flat-lying sedimentary rock of Eocene age located near the center of the Washakie Basin. There are no identified resources. This study area has a high resource potential for undiscovered oil and gas, in over pressured Cretaceous and Tertiary sandstone reservoirs. This study area has a low resource potential for undiscovered oil shale, zeolites, uranium, coal, and metallic minerals.

Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources of the Cooper and Eromanga Basins, Australia, 2016

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Klett, Timothy R.; Finn, Thomas M.; Le, Phuong A.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Marra, Kristen R.; Hawkins, Sarah J.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Pitman, Janet K.

2016-05-12

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean conventional resources of 68 million barrels of oil and 964 billion cubic feet of gas in the Cooper and Eromanga Basins of Australia.

Assessment of coalbed gas resources of the Central and South Sumatra Basin Provinces, Indonesia, 2016

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Klett, Timothy R.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Pitman, Janet K.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Finn, Thomas M.

2016-12-09

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated a mean of 20 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered, technically recoverable coalbed gas resource in the Central and South Sumatra Basin Provinces of Indonesia.

Assessment of continuous oil and gas resources in the San Jorge Basin Province, Argentina, 2017

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Hawkins, Sarah J.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Marra, Kristen R.; Finn, Thomas M.; Le, Phuong A.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Woodall, Cheryl A.

2017-07-18

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable resources of 78 million barrels of oil and 8.9 trillion cubic feet of gas in the San Jorge Basin Province, Argentina.

National Assessment of Oil and Gas Project: petroleum systems and geologic assessment of oil and gas in the Southwestern Wyoming Province, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2005-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed an assessment of the undiscovered oil and gas potential of the Southwestern Wyoming Province of southwestern Wyoming, northwestern Colorado, and northeastern Utah (fig. 1). The USGS Southwestern Wyoming Province for this assessment included the Green River Basin, Moxa arch, Hoback Basin, Sandy Bend arch, Rock Springs uplift, Great Divide Basin, Wamsutter arch, Washakie Basin, Cherokee ridge, and the Sand Wash Basin. The assessment of the Southwestern Wyoming Province is based on geologic principles and uses the total petroleum system concept. The geologic elements of a total petroleum system include hydrocarbon source rocks (source rock maturation, hydrocarbon generation, and migration), reservoir rocks (sequence stratigraphy, petrophysical properties), and hydrocarbon traps (trap types, formation, and timing). Using this geologic framework, the USGS defined 9 total petroleum systems (TPS) and 23 assessment units (AU) within these TPSs, and quantitatively estimated the undiscovered oil and gas resources within 21 of the 23 AUs.

Assessment of the Coal-Bed Gas Total Petroleum System in the Cook Inlet-Susitna region, south-central Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rouse, William A.; Houseknecht, David W.

2012-01-01

The Cook Inlet-Susitna region of south-central Alaska contains large quantities of gas-bearing coal of Tertiary age. The U.S. Geological Survey in 2011 completed an assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable coal-bed gas resources underlying the Cook Inlet-Susitna region based on the total petroleum system (TPS) concept. The Cook Inlet Coal-Bed Gas TPS covers about 9,600,000 acres and comprises the Cook Inlet basin, Matanuska Valley, and Susitna lowland. The TPS contains one assessment unit (AU) that was evaluated for coal-bed gas resources between 1,000 and 6,000 feet in depth over an area of about 8,500,000 acres. Coal beds, which serve as both the source and reservoir for natural gas in the AU, were deposited during Paleocene-Pliocene time in mires associated with a large trunk-tributary fluvial system. Thickness of individual coal beds ranges from a few inches to more than 50 feet, with cumulative coal thickness of more than 800 feet in the western part of the basin. Coal rank ranges from lignite to subbituminous, with vitrinite reflectance values less than 0.6 percent throughout much of the AU. The AU is considered hypothetical because only a few wells in the Matanuska Valley have tested the coal-bed reservoirs, so the use of analog coal-bed gas production data was necessary for this assessment. In order to estimate reserves that might be added in the next 30 years, coal beds of the Upper Fort Union Formation in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming and Montana were selected as the production analog for Tertiary coal beds in the Cook Inlet-Susitna region. Upper Fort Union coal beds have similar rank (lignite to subbituminous), range of thickness, and coal-quality characteristics as coal beds of the Tertiary Kenai Group. By use of this analog, the mean total estimate of undiscovered coal-bed gas in the Tertiary Coal-Bed Gas AU is 4.674 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas.

U.S. Geological Survey input-data forms for the assessment of the Spraberry Formation of the Midland Basin, Permian Basin Province, Texas, 2017

USGS Publications Warehouse

Marra, Kristen R.

2017-10-24

In 2017, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed an updated assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources in the Spraberry Formation of the Midland Basin (Permian Basin Province) in southwestern Texas (Marra and others, 2017). The Spraberry Formation was assessed using both the standard continuous (unconventional) and conventional methodologies established by the USGS for three assessment units (AUs): (1) Lower Spraberry Continuous Oil Trend AU, (2) Middle Spraberry Continuous Oil Trend AU, and (3) Northern Spraberry Conventional Oil AU. The revised assessment resulted in total estimated mean resources of 4,245 million barrels of oil, 3,112 billion cubic feet of gas, and 311 million barrels of natural gas liquids. The purpose of this report is to provide supplemental documentation of the input parameters used in the USGS 2017 Spraberry Formation assessment.

NOGA Online: a USGS resource for energy GIS data and services

USGS Publications Warehouse

Biewick, Laura; Gunther, Greg L.

2003-01-01

The PowerPoint presentation in this report was given at the BLM Resource Management Tools Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, April, 2003. Some diagrams that appeared in the original presentation have been updated in this report. It informs that the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Central Energy Resources Team (CERT) in Denver, Colorado, is providing National Oil and Gas Assessment (NOGA) results online at http://energy.cr.usgs.gov/oilgas/noga/. Available at this site are recently completed assessments of the potential for undiscovered oil and natural gas resources of five priority provinces (Montana Thrust Belt, Powder River Basin, San Juan Basin, Southwestern Wyoming, Uinta-Piceance) to meet the requirements of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 2000 (EPCA 2000). High demand for current assessment results and for the entirely digital, 1995 NOGA results for other provinces, prompted CERT to develop an internet map application using ArcIMS to deliver geologic data to the public. CERT continues to work on assessing oil and natural gas resources of priority basins in the United States; assessment results and GIS layers are made available at this site on an ongoing basis.

Total petroleum systems of the Grand Erg/Ahnet Province, Algeria and Morocco; the Tanezzuft-Timimoun, Tanezzuft-Ahnet, Tanezzuft-Sbaa, Tanezzuft Mouydir, Tanezzuft-Benoud, and Tanezzuft-Bechar/Abadla

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klett, T.R.

2000-01-01

Undiscovered, conventional oil and gas resources were assessed within total petroleum systems of the Grand Erg/Ahnet Province (2058) as part of the U.S. Geological Survey World Petroleum Assessment 2000. The majority of the Grand Erg/ Ahnet Province is in western Algeria; a very small portion extends into Morocco. The province includes the Timimoun Basin, Ahnet Basin, Sbaa Basin, Mouydir Basin, Benoud Trough, Bechar/Abadla Basin(s), and part of the Oued Mya Basin. Although several petroleum systems may exist within each of these basins, only seven ?composite? total petroleum systems were identified. Each total petroleum system occurs in a separate basin, and each comprises a single assessment unit. The main source rocks are the Silurian Tanezzuft Formation (or lateral equivalents) and Middle to Upper Devonian mudstone. Maturation history and the major migration pathways from source to reservoir are unique to each basin. The total petroleum systems were named after the oldest major source rock and the basin in which it resides. The estimated means of the undiscovered conventional petroleum volumes in total petroleum systems of the Grand Erg/ Ahnet Province are as follows: [MMBO, million barrels of oil; BCFG, billion cubic feet of gas; MMBNGL, million barrels of natural gas liquids] Total Petroleum System MMBO BCFG MMBNGL Tanezzuft-Timimoun 31 1,128 56 Tanezzuft-Ahnet 34 2,973 149 Tanezzuft-Sbaa 162 645 11 Tanezzuft-Mouydir 12 292 14 Tanezzuft-Benoud 72 2,541 125 Tanezzuft-Bechar/Abadla 16 441 22

Helium resources of the United States, 1993. Information circular/1995

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hamak, J.E.; Driskill, D.L.

1995-12-31

This report uses several criteria to determine reserves, marginal reserves, and subeconomic resources, including helium content, proximity to major gas transmission lines, and size of field. Refinements in evaluating other occurrences of helium and undiscovered resources also have been made for this report. As of this report, there is 33.7 Bcf of helium stored in Bush Dome at Cliffside Gasfield. The USBM owns 31.7 Bcf, and 2.0 Bcf is owned by private companies. There is also approximately 3.8 Bcf of helium contained in the natural gas in Bush Dome. This reserve of helium and the helium on Federal lands inmore » nondepleting fields will fulfill the USBM`s mission of supplying helium to meet all essential Government needs for several decades.« less

Assessment of coalbed gas resources of the Kalahari Basin Province of Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia, Africa, 2016

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brownfield, Michael E.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Klett, Timothy R.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Marra, Kristen R.; Hawkins, Sarah J.; Finn, Thomas M.; Le, Phuong A.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.

2017-02-24

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 4.5 trillion cubic feet of coalbed gas in the Kalahari Basin Province of Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, Africa.

Assessment of continuous oil and gas resources in the Pannonian Basin Province, Hungary, 2016

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Klett, Timothy R.; Le, Phuong A.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.

2017-06-29

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable continuous resources of 119 million barrels of oil and 944 billion cubic feet of gas in the Hungarian part of the Pannonian Basin Province.

Compilation of geospatial data for the mineral industries and related infrastructure of Latin America and the Caribbean

USGS Publications Warehouse

Baker, Michael S.; Buteyn, Spencer D.; Freeman, Philip A.; Trippi, Michael H.; Trimmer III, Loyd M.

2017-07-31

This report describes the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) ongoing commitment to its mission of understanding the nature and distribution of global mineral commodity supply chains by updating and publishing the georeferenced locations of mineral commodity production and processing facilities, mineral exploration and development sites, and mineral commodity exporting ports in Latin America and the Caribbean. The report includes an overview of data sources and an explanation of the geospatial PDF map format.The geodatabase and geospatial data layers described in this report create a new geographic information product in the form of a geospatial portable document format (PDF) map. The geodatabase contains additional data layers from USGS, foreign governmental, and open-source sources as follows: (1) coal occurrence areas, (2) electric power generating facilities, (3) electric power transmission lines, (4) hydrocarbon resource cumulative production data, (5) liquefied natural gas terminals, (6) oil and gas concession leasing areas, (7) oil and gas field center points, (8) oil and gas pipelines, (9) USGS petroleum provinces, (10) railroads, (11) recoverable proven plus probable hydrocarbon resources, (12) major cities, (13) major rivers, and (14) undiscovered porphyry copper tracts.

Appalachian basin oil and natural gas: stratigraphic framework, total petroleum systems, and estimated ultimate recovery: Chapter C.1 in Coal and petroleum resources in the Appalachian basin: distribution, geologic framework, and geochemical character

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ryder, Robert T.; Milici, Robert C.; Swezey, Christopher S.; Trippi, Michael H.; Ruppert, Leslie F.; Ryder, Robert T.

2014-01-01

The most recent U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Appalachian basin was completed in 2002 (Milici and others, 2003). This assessment was based on the total petroleum system (TPS), a concept introduced by Magoon and Dow (1994) and developed during subsequent studies such as those by the U.S. Geological Survey World Energy Assessment Team (2000) and by Biteau and others (2003a,b). Each TPS is based on specific geologic elements that include source rocks, traps and seals, reservoir rocks, and the generation and migration of hydrocarbons. This chapter identifies the TPSs defined in the 2002 Appalachian basin oil and gas assessment and places them in the context of the stratigraphic framework associated with regional geologic cross sections D–D′ (Ryder and others, 2009, which was re-released in this volume, chap. E.4.1) and E–E′ (Ryder and others, 2008, which was re-released in this volume, chap. E.4.2). Furthermore, the chapter presents a recent estimate of the ultimate recoverable oil and natural gas in the basin.

Mississippian Barnett Shale, Fort Worth basin, north-central Texas: Gas-shale play with multi-trillion cubic foot potential

USGS Publications Warehouse

Montgomery, S.L.; Jarvie, D.M.; Bowker, K.A.; Pollastro, R.M.

2005-01-01

The Mississippian Barnett Shale serves as source, seal, and reservoir to a world-class unconventional natural-gas accumulation in the Fort Worth basin of north-central Texas. The formation is a lithologically complex interval of low permeability that requires artificial stimulation to produce. At present, production is mainly confined to a limited portion of the northern basin where the Barnett Shale is relatively thick (>300 ft; >92 m), organic rich (present-day total organic carbon > 3.0%), thermally mature (vitrinite reflectance > 1.1%), and enclosed by dense limestone units able to contain induced fractures. The most actively drilled area is Newark East field, currently the largest gas field in Texas. Newark East is 400 mi2 (1036 km2) in extent, with more than 2340 producing wells and about 2.7 tcf of booked gas reserves. Cumulative gas production from Barnett Shale wells through 2003 was about 0.8 tcf. Wells in Newark East field typically produce from depths of 7500 ft (2285 m) at rates ranging from 0.5 to more than 4 mmcf/day. Estimated ultimate recoveries per well range from 0.75 to as high as 7.0 bcf. Efforts to extend the current Barnett play beyond the field limits have encountered several challenges, including westward and northward increases in oil saturation and the absence of lithologic barriers to induced fracture growth. Patterns of oil and gas occurrence in the Barnett, in conjunction with maturation and burial-history data, indicate a complex, multiphased thermal evolution, with episodic expulsion of hydrocarbons and secondary cracking of primary oils to gas in portions of the basin where paleotemperatures were especially elevated. These and other data imply a large-potential Barnett resource for the basin as a whole (possibly > 200 tcf gas in place). Recent assessment by the U.S. Geological Survey suggests a mean volume of 26.2 tcf of undiscovered, technically recoverable gas in the central Fort Worth basin. Recovery of a significant portion of this undiscovered resource will require continued improvements in geoscientific characterization and approaches to stimulation of the Barnett reservoirs. Copyright ?? 2005. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All rights reserved.

Assessment of continuous oil and gas resources of the Maracaibo Basin Province of Venezuela and Colombia, 2016

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Marra, Kristen R.; Le, Phoung A.; Pitman, Janet K.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Hawkins, Sarah J.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Finn, Thomas M.; Klett, Timothy R.

2017-03-27

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean continuous resources of 656 million barrels of oil and 5.7 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Maracaibo Basin Province, Venezuela and Colombia.

Assessment of continuous oil and gas resources in the Middle and Upper Magdalena Basins, Colombia, 2017

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Le, Phuong A.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Finn, Thomas M.; Hawkins, Sarah J.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Marra, Kristen R.; Klett, Timothy R.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Woodall, Cheryl A.

2017-09-22

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable continuous resources of 0.45 billion barrels of oil and 1.0 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Middle and Upper Magdalena Basins, Colombia.

Assessment of continuous oil and gas resources in the Neuquén Basin Province, Argentina, 2016

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Klett, Timothy R.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Pitman, Janet K.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Finn, Thomas M.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Le, Phuong A.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Marra, Kristen R.

2017-05-23

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey assessed undiscovered, technically recoverable mean continuous resources of 14.4 billion barrels of oil and 38 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Neuquén Basin Province, Argentina.

PORTABLE IMAGING DEVICES FOR INDUSTRIAL LEAK DETECTION AT PETROLEUM REFINERIES AND CHEMICAL PLANTS

EPA Science Inventory

Undiscovered gas leaks, or fugitive emissions, in chemical plants and refinery operations can impact regional air quality as well as being a public health problem. Surveying a facility for potential gas leaks can be a daunting task. Industrial Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR) pro...

Assessment of continuous oil and gas resources of the South Sumatra Basin Province, Indonesia, 2016

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Klett, Timothy R.; Finn, Thomas M.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Marra, Kristen R.; Le, Phuong A.; Hawkins, Sarah J.

2016-12-09

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 689 million barrels of continuous shale oil and 3.9 trillion cubic feet of shale gas in the South Sumatra Basin Province in Indonesia.

Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, Canada, 2012

USGS Publications Warehouse

Higley, Debra K.

2013-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey recently completed a geoscience-based assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of provinces within the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. The Western Canada Sedimentary Basin primarily comprises the (1) Alberta Basin Province of Alberta, eastern British Columbia, and the southwestern Northwest Territories; (2) the Williston Basin Province of Saskatchewan, southeastern Alberta, and southern Manitoba; and (3) the Rocky Mountain Deformed Belt Province of western Alberta and eastern British Columbia. This report is part of the U.S. Geological Survey World Petroleum Resources Project assessment of priority geologic provinces of the world. The assessment was based on geoscience elements that define a total petroleum system (TPS) and associated assessment unit(s). These elements include petroleum source rocks (geochemical properties and petroleum generation, migration, and accumulation), reservoir description (reservoir presence, type, and quality), and petroleum traps (trap and seal types, and timing of trap and seal formation relative to petroleum migration). Using this framework, the Elk Point-Woodbend Composite TPS, Exshaw-Fernie-Mannville Composite TPS, and Middle through Upper Cretaceous Composite TPS were defined, and four conventional assessment units within the total petroleum systems were quantitatively assessed for undiscovered resources in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin.

Oil and Gas Supply Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gass, S. I.

1982-05-01

The theoretical and applied state of the art of oil and gas supply models was discussed. The following areas were addressed: the realities of oil and gas supply, prediction of oil and gas production, problems in oil and gas modeling, resource appraisal procedures, forecasting field size and production, investment and production strategies, estimating cost and production schedules for undiscovered fields, production regulations, resource data, sensitivity analysis of forecasts, econometric analysis of resource depletion, oil and gas finding rates, and various models of oil and gas supply.

USGS assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in Paleogene strata of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coastal plain and state waters

USGS Publications Warehouse

Warwick, Peter D.; Coleman, James; Hackley, Paul C.; Hayba, Daniel O.; Karlsen, Alexander W.; Rowan, Elisabeth L.; Swanson, Sharon M.; Kennan, Lorcan; Pindell, James; Rosen, Norman C.

2007-01-01

This report presents a review of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 2007 assessment of the undiscovered oil and gas resources in Paleogene strata underlying the U.S. Gulf of Mexico Coastal Plain and state waters. Geochemical, geologic, geophysical, thermal maturation, burial history, and paleontologic studies have been combined with regional cross sections and data from previous USGS petroleum assessments have helped to define the major petroleum systems and assessment units. Accumulations of both conventional oil and gas and continuous coal-bed gas within these petroleum systems have been digitally mapped and evaluated, and undiscovered resources have been assessed following USGS methodology.The primary source intervals for oil and gas in Paleogene (and Cenozoic) reservoirs are coal and shale rich in organic matter within the Wilcox Group (Paleocene-Eocene) and Sparta Formation of the Claiborne Group (Eocene); in addition, Cretaceous and Jurassic source rocks probably have contributed substantial petroleum to Paleogene (and Cenozoic) reservoirs.For the purposes of the assessment, Paleogene strata have divided into the following four stratigraphic study intervals: (1) Wilcox Group (including the Midway Group and the basal Carrizo Sand of the Claiborne Group; Paleocene-Eocene); (2) Claiborne Group (Eocene); (3) Jackson and Vicksburg Groups (Eocene-Oligocene); and (4) the Frio-Anahuac Formations (Oligocene). Recent discoveries of coal-bed gas in Paleocene strata confirm a new petroleum system that was not recognized in previous USGS assessments. In total, 26 conventional Paleogene assessment units are defined. In addition, four Cretaceous-Paleogene continuous (coal-bed gas) assessment units are included in this report. Initial results of the assessment will be released as USGS Fact Sheets (not available at the time of this writing).Comprehensive reports for each assessment unit are planned to be released via the internet and distributed on CD-ROMs within the next year.

Geology and total petroleum systems of the Gulf of Guinea province of West Africa

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brownfield, Michael E.; Charpentier, Ronald R.

2006-01-01

The Gulf of Guinea Province as defined by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) consists of the coastal and offshore areas of Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, and Benin, and the western part of the coast of Nigeria, from the Liberian border east to the west edge of the Niger Delta. The province includes the Ivory Coast, Tano, Central, Saltpond, Keta, and Benin Basins and the Dahomey Embayment. The area has had relatively little hydrocarbon exploration since 1968, with only 33 small to moderate-sized oil and gas fields having been discovered prior to the USGS assessment. Most discoveries to 1995 have been located in water depths less than 500 m. Since 1995, only eight new offshore discoveries have been made, with four of the discoveries in the deep-water area of the province. Although as many as five total petroleum systems exist in the Gulf of Guinea Province, only one, the Cretaceous Composite Total Petroleum System, and its assessment unit, the Coastal Plain and Offshore Assessment Unit, had sufficient data to allow assessment. The province shows two important differences compared to the passive-margin basins south of the Niger Delta: (1) the influence of transform tectonics, and (2) the absence of evaporites and salt deformation. The province also lacks long-lived, large deltaic systems that typically result in rapid source rock burial and abundant high-quality hydrocarbon reservoirs. The USGS assessed the potential for undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources in the Gulf of Guinea Province as part of its World Petroleum Assessment 2000, estimating a mean of 1,004 million barrels of conventional undiscovered oil, 10,071 billion cubic feet of gas, and 282 million barrels of natural gas liquids. Most of the hydrocarbon potential is postulated to be in the offshore, deeper waters of the province. Gas resources may be large, as well as accessible, in areas where the zone of hydrocarbon generation is relatively shallow.

Assessment of undiscovered continuous oil and shale-gas resources in the Bazhenov Formation of the West Siberian Basin Province, Russia, 2016

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klett, Timothy R.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Pitman, Janet K.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.

2016-11-10

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean continuous resources of 12 billion barrels of oil and 75 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Bazhenov Formation of the West Siberian Basin Province, Russia.

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Spraberry Formation of the Midland Basin, Permian Basin Province, Texas, 2017

USGS Publications Warehouse

Marra, Kristen R.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Klett, Timothy R.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Le, Phuong A.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Finn, Thomas M.; Hawkins, Sarah J.; Brownfield, Michael E.

2017-05-15

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean resources of 4.2 billion barrels of oil and 3.1 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Spraberry Formation of the Midland Basin, Permian Basin Province, Texas.

Assessment of Permian tight oil and gas resources in the Junggar basin of China, 2016

USGS Publications Warehouse

Potter, Christopher J.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Klett, Timothy R.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Finn, Thomas M.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Pitman, Janet K.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Le, Phuong A.; Drake, Ronald M.

2017-04-05

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 764 million barrels of oil and 3.5 trillion cubic feet of gas in tight reservoirs in the Permian Lucaogou Formation in the Junggar basin of northwestern China.

Assessment of continuous gas resources in the Phosphoria Formation of the Wyoming Thrust Belt Province, Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah, 2017

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Woodall, Cheryl A.; Finn, Thomas M.; Pitman, Janet K.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Marra, Kristen R.; Le, Phuong A.; Klett, Timothy R.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.

2018-04-13

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable resources of 198 billion cubic feet of continuous gas in the Phosphoria Formation of the Wyoming Thrust Belt Province, Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah.

U.S. Geological Survey assessment concepts for conventional petroleum accumulations: Chapter 24 in Petroleum systems and geologic assessment of oil and gas in the San Joaquin Basin Province, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schmoker, James W.; Klett, T.R.

2007-01-01

Conventional petroleum accumulations are discrete fields or pools localized in structural or stratigraphic traps by the buoyancy of oil or gas in water; they float, bubble-like, in water. This report describes the fundamental concepts supporting the U.S. Geological Survey “Seventh Approximation” model for resource assessments of conventional accumulations. The Seventh Approximation provides a strategy for estimating volumes of undiscovered petroleum (oil, gas, and coproducts) having the potential to be added to reserves in a 30-year forecast span. The assessment of an area requires (1) choice of a minimum accumulation size, (2) assignment of geologic and access risk, and (3) estimation of the number and sizes of undiscovered accumulations in the assessment area. The combination of these variables yields probability distributions for potential additions to reserves. Assessment results are controlled by geology-based input parameters supplied by knowledgeable geologists, as opposed to projections of historical trends.

Compact Neutral Hydrogen Clouds: Searching for Undiscovered Dwarf Galaxies and Gas Associated with an Algol-type Variable Star

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grcevich, Jana; Berger, Sabrina; Putman, Mary E.; Eli Goldston Peek, Joshua

2016-01-01

Several interesting compact neutral hydrogen clouds were found in the GALFA-HI (Galactic Arecibo L-Band Feed Array HI) survey which may represent undiscovered dwarf galaxy candidates. The continuation of this search is motivated by successful discoveries of Local Volume dwarfs in the GALFA-HI DR1. We identify additional potential dwarf galaxies from the GALFA-HI DR1 Compact Cloud Catalog which are indentified as having unexpected velocities given their other characteristics via the bayesian analysis software BayesDB. We also present preliminary results of a by-eye search for dwarf galaxies in the GALFA-HI DR2, which provides additional sky coverage. Interestingly, one particularly compact cloud discovered during our dwarf galaxy search is spatially coincident with an Algol-type variable star. Although the association is tentative, Algol-type variables are thought to have undergone significant gas loss and it is possible this gas may be observable in HI.

Assessment of Appalachian basin oil and gas resources: Utica-Lower Paleozoic Total Petroleum System: Chapter G.10 in Coal and petroleum resources in the Appalachian basin: distribution, geologic framework, and geochemical character

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ryder, Robert T.; Ruppert, Leslie F.; Ryder, Robert T.

2014-01-01

Both conventional oil and gas resources and continuous (unconventional) gas resources are present in the UticaLower Paleozoic TPS. Conventional oil and gas resources in the Utica-Lower Paleozoic TPS were assessed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in 2002 in the following assessment units (AU): (1) the Lower Paleozoic Carbonates in Thrust Belt AU, (2) the Knox Unconformity AU, (3) the Black River-Trenton Hydrothermal Dolomite AU, and (4) the Lockport Dolomite AU. The total estimated undiscovered oil and gas resources for these four AUs, at a mean value, was about 46 million barrels of oil (MMBO) and about 3 trillion cubic feet of gas (TCFG), respectively. In contrast, continuous (unconventional) gas resources in the TPS were assessed by the USGS in 2002 in four AUs associated with the “Clinton” sandstone, Medina sandstone, Medina Group sandstones, Tuscarora Sandstone, and sandstones in the Queenston Shale. The total estimated undiscovered gas for these four AUs, at a mean value, was about 26.8 TCFG. A hypothetical Utica Shale AU for oil(?) and continuous gas is identified in this report. In 2012, the Utica Shale was recognized by the USGS as a continuous AU and was assessed by Kirschbaum and others (2012).

Assessment of continuous oil and gas resources of Solimões, Amazonas, and Parnaíba Basin Provinces, Brazil, 2016

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Klett, Timothy R.; Finn, Thomas M.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Hawkins, Sarah J.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Marra, Kristen R.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Le, Phuong A.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.

2017-03-27

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean continuous resources of 5 billion barrels of oil and 47 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Paleozoic Solimões, Amazonas, and Parnaíba Basin Provinces, Brazil. 

Petroleum systems and geologic assessment of oil and gas in the Uinta-Piceance Province, Utah and Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2003-01-01

Many more details about the project and about individual chapters of this report are readily available in the very readable Chapter 2 of this volume, 'The Uinta-Piceance Province-Introduction to a geologic assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources.' Use Acrobat Reader to access the PDF for this chapter.

Geology and assessment of unconventional oil and gas resources of northeastern Mexico

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2015-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of State, quantitatively assessed the potential for unconventional oil and gas resources within the onshore portions of the Tampico-Misantla Basin, Burgos Basin, and Sabinas Basin provinces of northeastern Mexico. Unconventional resources of the Veracruz Basin were not quantitatively assessed because of a current lack of required geological information. Unconventional resources include shale gas, shale oil, tight gas, tight oil, and coalbed gas. Undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources were assessed in Mexico in 2012.

Oil and Gas Development in Southwestern Wyoming - Energy Data and Services for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Biewick, Laura

2009-01-01

The purpose of this report is to explore current oil and gas energy development in the area encompassing the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative. The Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative is a long-term science-based effort to ensure southwestern Wyoming's wildlife and habitat remain viable in areas facing development pressure. Wyoming encompasses some of the highest quality wildlife habitats in the Intermountain West. At the same time, this region is an important source of natural gas. Using Geographic Information System technology, energy data pertinent to the conservation decision-making process have been assembled to show historical oil and gas exploration and production in southwestern Wyoming. In addition to historical data, estimates of undiscovered oil and gas are included from the 2002 U.S. Geological Survey National Assessment of Oil and Gas in the Southwestern Wyoming Province. This report is meant to facilitate the integration of existing data with new knowledge and technologies to analyze energy resources development and to assist in habitat conservation planning. The well and assessment data can be accessed and shared among many different clients including, but not limited to, an online web-service for scientists and resource managers engaged in the Initiative.

Geology and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Hope Basin Province, 2008

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bird, Kenneth J.; Houseknecht, David W.; Pitman, Janet K.; Moore, Thomas E.; Gautier, Donald L.

2018-01-04

The Hope Basin, an independent petroleum province that lies mostly offshore in the southern Chukchi Sea north of the Chukotka and Seward Peninsulas and south of Wrangel Island, the Herald Arch, and the Lisburne Peninsula, is the largest in a series of postorogenic (successor) basins in the East Siberian-Chukchi Sea region and the only one with exploratory-well control and extensive seismic coverage.In spite of the seismic coverage and well data, the petroleum potential of the Hope Basin Province is poorly known. The adequacy of hydrocarbon charge, in combination with uncertainties in source-rock potential and maturation, was the greatest risk in this assessment. A single assessment unit was defined and assessed, resulting in mean estimates of undiscovered, technically recoverable resources that include ~3 million barrels of oil and 650 billion cubic feet of nonassociated gas.

Geologic models and evaluation of undiscovered conventional and continuous oil and gas resources: Upper Cretaceous Austin Chalk

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pearson, Krystal

2012-01-01

The Upper Cretaceous Austin Chalk forms a low-permeability, onshore Gulf of Mexico reservoir that produces oil and gas from major fractures oriented parallel to the underlying Lower Cretaceous shelf edge. Horizontal drilling links these fracture systems to create an interconnected network that drains the reservoir. Field and well locations along the production trend are controlled by fracture networks. Highly fractured chalk is present along both regional and local fault zones. Fractures are also genetically linked to movement of the underlying Jurassic Louann Salt with tensile fractures forming downdip of salt-related structures creating the most effective reservoirs. Undiscovered accumulations should also be associated with structure-controlled fracture systems because much of the Austin that overlies the Lower Cretaceous shelf edge remains unexplored. The Upper Cretaceous Eagle Ford Shale is the primary source rock for Austin Chalk hydrocarbons. This transgressive marine shale varies in thickness and lithology across the study area and contains both oil- and gas-prone kerogen. The Eagle Ford began generating oil and gas in the early Miocene, and vertical migration through fractures was sufficient to charge the Austin reservoirs.

Preliminary vitrinite and bitumen reflectance, total organic carbon, and pyrolysis data for samples from Upper and Lower Cretaceous strata, Maverick Basin, south Texas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hackley, Paul C.; Dennen, Kristin O.; Gesserman, Rachel M.; Ridgley, Jennie L.

2009-01-01

The Lower Cretaceous Pearsall Formation, a regionally occurring limestone and shale interval of 500-600-ft maximum thickness (Rose, 1986), is being evaluated as part of an ongoing U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessment of undiscovered hydrocarbon resources in onshore Lower Cretaceous strata of the northern Gulf of Mexico. The purpose of this report is to release preliminary vitrinite and bitumen reflectance, total organic carbon, and pyrolysis data for Pearsall Formation, Glen Rose Formation, Hosston Formation, Austin Group, and Eagle Ford Group samples from the Maverick Basin in south Texas in order to aid in the characterization of these strata in this area. The preliminary nature of this report and the data contained herein reflect that the assessment and characterization of these samples is a work currently in progress. Pearsall Formation subdivisions are, in ascending stratigraphic order, the Pine Island Shale, James Limestone, and Bexar Shale Members (Loucks, 2002). The Lower Cretaceous Glen Rose Formation is also part of the USGS Lower Cretaceous assessment and produces oil in the Maverick Basin (Loucks and Kerans, 2003). The Hosston Formation was assessed by the USGS for undiscovered oil and gas resources in 2006 (Dyman and Condon, 2006), but not in south Texas. The Upper Cretaceous Austin Group is being assessed as part of the USGS assessment of undiscovered hydrocarbon resources in the Upper Cretaceous strata of the northern Gulf of Mexico and, along with the Upper Cretaceous Eagle Ford Group, is considered to be an important source rock in the Smackover-Austin-Eagleford Total Petroleum System (Condon and Dyman, 2006). Both the Austin Group and the Eagle Ford Group are present in the Maverick Basin in south Texas (Rose, 1986).

Assessment of undiscovered petroleum resources of the Amerasia Basin Petroleum Province

USGS Publications Warehouse

Houseknecht, David W.; Bird, Kenneth J.; Garrity, Christopher P.

2012-01-01

The Amerasia Basin Petroleum Province encompasses the Canada Basin and the sediment prisms along the Alaska and Canada margins, outboard from basinward margins (hingelines) of the rift shoulders that formed during extensional opening of the Canada Basin. The province includes the Mackenzie delta and slope, the outer shelves and marine slopes along the Arctic margins of Alaska and Canada, and the deep Canada Basin. The province is divided into four assessment units (AUs): (1) The Canning-Mackenzie deformed margin AU is that part of the rifted margin where the Brooks Range orogenic belt has overridden the rift shoulder and is deforming the rifted-margin prism of sediment outboard of the hingeline. This is the only part of the Amerasia Basin Province that has been explored and—even though more than 3 billion barrels of oil equivalent (BBOE) of oil, gas, and condensate have been discovered—none has been commercially produced. (2) The Alaska passive margin AU is the rifted-margin prism of sediment lying beneath the Beaufort outer shelf and slope that has not been deformed by tectonism. (3) The Canada passive margin AU is the rifted-margin prism of sediment lying beneath the Arctic outer shelf and slope (also known as the polar margin) of Canada that has not been deformed by tectonism. (4) The Canada Basin AU includes the sediment wedge that lies beneath the deep Canada Basin, north of the marine slope developed along the Alaska and Canada margins. Mean estimates of risked, undiscovered, technically recoverable resources include more than 6 billion barrels of oil (BBO), more than 19 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of associated gas, and more than 16 TCF of nonassociated gas in the Canning-Mackenzie deformed margin AU; about 1 BBO, about 3 TCF of associated gas, and about 3 TCF of nonassociated gas in the Alaska passive margin AU; and more than 2 BBO, about 7 TCF of associated gas, and about 8 TCF of nonassociated gas in the Canada passive margin AU. Quantities of natural gas liquids also are assessed in each AU. The Canada Basin AU was not quantitatively assessed because it is judged to hold less than 10 percent probability of containing at least one accumulation of 50 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Economics and the 1995 National Assessment of United States Oil and Gas Resources

USGS Publications Warehouse

Attanasi, E.D.

1998-01-01

This report summarizes the economic component of the 1995 National Assessment of Oil and Gas Resources prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey for onshore and State offshore areas of the United States. Province and regional incremental cost functions for conventional undiscovered oil and gas fields, and selected unconventional oil and gas accumulations, allowing the ranking of areas by the incremental costs finding, developing, and producing these resources. Regional projections of additions to reserves from previously discovered fields to 2015 are also presented.

Soil gas studies along the Trans-Challis fault system near Idaho City, Boise County, Idaho

USGS Publications Warehouse

McCarthy, J.H.; Kiilsgaard, T.H.

2001-01-01

Soil gases were sampled along several traverses that cross the Trans-Challis fault system in central Idaho. Anomalous carbon dioxide, hydrogen, oxygen, hydrocarbon, and sulfur gas concentrations coincide with faults and known mineralized areas. Anomalies in areas not known to be mineralized may reflect undiscovered mineral deposits or concealed faults. Soil gases may be a useful exploration guide for mineral deposits in this terrane.

Geology and petroleum resources of the Barents-northern Kara shelf in light of new geologic data

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ulmishek, G.

1985-10-01

The Barents-northern Kara shelf, one of the largest continental shelves in the world, is still in the earliest stage of exploration for oil and gas. During the last several years, numerous seismic surveys have been conducted, a number of wells have been drilled, and several gas fields have been discovered. This report summarizes the geological data gathered during recent exploration activities and presents the changes in earlier concepts necessitated by consideration of these new data. The revised assessment of undiscovered petroleum resources is based on new information about the distribution and quality of source rocks and reservoir rocks and themore » structural framework of the shelf. Special attention is paid to evaluating the oil versus gas potential of the shelf, an evaluation that strongly depends on the expected offshore extension of oil-source facies in the Lower-Middle Triassic section. The most probable amounts of undiscovered petroleum resources of the shelf are estimated at 14.2 x 10/sup 9/ barrels of oil and 312.2 x 10/sup 12/ cubic feet of gas. The Finnmark trough, the south Barents and North Novaya Zemlya depressions, and the offshore continuation of the Timan-Pechora basin possess the great majority of these resources. 103 refs., 12 figs., 1 tab.« less

Assessment of undiscovered petroleum resources of the Arctic Alaska Petroleum Province

USGS Publications Warehouse

Houseknecht, David W.; Bird, Kenneth J.; Garrity, Christopher P.

2012-01-01

The Arctic Alaska Petroleum Province encompasses all lands and adjacent continental shelf areas north of the Brooks Range-Herald arch tectonic belts and south of the northern (outboard) margin of the Alaska rift shoulder. Even though only a small part is thoroughly explored, it is one of the most prolific petroleum provinces in North America, with total known resources (cumulative production plus proved reserves) of about 28 billion barrels of oil equivalent. For assessment purposes, the province is divided into a platform assessment unit, comprising the Alaska rift shoulder and its relatively undeformed flanks, and a fold-and-thrust belt assessment unit, comprising the deformed area north of the Brooks Range and Herald arch tectonic belts. Mean estimates of undiscovered, technically recoverable resources include nearly 28 billion barrels of oil and 122 trillion cubic feet of nonassociated gas in the platform assessment unit and 2 billion barrels of oil and 59 trillion cubic feet of nonassociated gas in the fold-and-thrust belt assessment unit.

Rock-Eval pyrolysis and vitrinite reflectance results from the Sheep Creek 1 well, Susitna basin, south-central Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stanley, Richard G.; Lillis, Paul G.; Pawlewicz, Mark J.; Haeussler, Peter J.

2014-01-01

We used Rock-Eval pyrolysis and vitrinite reflectance to examine the petroleum source potential of rock samples from the Sheep Creek 1 well in the Susitna basin of south-central Alaska. The results show that Miocene nonmarine coal, carbonaceous shale, and mudstone are potential sources of hydrocarbons and are thermally immature with respect to the oil window. In the samples that we studied, coals are more organic-rich and more oil-prone than carbonaceous shales and silty mudstones, which appear to be potential sources of natural gas. Lithologically similar rocks may be present in the deeper parts of the subsurface Susitna basin located west of the Sheep Creek 1 well, where they may have been buried deeply enough to generate oil and (or) gas. The Susitna basin is sparsely drilled and mostly unexplored, and no commercial production of hydrocarbons has been obtained. However, the existence of potential source rocks of oil and gas, as shown by our Rock-Eval results, suggests that undiscovered petroleum accumulations may be present in the Susitna basin.

Geologic framework for the assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in sandstone reservoirs of the Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous Cotton Valley Group, U.S. Gulf of Mexico region

USGS Publications Warehouse

Eoff, Jennifer D.; Dubiel, Russell F.; Pearson, Ofori N.; Whidden, Katherine J.

2015-01-01

The Cotton Valley Group extends in the subsurface from southern Texas to the Florida Panhandle in an arcuate belt that crosses northern Louisiana, the southern part of Arkansas, and southern Mississippi and Alabama. Three of the AUs are quantitatively assessed for undiscovered volumes of hydrocarbons in conventional accumulations. The Cotton Valley Updip Oil AU includes areas between the maximum updip limit of the Cotton Valley Group and a curved belt of regional faults (included in the Peripheral Fault System AU). Hydrocarbon charge to this AU remains uncertain. The Peripheral Fault System Oil and Gas AU includes the Mexia, Talco, State Line, South Arkansas, Pickens, Gilbertown, and other fault segments, which trapped early oil that migrated from source rocks within the Smackover Formation. Hydrocarbons in the Downdip Oil and Gas AU are primarily associated with low-amplitude salt-related features in the East Texas, North Louisiana, and Mississippi salt basins. The Tight Sandstone Gas AU contains gas-charged sandstones previously referred to collectively as “massive.” Their reservoir properties are consistent with the USGS’s definition of continuous reservoirs, and their resources, therefore, are assessed using a separate methodology. Optimal coincidence of low-permeability sandstone, gas-mature source rocks, and complex structures of the regional Sabine feature encouraged development of a general “sweet spot” area in eastern Texas.

U.S. Geological Survey and Afghanistan Ministry of Mines and Industry cooperative assessment of Afghanistan's undiscovered oil and gas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wandrey, Craig J.; Ulmishek, Gregory; Agena, Warren; Klett, Timothy R.; ,

2006-01-01

Results of the U.S. Geological Survey and Afghanistan Ministry of Mines and Industry cooperative assessment of undiscovered petroleum resources of northern Afghanistan were first released through this presentation on March 14, 2006, at the Afghan Embassy in Washington, D.C. On March 15 the results were presented in Kabul, Afghanistan. The purpose of the assessment and release of the results is to provide energy data required to implement the rebuilding and development of Afghanistan's energy infrastructure. This presentation includes a summary of the goals, process, methodology, results, and accomplishments of the assessment. It provides context for Fact Sheet 2006-3031, a summary of assessment results provided in the presentations.

Assessment of conventional oil resources of the East African Rift Province, East Africa, 2016

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brownfield, Michael E.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Klett, Timothy R.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Marra, Kristen R.; Finn, Thomas M.; Le, Phuong A.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.

2017-03-27

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean conventional resources of 13.4 billion barrels of oil and 4.6 trillion cubic feet of gas in the East African Rift Province of east Africa.

Fracture patterns and their origin in the upper Devonian Antrim Shale gas reservoir of the Michigan basin; a review

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ryder, Robert T.

1996-01-01

INTRODUCTION: Black shale members of the Upper Devonian Antrim Shale are both the source and reservoir for a regional gas accumulation that presently extends across parts of six counties in the northern part of the Michigan basin (fig. 1). Natural fractures are considered by most petroleum geologists and oil and gas operators who work the Michigan basin to be a necessary condition for commercial gas production in the Antrim Shale. Fractures provide the conduits for free gas and associated water to flow to the borehole through the black shale which, otherwise, has a low matrix permeability. Moreover, the fractures assist in the release of gas adsorbed on mineral and(or) organic matter in the shale (Curtis, 1992). Depths to the gas-producing intervals (Norwood and Lachine Members) generally range from 1,200 to 1,800 ft (Oil and Gas Journal, 1994). Locally, wells that produce gas from the accumulation are as deep as 2,200 (Oil and Gas Journal, 1994). Even though natural fractures are an important control on Antrim Shale gas production, most wells require stimulation by hydraulic fracturing to attain commercial production rates (Kelly, 1992). In the U.S. Geological Survey's National Assessment of United States oil and gas, Dolton (1995) estimates that, at a mean value, 4.45 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas are recoverable as additions to already discovered quantities from the Antrim Shale in the productive area of the northern Michigan trend. Dolton (1995) also suggests that undiscovered Antrim Shale gas accumulations exist in other parts of the Michigan basin. The character, distribution, and origin of natural fractures in the Antrim Shale gas accumulation have been studied recently by academia and industry. The intent of these investigations is to: 1) predict 'sweet spots', prior to drilling, in the existing gas-producing trend, 2) improve production practices in the existing trend, 3) predict analogous fracture-controlled gas accumulations in other parts of the Michigan basin, and 4) improve estimates of the recoverable gas in the Antrim Shale gas plays (Dolton, 1995). This review of published literature on the characteristics of Antrim Shale fractures, their origin, and their controls on gas production will help to define objectives and goals in future U.S. Geological Survey studies of Antrim Shale gas resources.

Gas in the Uinta Basin, Utah - Resources in continuous accumulations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schmoker, J.W.; Fouch, T.D.; Charpentier, R.R.

1996-01-01

Continuous-type gas plays can be envisioned as large areas within which the reservoir rock is everywhere charged with gas. As part of its 1995 National Assessment of oil and gas resources, the U.S. Geological Survey identified four continuous-type gas plays in the Uinta Basin. These occur in sandstone reservoirs of the lower Tertiary Wasatch Formation (two plays) and the underlying Upper Cretaceous Mesaverde Group (two plays). Only the play representing the eastern part of the Wasatch Formation continuous accumulation (Natural Buttes area) has been the target of appreciable drilling activity to date. The volume of undiscovered gas estimated to be recoverable from these four plays using existing technology and development practices ranges between 3.7 trillion cubic feet of gas (TCFG) (95th fractile) and 11.9 TCFG (5th fractile), and averages 7.0 TCFG. However, these are geologically based resource estimates, made without direct reference to economic viability. Economic analysis indicates that only a fraction of this assessed resource could be economically found and produced at prices less than $2.00 per thousand cubic feet of gas (MCFG), based on costs that prevailed at the beginning of 1993. Production characteristics of continuous-type gas plays vary significantly from well to well. Difficulty in identifying locations with poor production characteristics in advance of drilling contributes to the unfavorable economics of some plays. The need exists for improvements in technology and geologic understanding that increase the chances of selectively drilling the more productive locations within a continuous-type play.

FASP, an analytic resource appraisal program for petroleum play analysis

USGS Publications Warehouse

Crovelli, R.A.; Balay, R.H.

1986-01-01

An analytic probabilistic methodology for resource appraisal of undiscovered oil and gas resources in play analysis is presented in a FORTRAN program termed FASP. This play-analysis methodology is a geostochastic system for petroleum resource appraisal in explored as well as frontier areas. An established geologic model considers both the uncertainty of the presence of the assessed hydrocarbon and its amount if present. The program FASP produces resource estimates of crude oil, nonassociated gas, dissolved gas, and gas for a geologic play in terms of probability distributions. The analytic method is based upon conditional probability theory and many laws of expectation and variance. ?? 1986.

Assessment of undiscovered continuous oil resources in the Wolfcamp shale of the Midland Basin, Permian Basin Province, Texas, 2016

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Marra, Kristen R.; Lillis, Paul G.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Klett, Timothy R.; Le, Phuong A.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Hawkins, Sarah J.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Pitman, Janet K.; Finn, Thomas M.

2016-11-15

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey assessed technically recoverable mean resources of 20 billion barrels of oil and 16 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Wolfcamp shale in the Midland Basin part of the Permian Basin Province, Texas.

Geology and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Yukon Flats Basin Province, 2008

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bird, Kenneth J.; Stanley, Richard G.; Moore, Thomas E.; Gautier, Donald L.

2017-12-22

The hydrocarbon potential of the Yukon Flats Basin Province in Central Alaska was assessed in 2004 as part of an update to the National Oil and Gas Assessment. Three assessment units (AUs) were identified and assessed using a methodology somewhat different than that of the 2008 Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal (CARA). An important difference in the methodology of the two assessments is that the 2004 assessment specified a minimum accumulation size of 0.5 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBOE), whereas the 2008 CARA assessment specified a minimum size of 50 MMBOE. The 2004 assessment concluded that >95 percent of the estimated mean undiscovered oil and gas resources occur in a single AU, the Tertiary Sandstone AU. This is also the only AU of the three that extends north of the Arctic Circle.For the CARA project, the number of oil and gas accumulations in the 2004 assessment of the Tertiary Sandstone AU was re-evaluated in terms of the >50-MMBOE minimum accumulation size. By this analysis, and assuming the resource to be evenly distributed across the AU, 0.23 oil fields and 1.20 gas fields larger than 50 MMBOE are expected in the part of the AU north of the Arctic Circle. The geology suggests, however, that the area north of the Arctic Circle has a lower potential for oil and gas accumulations than the area to the south where the sedimentary section is thicker, larger volumes of hydrocarbons may have been generated, and potential structural traps are probably more abundant. Because of the low potential implied for the area of the AU north of the Arctic Circle, the Yukon Flats Tertiary Sandstone AU was not quantitatively assessed for the 2008 CARA.

Glossary: Chapter 29 in Petroleum systems and geologic assessment of oil and gas in the San Joaquin Basin Province, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klett, T.R.; Schmoker, James W.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Ahlbrandt, Thomas S.; Ulmishek, Gregory F.

2007-01-01

Selected terms of particular importance to the U.S. Geological Survey assessment of undiscovered resources in total petroleum systems are defined here. The definitions are intended to be generally explanatory rather than strictly technical. No attempt has been made to include a detailed listing of common industry definitions.

National assessment of oil and gas project; petroleum systems and assessment of the South Florida Basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pollastro, R. M.; Schenk, C.J.

2001-01-01

This CD-ROM contains coverages that define and outline the geographic boundaries of petroleum systems and assessment units and text that describes the geology and reasoning to support the assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the South Florida Basin for a forecast period of 30 years. This assessment was performed by using the best geological information and scientific theory available to the USGS; however, the USGS did not have access to seismic survey data for the South Florida Basin.

In Brief: Assessing Afghanistan's mineral resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Showstack, Randy

2007-12-01

Afghanistan has significant amounts of undiscovered nonfuel mineral resources, with copper and iron ore having the most potential for extraction, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessment. The assessment, done cooperatively with the Afghanistan Geological Survey of the Afghanistan Ministry of Mines, also found indications of significant deposits of colored stones and gemstones (including emeralds, rubies, and sapphires), gold, mercury, sulfur, chromite, and other resources. ``Mineral resource assessments provide government decision-makers and potential private investors with objective, unbiased information on where undiscovered mineral resources may be located, what kinds of resources are likely to occur, and how much of each mineral commodity may exist in them,'' said USGS director Mark Myers. The USGS, in cooperation with the Afghan government, released an oil and gas resources assessment in March 2006 and an earthquake hazards assessment in May 2007. For more information, visit the Web sites: http://afghanistan.cr.usgs.gov and http://www.bgs.ac.uk/afghanminerals/.

Madbi Amran/Qishn total petroleum system of the Ma'Rib-Al Jawf/Shabwah, and Masila-Jeza basins, Yemen

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ahlbrandt, Thomas S.

2002-01-01

Since the first discovery of petroleum in Yemen in 1984, several recent advances have been made in the understanding of that countrys geologic history and petroleum systems. The total petroleum resource endowment for the combined petroleum provinces within Yemen, as estimated in the recent U.S. Geological Survey world assessment, ranks 51st in the world, exclusive of the United States, at 9.8 BBOE, which includes cumulative production and remaining reserves, as well as a mean estimate of undiscovered resources. Such undiscovered petroleum resources are about 2.7 billion barrels of oil, 17 trillion cubic feet (2.8 billion barrels of oil equivalent) of natural gas and 1 billion barrels of natural gas liquids. A single total petroleum system, the Jurassic Madbi Amran/Qishn, dominates petroleum generation and production; it was formed in response to a Late Jurassic rifting event related to the separation of the Arabian Peninsula from the Gondwana supercontinent. This rifting resulted in the development of two petroleum-bearing sedimentary basins: (1) the western MaRibAl Jawf / Shabwah basin, and (2) the eastern Masila-Jeza basin. In both basins, petroleum source rocks of the Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) Madbi Formation generated hydrocarbons during Late Cretaceous time that migrated, mostly vertically, into Jurassic and Cretaceous reservoirs. In the western MaRibAl Jawf / Shabwah basin, the petroleum system is largely confined to syn-rift deposits, with reservoirs ranging from deep-water turbidites to continental clastics buried beneath a thick Upper Jurassic (Tithonian) salt. The salt initially deformed in Early Cretaceous time, and continued halokinesis resulted in salt diapirism and associated salt withdrawal during extension. The eastern Masila-Jeza basin contained similar early syn-rift deposits but received less clastic sediment during the Jurassic; however, no salt formed because the basin remained open to ocean circulation in the Late Jurassic. Thus, Madbi Formation-sourced hydrocarbons migrated vertically into Lower Cretaceous estuarine, fluvial, and tidal sandstones of the Qishn Formation and were trapped by overlying impermeable carbonates of the same formation. Both basins were formed by extensional forces during Jurassic rifting; how-ever, another rifting event that formed the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden during Oligocene and Miocene time had a strong effect on the eastern Masila-Jeza basin. Recurrent movement of basement blocks, particularly during the Tertiary, rather than halokinesis, was critical to the formation of traps.

Petroleum systems and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas in the Anadarko Basin Province, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas: USGS Province 58

USGS Publications Warehouse

Higley, Debra K.

2014-01-01

The 13 chapters included in U.S. Geological Survey Digital Data Series DDS–69–EE cover topics that range from the oil and gas resource assessment results (chapter 1 and 5–7), to geological, geochemical, and geophysical research across the province (chapters 3–11), tabular data and graphs in support of the assessment (chapter 12), and data releases of zmap-format grid files that were used to build petroleum system models and a standalone three-dimensional geologic model (chapter 13).

Quality of the log-geometric distribution extrapolation for smaller undiscovered oil and gas pool size

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chenglin, L.; Charpentier, R.R.

2010-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey procedure for the estimation of the general form of the parent distribution requires that the parameters of the log-geometric distribution be calculated and analyzed for the sensitivity of these parameters to different conditions. In this study, we derive the shape factor of a log-geometric distribution from the ratio of frequencies between adjacent bins. The shape factor has a log straight-line relationship with the ratio of frequencies. Additionally, the calculation equations of a ratio of the mean size to the lower size-class boundary are deduced. For a specific log-geometric distribution, we find that the ratio of the mean size to the lower size-class boundary is the same. We apply our analysis to simulations based on oil and gas pool distributions from four petroleum systems of Alberta, Canada and four generated distributions. Each petroleum system in Alberta has a different shape factor. Generally, the shape factors in the four petroleum systems stabilize with the increase of discovered pool numbers. For a log-geometric distribution, the shape factor becomes stable when discovered pool numbers exceed 50 and the shape factor is influenced by the exploration efficiency when the exploration efficiency is less than 1. The simulation results show that calculated shape factors increase with those of the parent distributions, and undiscovered oil and gas resources estimated through the log-geometric distribution extrapolation are smaller than the actual values. ?? 2010 International Association for Mathematical Geology.

Preliminary petroleum resource estimates for Indonesia

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kingston, J.

1986-05-01

Of about 44 sedimentary basins along the 2900 mi east-west extent of Indonesia, 13 basins are believed to contain practically all of Indonesia's future petroleum resources. Western Indonesia, underlain by the Asian (Sunda) continental block, comprises the Sumatra-Java archipelago, the island of Kalimantan, and the intervening Sunda Shelf. This area contains almost all of the Indonesian petroleum reserves, and its exploration has reached early maturity. The reserves are concentrated in the five larger inner-arc basins of the archipelago and in the three rifted basins of the Kalimantan-Sunda Shelf area. Eastern Indonesia is essentially Irian Jaya (western New Guinea) and themore » adjoining shelf. The north edge of the Australian-New Guinea continental block has been successively rifted, compressed, and wrenched along its northern boundary with the Pacific plate. Exploration of the three major basins in this tectonic zone is still in an early stage. Preliminary most-likely estimates of the undiscovered recoverable petroleum resources of Indonesia are approximately 7 billion bbl of oil and 70 tcf of gas (in addition to an estimated 70 tcf of discovered gas not yet assigned to reserves). More than 90% of the undiscovered petroleum resources are in western Indonesia, but the best chances for unknown giant discoveries may be in the frontier Irian Jaya of eastern Indonesia.« less

Calculation of hydrocarbon-in-place in gas and gas-condensate reservoirs - Carbon dioxide sequestration

USGS Publications Warehouse

Verma, Mahendra K.

2012-01-01

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-140) authorized the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to conduct a national assessment of geologic storage resources for carbon dioxide (CO2), requiring estimation of hydrocarbon-in-place volumes and formation volume factors for all the oil, gas, and gas-condensate reservoirs within the U.S. sedimentary basins. The procedures to calculate in-place volumes for oil and gas reservoirs have already been presented by Verma and Bird (2005) to help with the USGS assessment of the undiscovered resources in the National Petroleum Reserve, Alaska, but there is no straightforward procedure available for calculating in-place volumes for gas-condensate reservoirs for the carbon sequestration project. The objective of the present study is to propose a simple procedure for calculating the hydrocarbon-in-place volume of a condensate reservoir to help estimate the hydrocarbon pore volume for potential CO2 sequestration.

Aggregation of estimated numbers of undiscovered deposits: an R-script with an example from the Chu Sarysu Basin, Kazakhtan: Chapter B in Global mineral resource assessment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schuenemeyer, John H.; Zientek, Michael L.; Box, Stephen E.

2011-01-01

Mineral resource assessments completed by the U.S. Geological Survey during the past three decades express geologically based estimates of numbers of undiscovered mineral deposits as probability distributions. Numbers of undiscovered deposits of a given type are estimated in geologically defined regions. Using Monte Carlo simulations, these undiscovered deposit estimates are combined with tonnage and grade models to derive a probability distribution describing amounts of commodities and rock that could be present in undiscovered deposits within a study area. In some situations, it is desirable to aggregate the assessment results from several study areas. This report provides a script developed in open-source statistical software, R, that aggregates undiscovered deposit estimates of a given type, assuming independence, total dependence, or some degree of correlation among aggregated areas, given a user-specified correlation matrix.

Quantitative Mineral Resource Assessment of Copper, Molybdenum, Gold, and Silver in Undiscovered Porphyry Copper Deposits in the Andes Mountains of South America

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cunningham, Charles G.; Zappettini, Eduardo O.; Vivallo S., Waldo; Celada, Carlos Mario; Quispe, Jorge; Singer, Donald A.; Briskey, Joseph A.; Sutphin, David M.; Gajardo M., Mariano; Diaz, Alejandro; Portigliati, Carlos; Berger, Vladimir I.; Carrasco, Rodrigo; Schulz, Klaus J.

2008-01-01

Quantitative information on the general locations and amounts of undiscovered porphyry copper resources of the world is important to exploration managers, land-use and environmental planners, economists, and policy makers. This publication contains the results of probabilistic estimates of the amounts of copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo), gold (Au), and silver (Ag) in undiscovered porphyry copper deposits in the Andes Mountains of South America. The methodology used to make these estimates is called the 'Three-Part Form'. It was developed to explicitly express estimates of undiscovered resources and associated uncertainty in a form that allows economic analysis and is useful to decisionmakers. The three-part form of assessment includes: (1) delineation of tracts of land where the geology is permissive for porphyry copper deposits to form; (2) selection of grade and tonnage models appropriate for estimating grades and tonnages of the undiscovered porphyry copper deposits in each tract; and (3) estimation of the number of undiscovered porphyry copper deposits in each tract consistent with the grade and tonnage model. A Monte Carlo simulation computer program (EMINERS) was used to combine the probability distributions of the estimated number of undiscovered deposits, the grades, and the tonnages of the selected model to obtain the probability distributions for undiscovered metals in each tract. These distributions of grades and tonnages then can be used to conduct economic evaluations of undiscovered resources in a format usable by decisionmakers. Economic evaluations are not part of this report. The results of this assessment are presented in two principal parts. The first part identifies 26 regional tracts of land where the geology is permissive for the occurrence of undiscovered porphyry copper deposits of Phanerozoic age to a depth of 1 km below the Earth's surface. These tracts are believed to contain most of South America's undiscovered resources of copper. The second part presents probabilistic estimates of the amounts of copper, molybdenum, gold, and silver in undiscovered porphyry copper deposits in each tract. The study also provides tables showing the location, tract number, and age (if available) of discovered deposits and prospects. For each of the 26 permissive tracts delineated in this study, summary information is provided on: (1) the rationale for delineating the tract; (2) the rationale for choosing the mineral deposit model used to assess the tract; (3) discovered deposits and prospects; (4) exploration history; and (5) the distribution of undiscovered deposits in the tract. The scale used to evaluate geologic information and draw tracts is 1:1,000,000.

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Ordovician Utica Shale of the Appalachian Basin Province, 2012

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kirschbaum, Mark A.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Cook, Troy A.; Ryder, Robert T.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Klett, Timothy R.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Whidden, Katherine J.

2012-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey assessed unconventional oil and gas resources of the Upper Ordovician Utica Shale and adjacent units in the Appalachian Basin Province. The assessment covers parts of Maryland, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. The geologic concept is that black shale of the Utica Shale and adjacent units generated hydrocarbons from Type II organic material in areas that are thermally mature for oil and gas. The source rocks generated petroleum that migrated into adjacent units, but also retained significant hydrocarbons within the matrix and adsorbed to organic matter of the shale. These are potentially technically recoverable resources that can be exploited by using horizontal drilling combined with hydraulic fracturing techniques.

The future of energy gases

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Howell, D.G.

1995-04-01

Natural gas, mainly methane, produces lower CO {sub 2}, CO, NO{sub x}, SO {sub 2} and particulate emissions than either oil or coal; thus further substitutions of methane for these fuels could help mitigate air pollution. Methane is, however, a potent greenhouse gas and the domestication of ruminants, cultivation of rice, mining of coal, drilling for oil, and transportation of natural gas have all contributed to a doubling of the amount of atmospheric methane since 1800. Today nearly 300,000 wells yearly produce each 21 trillion cubic feet of methane. Known reserves suggest about a 10 year supply at the abovemore » rates of recovery; and the potential for undiscovered resources is obscured by uncertainty involving price, new technologies, and environmental restrictions stemming from the need to drill an enormous number of wells, many in ecologically sensitive areas. The atomic simplicity of methane, composed of one carbon and four hydrogen atoms, may mask the complexity of this, the most basic of organic molecules. Within the Earth, methane is produced through thermochemical alteration of organic materials, and by biochemical reactions mediated by metabolic processes of archaebacteria; some methane may even be primordial, a residue of planetary accretion. Methane is known to exist in the mantle and lower crust. Near the Earth`s surface, methane occurs in enormous oil and/or gas reservoirs in rock, and is absorbed in coal, dissolved in water, and trapped in a latticework of ice-like material called gas hydrate. Methane also occurs in smaller volumes in landfills, rice paddies, termite complexes, ruminants, and even many humans. As an energy source, methane accounts for roughly 25 percent of current U.S. consumption, but its full energy potential is controversial. Methane is touted by some as a viable bridge to future energy systems, fueled by the sun and uranium and carried by electricity and hydrogen.« less

Sediment-hosted stratabound copper assessment of the Neoproterozoic Roan Group, central African copperbelt, Katanga Basin, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia: Chapter T in Global mineral resource assessment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Zientek, Michael L.; Bliss, James D.; Broughton, David W.; Christie, Michael; Denning, Paul; Hayes, Timothy S.; Hitzman, Murray W.; Horton, John D.; Frost-Killian, Susan; Jack, Douglas J.; Master, Sharad; Parks, Heather L.; Taylor, Cliff D.; Wilson, Anna B.; Wintzer, Niki E.; Woodhead, Jon

2014-01-01

This study estimates the location, quality, and quantity of undiscovered copper in stratabound deposits within the Neoproterozoic Roan Group of the Katanga Basin in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia. The study area encompasses the Central African Copperbelt, the greatest sediment-hosted copper-cobalt province in the world, containing 152 million metric tons of copper in greater than 80 deposits. This study (1) delineates permissive areas (tracts) where undiscovered sediment-hosted stratabound copper deposits may occur within 2 kilometers of the surface, (2) provides a database of known sediment-hosted stratabound copper deposits and prospects, (3) estimates numbers of undiscovered deposits within these permissive tracts at several levels of confidence, and (4) provides probabilistic estimates of amounts of copper and mineralized rock that could be contained in undiscovered deposits within each tract. The assessment, conducted in January 2010 using a three-part form of mineral resource assessment, indicates that a substantial amount of undiscovered copper resources might occur in sediment-hosted stratabound copper deposits within the Roan Group in the Katanga Basin. Monte Carlo simulation results that combine grade and tonnage models with estimates of undiscovered deposits indicate that the mean estimate of undiscovered copper in the study area is 168 million metric tons, which is slightly greater than the known resources at 152 million metric tons. Furthermore, significant value can be expected from associated metals, particularly cobalt. Tracts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have potential to contain near-surface, undiscovered deposits. Monte Carlo simulation results indicate a mean value of 37 million metric tons of undiscovered copper may be present in significant prospects.

Assessment of undiscovered sandstone copper deposits of the Kodar-Udokan area, Russia: Chapter M in Global mineral resource assessment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Zientek, Michael L.; Chechetkin, Vladimir S.; Parks, Heather L.; Box, Stephen E.; Briggs, Deborah A.; Cossette, Pamela M.; Dolgopolova, Alla; Hayes, Timothy S.; Seltmann, Reimar; Syusyura, Boris; Taylor, Cliff D.; Wintzer, Niki E.

2014-01-01

This probabilistic assessment indicates that a significant amount of undiscovered copper is associated with sediment-hosted stratabound copper deposits in the Kodar-Udokan Trough. In the assessment, a mean of 21 undiscovered deposits is estimated to occur within the Kodar-Udokan area. There are two known deposits in the area that contain drill-identified resources of 19.6 million metric tons of copper. Using Monte Carlo simulation, probabilistic estimates of the numbers of undiscovered sandstone copper deposits for these tracts were combined with tonnage and grade distributions of sandstone copper deposits to forecast an arithmetic mean of 20.6 million metric tons of undiscovered copper. Significant value can be expected from associated metals, particularly silver.

The future of methane

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Howell, D.G.

1995-12-31

Natural gas, mainly methane, produces lower CO{sub 2}, CO, NO{sub x}, SO{sub 2} and particulate emissions than either oil or coal; thus further substitutions of methane for these fuels could help mitigate air pollution. Methane is, however, a potent greenhouse gas and the domestication of ruminants, cultivation of rice, mining of coal, drilling for oil, and transportation of natural gas have all contributed to a doubling of the amount of atmospheric methane since 1800. Today nearly 300,000 wells yearly produce ca. 21 trillion cubic feet of methane. Known reserves suggest about a 10 year supply at the above rates ofmore » recovery; and the potential for undiscovered resources is obscured by uncertainty involving price, new technologies, and environmental restrictions steming from the need to drill an enormous number of wells, many in ecologically sensitive areas. Until all these aspects of methane are better understood, its future role in the world`s energy mix will remain uncertain. The atomic simplicity of methane, composed of one carbon and four hydrogen atoms, may mask the complexity and importance of this, the most basic of organic molecules. Within the Earth, methane is produced through thermochemical alteration of organic materials, and by biochemical reactions mediated by metabolic processes of archaebacteria; some methane may even be primordial, a residue of planetary accretion. Methane also occurs in smaller volumes in landfills, rice paddies, termite complexes, ruminants, and even many humans. As an energy source, its full energy potential is controversial. Methane is touted by some as a viable bridge to future energy systems, fueled by the sun and uranium and carried by electricity and hydrogen.« less

Maps showing geology, oil and gas fields, and geological provinces of South America

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, C. J.; Viger, R.J.; Anderson, C.P.

1999-01-01

This digitally compiled map includes geology, geologic provinces, and oil and gas fields of South America. The map is part of a worldwide series on CD-ROM by World Energy Project released of the U.S. Geological Survey . The goal of the project is to assess the undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources of the world and report these results by the year 2000. For data management purposes the world is divided into eight energy regions corresponding approximately to the economic regions of the world as defined by the U.S. Department of State. South America (Region 6) includes Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Ecuador, Falkland Islands, French Guiana, Guyuna, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

Input-form data for the U.S. Geological Survey assessment of the Mississippian Barnett Shale of the Bend Arch–Fort Worth Basin Province, 2015

USGS Publications Warehouse

Marra, Kristen R.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Lewan, Michael D.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Klett, Timothy R.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Le, Phuong A.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Pitman, Janet K.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.

2016-07-15

In 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) released an updated assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable shale gas and shale oil resources of the Mississippian Barnett Shale in north-central Texas (Marra and others, 2015). The Barnett Shale was assessed using the standard continuous (unconventional) methodology established by the USGS for two assessment units (AUs): (1) Barnett Continuous Gas AU, and (2) Barnett Mixed Continuous Gas and Oil AU. A third assessment unit, the Western Barnett Continuous Oil AU, was also defined but was not quantitatively assessed because of limited data within the extent of the AU. The purpose of this report is to provide supplemental documentation of the quantitative input parameters applied in the Barnett Shale assessment.

Probability theory versus simulation of petroleum potential in play analysis

USGS Publications Warehouse

Crovelli, R.A.

1987-01-01

An analytic probabilistic methodology for resource appraisal of undiscovered oil and gas resources in play analysis is presented. This play-analysis methodology is a geostochastic system for petroleum resource appraisal in explored as well as frontier areas. An objective was to replace an existing Monte Carlo simulation method in order to increase the efficiency of the appraisal process. Underlying the two methods is a single geologic model which considers both the uncertainty of the presence of the assessed hydrocarbon and its amount if present. The results of the model are resource estimates of crude oil, nonassociated gas, dissolved gas, and gas for a geologic play in terms of probability distributions. The analytic method is based upon conditional probability theory and a closed form solution of all means and standard deviations, along with the probabilities of occurrence. ?? 1987 J.C. Baltzer A.G., Scientific Publishing Company.

Total petroleum systems of the Paleozoic and Jurassic, Greater Ghawar Uplift and adjoining provinces of central Saudi Arabia and northern Arabian-Persian Gulf

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pollastro, Richard M.

2003-01-01

Oil of the Arabian Sub-Basin Tuwaiq/Hanifa-Arab TPS is sourced by organic-rich, marine carbonates of the Jurassic Tuwaiq Mountain and Hanifa Formations. These source rocks were deposited in two of three intraplatform basins during the Jurassic and, where thermally mature, have generated a superfamily of oils with distinctive geochemical characteristics. Oils were generated and expelled from these source rocks beginning in the Cretaceous at about 75 Ma. Hydrocarbon production is from 3 cyclic carbonate-rock reservoirs of the Arab Formation that are sealed by overlying anhydrite. Several giant and supergiant fields, including the world's largest oil field at Ghawar, Saudi Arabia, produce mostly from the Arab carbonate-rock reservoirs. Two assessment units are also recognized in the Arabian Sub-Basin Tuwaiq/Hanifa-Arab TPS that are similarly related to structural trap style and presence of underlying Infracambrian salt: (1) an onshore Horst-Block Anticlinal Oil AU, and (2) a mostly offshore Salt-Involved Structural Oil AU. The mean total volume of undiscovered resource for the Arabian Sub-Basin Tuwaiq/Hanifa-Arab TPS is estimated at about 49 billion barrels of oil equivalent (42 billion barrels of oil, 34 trillion feet of gas, and 1.4 billion barrels of natural gas liquids).

Possible continuous-type (unconventional) gas accumulation in the Lower Silurian "Clinton" sands, Medina Group and Tuscarora Sandstone in the Appalachian Basin; a progress report of the 1995 project activities

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ryder, Robert T.; Aggen, Kerry L.; Hettinger, Robert D.; Law, Ben E.; Miller, John J.; Nuccio, Vito F.; Perry, William J.; Prensky, Stephen E.; Filipo, John J.; Wandrey, Craig J.

1996-01-01

INTRODUCTION: In the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) 1995 National Assessment of United States oil and gas resources (Gautier and others, 1995), the Appalachian basin was estimated to have, at a mean value, about 61 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of recoverable gas in sandstone and shale reservoirs of Paleozoic age. Approximately one-half of this gas resource is estimated to reside in a regionally extensive, continuous-type gas accumulation whose reservoirs consist of low-permeability sandstone of the Lower Silurian 'Clinton' sands and Medina Group (Gautier and others, 1995; Ryder, 1995). Recognizing the importance of this large regional gas accumulation for future energy considerations, the USGS initiated in January 1995 a multi-year study to evaluate the nature, distribution, and origin of natural gas in the 'Clinton' sands, Medina Group sandstones, and equivalent Tuscarora Sandstone. The project is part of a larger natural gas project, Continuous Gas Accumulations in Sandstones and Carbonates, coordinated in FY1995 by Ben E. Law and Jennie L. Ridgley, USGS, Denver. Approximately 2.6 man years were devoted to the Clinton/Medina project in FY1995. A continuous-type gas accumulation, referred to in the project, is a new term introduced by Schmoker (1995a) to identify those natural gas accumulations whose reservoirs are charged throughout with gas over a large area and whose entrapment does not involve a downdip gas-water contact. Gas in these accumulations is located downdip of the water column and, thus, is the reverse of conventional-type hydrocarbon accumulations. Commonly used industry terms that are more or less synonymous with continuous-type gas accumulations include basin- centered gas accumulation (Rose and others, 1984; Law and Spencer, 1993), tight (low-permeability) gas reservoir (Spencer, 1989; Law and others, 1989; Perry, 1994), and deep basin gas (Masters, 1979, 1984). The realization that undiscovered gas in Lower Silurian sandstone reservoirs of the Appalachian basin probably occurs in a continuous accumulation rather than in conventionally trapped, discrete accumulations represents a significant departure from the 1989 National Assessment (Mast and others, 1989; deWitt, 1993). In 1989, a direct assessment (field-size distributions required for play analysis were unavailable) of the Lower Silurian sandstone play gave, at a mean value, about 1.7 TCF of gas. The 1995 estimate (~30 TCF of gas) is so much greater than the 1989 estimate (~1.7 TCF of gas) because of the interpreted continuous nature of the accumulation and the assessment methodology applied. The methodology for continuous hydrocarbon accumulations assumes that the reservoirs in the accumulation are gas-saturated and takes into account: 1) estimated ultimate recovery (EUR) per well probability distributions, 2) optimum area that a well can drain (spacing), 3) number of untested drill sites having the appropriate spacing area, 4) success ratio of previously drilled holes, and 5) risk (Schmoker, 1995b). Davis (1984), Zagorski (1988, 1991), and Law and Spencer (1993) were among the first petroleum geologists to suggest that gas in the 'Clinton' sands and Medina Group sandstones was trapped in a basin-centered/deep basin accumulation. They recognized many of the earmarks of a basin-centered/deep basin accumulation such as low-permeability reservoirs, abnormally low formation pressure, coalesced gas fields, gas shows or production in most holes drilled, low water yields, and a general lack of structural control on entrapment. Ryder (1995) adopted this interpretation by defining four continuous-type gas plays (6728-6731) in the 'Clinton' sands-Medina Group interval (fig.1). Play 6728 (Clinton/Medina sandstone gas high potential) covers a 17,000 sq mi region of western New York, northwestern Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, and a small part of westernmost West Virginia that is very favorable for future gas resources (fig.1). Also, this play includes a l

Geologic Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the North Cuba Basin, Cuba

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.

2010-01-01

Petroleum generation in the North Cuba Basin is primarily the result of thrust loading of Jurassic and Cretaceous source rocks during formation of the North Cuba fold and thrust belt in the Late Cretaceous to Paleogene. The fold and thrust belt formed as Cuban arc-forearc rocks along the leading edge of the Caribbean plate translated northward during the opening of the Yucatan Basin and collided with the passive margin of southern North America in the Paleogene. Petroleum fluids generated during thrust loading migrated vertically into complex structures in the fold and thrust belt, into structures in the foreland basin, and possibly into carbonate reservoirs along the margins of the Yucatan and Bahama carbonate platforms. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) defined a Jurassic-Cretaceous Composite Total Petroleum System (TPS) and three assessment units (AU)-North Cuba Fold and Thrust Belt AU, North Cuba Foreland Basin AU, and the North Cuba Platform Margin Carbonate AU-within this TPS based mainly on structure and reservoir type (fig. 1). There is considerable geologic uncertainty as to the extent of petroleum migration that might have occurred within this TPS to form potential petroleum accumulations. Taking this geologic uncertainty into account, especially in the offshore area, the mean volumes of undiscovered resources in the composite TPS of the North Cuba Basin are estimated at (1) 4.6 billion barrels of oil (BBO), with means ranging from an F95 probability of 1 BBO to an F5 probability of 9 BBO; and (2) 8.6 trillion cubic feet of of gas (TCFG), of which 8.6 TCFG is associated with oil fields, and about 1.2 TCFG is in nonassociated gas fields in the North Cuba Foreland Basin AU.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Haspel, A.E.

The program for leasing federal lands for oil and gas drilling brought the federal government over $1 billion in revenues in 1983 from lands that are estimated to contain one-sixth of the country's undiscovered oil and gas resources. In a policy debate over the leasing program, all parties agree that leasing should occur, but differ in how it should be done. The author reviews the two systems followed for onshore leases: a lottery system for parcels with proven oil and gas reserves and a first-come first-served basis for other parcels. Policy debate over the years has focused on the lossmore » of revenue from not using the lottery ticket sales for all leases and the need to increase competitive bidding. The author proposes a flexible multi-tier system that combines competitive and noncompetitive leasing in a way that will increase production and revenues.« less

Geology, sequence stratigraphy, and oil and gas assessment of the Lewis Shale Total Petroleum System, San Juan Basin, New Mexico and Colorado: Chapter 5 in Total petroleum systems and geologic assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the San Juan Basin Province, exclusive of Paleozoic rocks, New Mexico and Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dubiel, R.F.

2013-01-01

The Lewis Shale Total Petroleum System (TPS) in the San Juan Basin Province contains a continuous gas accumulation in three distinct stratigraphic units deposited in genetically related depositional environments: offshore-marine shales, mudstones, siltstones, and sandstones of the Lewis Shale, and marginal-marine shoreface sandstones and siltstones of both the La Ventana Tongue and the Chacra Tongue of the Cliff House Sandstone. The Lewis Shale was not a completion target in the San Juan Basin (SJB) in early drilling from about the 1950s through 1990. During that time, only 16 wells were completed in the Lewis from natural fracture systems encountered while drilling for deeper reservoir objectives. In 1991, existing wells that penetrated the Lewis Shale were re-entered by petroleum industry operators in order to fracture-stimulate the Lewis and to add Lewis gas production onto preexisting, and presumably often declining, Mesaverde Group production stratigraphically lower in the section. By 1997, approximately 101 Lewis completions had been made, both as re-entries into existing wells and as add-ons to Mesaverde production in new wells. Based on recent industry drilling and completion practices leading to successful gas production from the Lewis and because new geologic models indicate that the Lewis Shale contains both source rocks and reservoir rocks, the Lewis Shale TPS was defined and evaluated as part of this U.S. Geological Survey oil and gas assessment of the San Juan Basin. Gas in the Lewis Shale Total Petroleum System is produced from shoreface sandstones and siltstones in the La Ventana and Chacra Tongues and from distal facies of these prograding clastic units that extend into marine rocks of the Lewis Shale in the central part of the San Juan Basin. Reservoirs are in shoreface sandstone parasequences of the La Ventana and Chacra and their correlative distal parasequences in the Lewis Shale where both natural and artificially enhanced fractures produce gas. The Lewis Continuous Gas Assessment Unit (AU 50220261) is thought to be self-sourced from and self-sealed by marine shales and mudstones deposited within the Lewis Shale that enclose clastic parasequences in the La Ventana and Chacra Tongues. The gas resource is thought to be a continuous accumulation sourced from the Lewis Shale throughout the depositional basin. In the Lewis Continuous Gas Assessment Unit (AU 50220261), for continuous gas resources, there is an F95 of 8,315.22 billion cubic feet of gas (BCFG) and an F5 of 12,282.31 BCFG, with a mean value of 10,177.24 BCFG. There is an F95 of 18.08 million barrels of natural gas liquids (MMBNGL) and an F5 of 47.32 MMBNGL, with a mean of 30.53 MMBNGL.

Graphic comparison of reserve-growth models for conventional oil and accumulation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klett, T.R.

2003-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) periodically assesses crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids resources of the world. The assessment procedure requires estimated recover-able oil and natural gas volumes (field size, cumulative production plus remaining reserves) in discovered fields. Because initial reserves are typically conservative, subsequent estimates increase through time as these fields are developed and produced. The USGS assessment of petroleum resources makes estimates, or forecasts, of the potential additions to reserves in discovered oil and gas fields resulting from field development, and it also estimates the potential fully developed sizes of undiscovered fields. The term ?reserve growth? refers to the commonly observed upward adjustment of reserve estimates. Because such additions are related to increases in the total size of a field, the USGS uses field sizes to model reserve growth. Future reserve growth in existing fields is a major component of remaining U.S. oil and natural gas resources and has therefore become a necessary element of U.S. petroleum resource assessments. Past and currently proposed reserve-growth models compared herein aid in the selection of a suitable set of forecast functions to provide an estimate of potential additions to reserves from reserve growth in the ongoing National Oil and Gas Assessment Project (NOGA). Reserve growth is modeled by construction of a curve that represents annual fractional changes of recoverable oil and natural gas volumes (for fields and reservoirs), which provides growth factors. Growth factors are used to calculate forecast functions, which are sets of field- or reservoir-size multipliers. Comparisons of forecast functions were made based on datasets used to construct the models, field type, modeling method, and length of forecast span. Comparisons were also made between forecast functions based on field-level and reservoir- level growth, and between forecast functions based on older and newer data. The reserve-growth model used in the 1995 USGS National Assessment and the model currently used in the NOGA project provide forecast functions that yield similar estimates of potential additions to reserves. Both models are based on the Oil and Gas Integrated Field File from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), but different vintages of data (from 1977 through 1991 and 1977 through 1996, respectively). The model based on newer data can be used in place of the previous model, providing similar estimates of potential additions to reserves. Fore-cast functions for oil fields vary little from those for gas fields in these models; therefore, a single function may be used for both oil and gas fields, like that used in the USGS World Petroleum Assessment 2000. Forecast functions based on the field-level reserve growth model derived from the NRG Associates databases (from 1982 through 1998) differ from those derived from EIA databases (from 1977 through 1996). However, the difference may not be enough to preclude the use of the forecast functions derived from NRG data in place of the forecast functions derived from EIA data. Should the model derived from NRG data be used, separate forecast functions for oil fields and gas fields must be employed. The forecast function for oil fields from the model derived from NRG data varies significantly from that for gas fields, and a single function for both oil and gas fields may not be appropriate.

Porphyry copper assessment of the Tibetan Plateau, China: Chapter F in Global mineral resource assessment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ludington, Steve; Hammarstrom, Jane M.; Robinson, Gilpin R.; Mars, John L.; Miller, Robert J.

2012-01-01

Assessment results, presented in tables and graphs, show mean expected amounts of metal and rock in undiscovered deposits at different quantile levels, as well as the arithmetic mean for each tract. This assessment estimated a mean of 39 undiscovered porphyry copper deposits within the assessed permissive tracts on the Tibetan Plateau. This represents nearly four times the number of known deposits (11) already discovered. Predicted mean (arithmetic) resources that could be associated with the undiscovered deposits are about 145,000,000 t of copper and about 4,900 t of gold, as well as byproduct molybdenum and silver. Reliable reports of the identified resources in the 11 known deposits total about 27,000,000 t of copper and about 800 t of gold. Therefore, based on the assessments of undiscovered Tibetan Plateau resources in this report, about six times as much copper may occur in undiscovered porphyry copper deposits as has been identified to date.

Sandstone copper assessment of the Chu-Sarysu Basin, Central Kazakhstan: Chapter E in Global mineral resource assessment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Box, Stephen E.; Syusyura, Boris; Hayes, Timothy S.; Taylor, Cliff D.; Zientek, Michael L.; Hitzman, Murray W.; Seltmann, Reimar; Chechetkin, Vladimir; Dolgopolova, Alla; Cossette, Pamela M.; Wallis, John C.

2012-01-01

The team estimates that 26 undiscovered deposits occur within the Chu-Sarysu Basin, and that these deposits contain an arithmetic mean of at least 21.5 million metric tons (Mt) of copper and 21,900 metric tons (t) of silver. The undiscovered deposits are in addition to the 7 known deposits that contain identified resources of 27.6 Mt of copper. Sixty percent of the estimated mean undiscovered copper resources are associated with the two permissive tracts that contain the identified resources; the remaining estimated resources are associated with the two tracts that have no known deposits. For the three tracts that contain 95 percent of the estimated undiscovered copper resources, the probability that each tract contains its estimated mean or more is about 40 percent. For the tract with 5 percent of the estimated undiscovered cop-per resources, the probability that it contains that amount or more is 25 percent.

Data Base for a National Mineral-Resource Assessment of Undiscovered Deposits of Gold, Silver, Copper, Lead, and Zinc in the Conterminous United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ludington, S.D.; Cox, D.P.; McCammon, R.B.

1996-01-01

For this assessment, the conterminous United States was divided into 12 regions Adirondack Mountains, Central and Southern Rocky Mountains, Colorado Plateau, East Central, Great Basin, Great Plains, Lake Superior, Northern Appalachians, Northern Rocky Mountains, Pacific Coast, Southern Appalachians, and Southern Basin and Range. The assessment, which was conducted by regional assessment teams of scientists from the USGS, was based on the concepts of permissive tracts and deposit models. Permissive tracts are discrete areas of the United States for which estimates of numbers of undiscovered deposits of a particular deposit type were made. A permissive tract is defined by its geographic boundaries such that the probability of deposits of the type delineated occurring outside the boundary is neglible. Deposit models, which are based on a compilation of worldwide literature and on observation, are sets of data in a convenient form that describe a group of deposits which have similar characteristics and that contain information on the common geologic attributes of the deposits and the environments in which they are found. Within each region, the assessment teams delineated permissive tracts for those deposit models that were judged to be appropriate and, when the amount of information warranted, estimated the number of undiscovered deposits. A total of 46 deposit models were used to assess 236 separate permissive tracts. Estimates of undiscovered deposits were limited to a depth of 1 km beneath the surface of the Earth. The estimates of the number of undiscovered deposits of gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc were expressed in the form of a probability distribution. Commonly, the number of undiscovered deposits was estimated at the 90th, 50th, and 10th percentiles. A Monte Carlo simulation computer program was used to combine the probability distribution of the number of undiscovered deposits with the grade and tonnage data sets associated with each deposit model to obtain the probability distribution for undiscovered metal.

Geology and oil and gas assessment of the Todilto Total Petroleum System, San Juan Basin Province, New Mexico and Colorado: Chapter 3 in Total petroleum systems and geologic assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the San Juan Basin Province, exclusive of Paleozoic rocks, New Mexico and Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ridgley, J.L.; Hatch, J.R.

2013-01-01

Organic-rich, shaly limestone beds, which contain hydrocarbon source beds in the lower part of the Jurassic Todilto Limestone Member of the Wanakah Formation, and sandstone reservoirs in the overlying Jurassic Entrada Sandstone, compose the Todilto Total Petroleum System (TPS). Source rock facies of the Todilto Limestone were deposited in a combined marine-lacustrine depositional setting. Sandstone reservoirs in the Entrada Sandstone were deposited in eolian depositional environments. Oil in Todilto source beds was generated beginning in the middle Paleocene, about 63 million years ago, and maximum generation of oil occurred in the middle Eocene. In the northern part of the San Juan Basin, possible gas and condensate were generated in Todilto Limestone Member source beds until the middle Miocene. The migration distance of oil from the Todilto source beds into the underlying Entrada Sandstone reservoirs was short, probably within the dimensions of a single dune crest. Traps in the Entrada are mainly stratigraphic and diagenetic. Regional tilt of the strata to the northeast has influenced structural trapping of oil, but also allowed for later introduction of water. Subsequent hydrodynamic forces have influenced the repositioning of the oil in some reservoirs and flushing in others. Seals are mostly the anhydrite and limestone facies of the Todilto, which thin to as little as 10 ft over the crests of the dunes. The TPS contains only one assessment unit, the Entrada Sandstone Conventional Oil Assessment Unit (AU) (50220401). Only four of the eight oil fields producing from the Entrada met the 0.5 million barrels of oil minimum size used for this assessment. The AU was estimated at the mean to have potential additions to reserves of 2.32 million barrels of oil (MMBO), 5.56 billion cubic feet of natural gas (BCFG), and 0.22 million barrels of natural gas liquids (MMBNGL).

Tabular data and graphical images in support of the U.S. Geological Survey National Oil and Gas Assessment--San Juan Basin Province (5022): Chapter 7 in Total petroleum systems and geologic assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the San Juan Basin Province, exclusive of Paleozoic rocks, New Mexico and Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klett, T.R.; Le, P.A.

2013-01-01

This chapter describes data used in support of the process being applied by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Oil and Gas Assessment (NOGA) project. Digital tabular data used in this report and archival data that permit the user to perform further analyses are available elsewhere on this CD–ROM. Computers and software may import the data without transcription from the Portable Document Format files (.pdf files) of the text by the reader. Because of the number and variety of platforms and software available, graphical images are provided as .pdf files and tabular data are provided in a raw form as tab-delimited text files (.tab files).

Porphyry copper assessment of the Tethys region of western and southern Asia: Chapter V in Global mineral resource assessment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Zürcher, Lukas; Bookstrom, Arthur A.; Hammarstrom, Jane M.; Mars, John C.; Ludington, Stephen; Zientek, Michael L.; Dunlap, Pamela; Wallis, John C.; Drew, Lawrence J.; Sutphin, David M.; Berger, Byron R.; Herrington, Richard J.; Billa, Mario; Kuşcu, Ilkay; Moon, Charles J.; Richards, Jeremy P.; Zientek, Michael L.; Hammarstrom, Jane M.; Johnson, Kathleen M.

2015-11-18

The assessment estimates that the Tethys region contains 47 undiscovered deposits within 1 kilometer of the surface. Probabilistic estimates of numbers of undiscovered deposits were combined with grade and tonnage models in a Monte Carlo simulation to estimate probable amounts of contained metal. The 47 undiscovered deposits are estimated to contain a mean of 180 million metric tons (Mt) of copper distributed among the 18 tracts for which probabilistic estimates were made, in addition to the 62 Mt of copper already identified in the 42 known porphyry deposits in the study area. Results of Monte Carlo simulations show that 80 percent of the estimated undiscovered porphyry copper resources in the Tethys region are located in four tracts or sub-tracts.

Petroleum geology and resources of the North Caspian Basin, Kazakhstan and Russia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ulmishek, Gregory F.

2001-01-01

The North Caspian basin is a petroleum-rich but lightly explored basin located in Kazakhstan and Russia. It occupies the shallow northern portion of the Caspian Sea and a large plain to the north of the sea between the Volga and Ural Rivers and farther east to the Mugodzhary Highland, which is the southern continuation of the Ural foldbelt. The basin is bounded by the Paleozoic carbonate platform of the Volga-Ural province to the north and west and by the Ural, South Emba, and Karpinsky Hercynian foldbelts to the east and south. The basin was originated by pre-Late Devonian rifting and subsequent spreading that opened the oceanic crust, but the precise time of these tectonic events is not known. The sedimentary succession of the basin is more than 20 km thick in the central areas. The drilled Upper Devonian to Tertiary part of this succession includes a prominent thick Kungurian (uppermost Lower Permian) salt formation that separates strata into the subsalt and suprasalt sequences and played an important role in the formation of oil and gas fields. Shallow-shelf carbonate formations that contain various reefs and alternate with clastic wedges compose the subsalt sequence on the 1 basin margins. Basinward, these rocks grade into deep-water anoxic black shales and turbidites. The Kungurian salt formation is strongly deformed into domes and intervening depressions. The most active halokinesis occurred during Late Permian?Triassic time, but growth of salt domes continued later and some of them are exposed on the present-day surface. The suprasalt sequence is mostly composed of clastic rocks that are several kilometers thick in depressions between salt domes. A single total petroleum system is defined in the North Caspian basin. Discovered reserves are about 19.7 billion barrels of oil and natural gas liquids and 157 trillion cubic feet of gas. Much of the reserves are concentrated in the supergiant Tengiz, Karachaganak, and Astrakhan fields. A recent new oil discovery on the Kashagan structure offshore in the Caspian Sea is probably also of the supergiant status. Major oil and gas reserves are located in carbonate reservoirs in reefs and structural traps of the subsalt sequence. Substantially smaller reserves are located in numerous fields in the suprasalt sequence. These suprasalt fields are largely in shallow Jurassic and Cretaceous clastic reservoirs in salt dome-related traps. Petroleum source rocks are poorly identified by geochemical methods. However, geologic data indicate that the principal source rocks are Upper Devonian to Lower Permian deep-water black-shale facies stratigraphically correlative to shallow-shelf carbonate platforms on the basin margins. The main stage of hydrocarbon generation was probably in Late Permian and Triassic time, during deposition of thick orogenic clastics. Generated hydrocarbons migrated laterally into adjacent subsalt reservoirs and vertically, through depressions between Kungurian salt domes where the salt is thin or absent, into suprasalt clastic reservoirs. Six assessment units have been identified in the North Caspian basin. Four of them include Paleozoic subsalt rocks of the basin margins, and a fifth unit, which encompasses the entire total petroleum system area, includes the suprasalt sequence. All five of these assessment units are underexplored and have significant potential for new discoveries. Most undiscovered petroleum resources are expected in Paleozoic subsalt carbonate rocks. The assessment unit in subsalt rocks with the greatest undiscovered potential occupies the south basin margin. Petroleum potential of suprasalt rocks is lower; however, discoveries of many small to medium size fields are expected. The sixth identified assessment unit embraces subsalt rocks of the central basin areas. The top of subsalt rocks in these areas occurs at depths ranging from 7 to 10 kilometers and has not been reached by wells. Undiscovered resources of this unit did not rec

Assessment of undiscovered copper resources associated with the Permian Kupferschiefer, Southern Permian Basin, Europe: Chapter U in Global mineral resource assessment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Zientek, Michael L.; Oszczepalski, Sławomir; Parks, Heather L.; Bliss, James D.; Borg, Gregor; Box, Stephen E.; Denning, Paul; Hayes, Timothy S.; Spieth, Volker; Taylor, Cliff D.

2015-01-01

Using the three-part form of assessment, a mean of 126 Mt of undiscovered copper is predicted in 4 assessed permissive tracts. Seventy-five percent of the mean amount of undiscovered copper (96 Mt) is associated with a tract in southwest Poland. For this same permissive tract in Poland, Gaussian geostatistical simulation techniques indicate a mean of 62 Mt of copper based on copper surface-density data from drill holes.

U.S. Geological Survery Oil and Gas Resource Assessment of the Russian Arctic

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Donald Gautier; Timothy Klett

2008-12-31

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed a study of undiscovered petroleum resources in the Russian Arctic as a part of its Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal (CARA), which comprised three broad areas of work: geological mapping, basin analysis, and quantitative assessment. The CARA was a probabilistic, geologically based study that used existing USGS methodology, modified somewhat for the circumstances of the Arctic. New map compilation was used to identify assessment units. The CARA relied heavily on geological analysis and analog modeling, with numerical input consisting of lognormal distributions of sizes and numbers of undiscovered accumulations. Probabilistic results for individual assessment unitsmore » were statistically aggregated, taking geological dependencies into account. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funds were used to support the purchase of crucial seismic data collected in the Barents Sea, East Siberian Sea, and Chukchi Sea for use by USGS in its assessment of the Russian Arctic. DOE funds were also used to purchase a commercial study, which interpreted seismic data from the northern Kara Sea, and for geographic information system (GIS) support of USGS mapping of geological features, province boundaries, total petroleum systems, and assessment units used in the USGS assessment.« less

Total Petroleum Systems of the North Carpathian Province of Poland, Ukraine, Czech Republic, and Austria

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pawlewicz, Mark

2006-01-01

Three total petroleum systems were identified in the North Carpathian Province (4047) that includes parts of Poland, Ukraine, Austria, and the Czech Republic. They are the Isotopically Light Gas Total Petroleum System, the Mesozoic-Paleogene Composite Total Petroleum System, and the Paleozoic Composite Total Petroleum System. The Foreland Basin Assessment Unit of the Isotopically Light Gas Total Petroleum System is wholly contained within the shallow sedimentary rocks of Neogene molasse in the Carpathian foredeep. The biogenic gas is generated locally as the result of bacterial activity on dispersed organic matter. Migration is also believed to be local, and gas is believed to be trapped in shallow stratigraphic traps. The Mesozoic-Paleogene Composite Total Petroleum System, which includes the Deformed Belt Assessment Unit, is structurally complex, and source rocks, reservoirs, and seals are juxtaposed in such a way that a single stratigraphic section is insufficient to describe the geology. The Menilite Shale, an organic-rich rock widespread throughout the Carpathian region, is the main hydrocarbon source rock. Other Jurassic to Cretaceous formations also contribute to oil and gas in the overthrust zone in Poland and Ukraine but in smaller amounts, because those formations are more localized than the Menilite Shale. The Paleozoic Composite Total Petroleum System is defined on the basis of the suspected source rock for two oil or gas fields in western Poland. The Paleozoic Reservoirs Assessment Unit encompasses Devonian organic-rich shale believed to be a source of deep gas within the total petroleum system. East of this field is a Paleozoic oil accumulation whose source is uncertain; however, it possesses geochemical similarities to oil generated by Upper Carboniferous coals. The undiscovered resources in the North Carpathian Province are, at the mean, 4.61 trillion cubic feet of gas and 359 million barrels of oil. Many favorable parts of the province have been extensively explored for oil and gas. The lateral and vertical variability of the structure, the distribution and complex geologic nature of source rocks, and the depths of potential exploration targets, as well as the high degree of exploration, all indicate that future discoveries in this province are likely to be numerous but in small fields.

Resource-assessment perspectives for unconventional gas systems

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schmoker, J.W.

2002-01-01

Concepts are described for assessing those unconventional gas systems that can also be defined as continous accumulations. Continuous gas accumulations exist more or less independently of the water column and do not owe their existence directly to the bouyancy of gas in water. They cannot be represented in terms of individual, countable fields or pools delineated by downdip water contacts. For these reasons, traditional resource-assessment methods based on estimating the sizes and numbers of undiscovered discrete fields cannot not be applied to continuous accumulations. Specialized assessment methods are required. Unconventional gas systems that are also continous accumulations include coalbed methane, basin-centered gas, so-called tight gas, fractured shale (and chalk) gas, and gas hydrates. Deep-basin and bacterial gas systems may or may not be continuous accumulations, depending on their geologic setting. Two basic resource-assessment approaches have been employed for continous accumulations. The first approach is based on estimates of gas in place. A volumetric estimate of total gas in place is commonly coupled with an overall recovery factor to narrow the assessment scope from a treatment of gas volumes residing in sedimentary strata to a prediction of potential additions to reserves. The second approach is based on the production performance of continous gas reservoirs, as shown empirically by wells and reservoir-simulation models. In these methods, production characteristics (as opposed to gas in place) are the foundation for forecasts of potential additions to reserves.

Porphyry copper assessment of British Columbia and Yukon Territory, Canada: Chapter C in Global mineral resource assessment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mihalasky, Mark J.; Bookstrom, Arthur A.; Frost, Thomas P.; Ludington, Steve

2011-01-01

Western Canada has been thoroughly explored for porphyry copper deposits. The total estimated copper contained in known deposits is about 66.8 Mt (based on 2010 data), as compared to a 49 Mt mean of estimated copper in undiscovered deposits and a 34 Mt median of estimated copper in undiscovered deposits. The copper contained in known porphyry copper deposits represents about 58 percent of the total of known and undiscovered porphyry copper deposits (based on mean values). About 86 percent of the increase in estimated copper resources between 1993 and 2009 resulted from the discovery of extensions to known deposits. Nevertheless, exploration for undiscovered deposits continues, especially in and around significant prospects and in parts of permissive tracts that are mostly hidden beneath younger volcanic, sedimentary, or vegetated surficial cover.

Quantifying the undiscovered geothermal resources of the United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Williams, Colin F.; Reed, Marshall J.; DeAngelo, Jacob; Galanis, S. Peter

2009-01-01

In 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) released summary results of an assessment of the electric power production potential from the moderate- and high-temperature geothermal resources of the United States (Williams et al., 2008a; USGS Fact Sheet 2008-3082; http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2008/3082). In the assessment, the estimated mean power production potential from undiscovered geothermal resources is 30,033 Megawatts-electric (MWe), more than three times the estimated mean potential from identified geothermal systems: 9057 MWe. The presence of significant undiscovered geothermal resources has major implications for future exploration and development activities by both the government and private industry. Previous reports summarize the results of techniques applied by the USGS and others to map the spatial distribution of undiscovered resources. This paper describes the approach applied in developing estimates of the magnitude of the undiscovered geothermal resource, as well as the manner in which that resource is likely to be distributed among geothermal systems of varying volume and temperature. A number of key issues constrain the overall estimate. One is the degree to which characteristics of the undiscovered resources correspond to those observed among identified geothermal systems. Another is the evaluation of exploration history, including both the spatial distribution of geothermal exploration activities relative to the postulated spatial distribution of undiscovered resources and the probability of successful discoveries from the application of standard geothermal exploration techniques. Also significant are the physical, chemical, and geological constraints on the formation and longevity of geothermal systems. Important observations from this study include the following. (1) Some of the largest identified geothermal systems, such as The Geysers vapor-dominated system in northern California and the diverse geothermal manifestations found in Yellowstone National Park, are unique in North America and highly unlikely to have counterparts with equivalent characteristics among the systems comprising the undiscovered resources. (2) Historical geothermal exploration has been limited in both the effectiveness of techniques employed and spatial coverage, since most exploration has targeted areas associated with surface thermal manifestations in the most easily accessible lands. (3) As noted by other investigators, in general, the hottest and largest geothermal systems are those with heat sources arising from recent magmatic activity. Consequently, a larger fraction of the undiscovered resource is associated with those areas favorable to the formation of this type of geothermal system, including some relatively remote areas, such as the Aleutian volcanic arc in Alaska.

A 1.4-Billion Pixel Map of the Seafloor: BOEM's Mission to Visualize Dynamic Geology and Identify Natural Seep Sites in the Gulf of Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kramer, K.; Shedd, W. W.

2017-12-01

In May, 2017, the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published a high-resolution seafloor map of the northern Gulf of Mexico region. The new map, derived from 3-D seismic surveys, provides the scientific community with enhanced resolution and reveals previously undiscovered and poorly resolved geologic features of the continental slope, salt minibasin province, abyssal plain, Mississippi Fan, and the Florida Shelf and Escarpment. It becomes an even more powerful scientific tool when paired with BOEM's public database of 35,000 seafloor features, identifying natural hydrocarbon seeps, hard grounds, mud volcanoes, sediment flows, pockmarks, slumps, and many others. BOEM has mapped the Gulf of Mexico seafloor since 1998 in a regulatory mission to identify natural oil and gas seeps and protect the coral and chemosynthetic communities growing at those sites. The nineteen-year mapping effort, still ongoing, resulted in the creation of the 1.4-billion pixel map and the seafloor features database. With these tools and continual collaboration with academia, professional scientific institutions, and the offshore energy industry, BOEM will continue to incorporate new data to update and expand these two resources on a regular basis. They can be downloaded for free from BOEM's website at https://www.boem.gov/Gulf-of-Mexico-Deepwater-Bathymetry/ and https://www.boem.gov/Seismic-Water-Bottom-Anomalies-Map-Gallery/.

Chapter 3: Geologic Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources in the Phosphoria Total Petroleum System of the Wind River Basin Province, Wyoming

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kirschbaum, M.A.; Lillis, P.G.; Roberts, L.N.R.

2007-01-01

The Phosphoria Total Petroleum System (TPS) encompasses the entire Wind River Basin Province, an area of 4.7 million acres in central Wyoming. The source rocks most likely are black, organic-rich shales of the Meade Peak and Retort Phosphatic Shale Members of the Permian Phosphoria Formation located in the Wyoming and Idaho thrust belt to the west and southwest of the province. Petroleum was generated and expelled during Jurassic and Cretaceous time in westernmost Wyoming and is interpreted to have migrated into the province through carrier beds of the Pennsylvanian Tensleep Sandstone where it was preserved in hypothesized regional stratigraphic traps in the Tensleep and Permian Park City Formation. Secondary migration occurred during the development of structural traps associated with the Laramide orogeny. The main reservoirs are in the Tensleep Sandstone and Park City Formation and minor reservoirs are in the Mississippian Madison Limestone, Mississippian-Pennsylvanian Amsden Formation, Triassic Chugwater Group, and Jurassic Nugget Sandstone and Sundance Formation. The traps are sealed by shale or evaporite beds of the Park City, Amsden, and Triassic Dinwoody Formations, Triassic Chugwater Group, and Jurassic Gypsum Spring Formation. A single conventional oil and gas assessment unit (AU), the Tensleep-Park City AU, was defined for the Phosphoria TPS. Both the AU and TPS cover the entire Wind River Basin Province. Oil is produced from 18 anticlinal fields, the last of which was discovered in 1957, and the possibility of discovering new structural oil accumulations is considered to be relatively low. Nonassociated gas is produced from only two fields, but may be underexplored in the province. The discovery of new gas is more promising, but will be from deep structures. The bulk of new oil and gas accumulations is dependent on the discovery of hypothesized stratigraphic traps in isolated carbonate reservoirs of the Park City Formation. Mean resource estimates for the Tensleep-Park City Conventional Oil and Gas AU total 18 million barrels of oil, 294 billion cubic feet of gas, and 5.9 million barrels of natural gas liquids.

An automated Genomes-to-Natural Products platform (GNP) for the discovery of modular natural products.

PubMed

Johnston, Chad W; Skinnider, Michael A; Wyatt, Morgan A; Li, Xiang; Ranieri, Michael R M; Yang, Lian; Zechel, David L; Ma, Bin; Magarvey, Nathan A

2015-09-28

Bacterial natural products are a diverse and valuable group of small molecules, and genome sequencing indicates that the vast majority remain undiscovered. The prediction of natural product structures from biosynthetic assembly lines can facilitate their discovery, but highly automated, accurate, and integrated systems are required to mine the broad spectrum of sequenced bacterial genomes. Here we present a genome-guided natural products discovery tool to automatically predict, combinatorialize and identify polyketides and nonribosomal peptides from biosynthetic assembly lines using LC-MS/MS data of crude extracts in a high-throughput manner. We detail the directed identification and isolation of six genetically predicted polyketides and nonribosomal peptides using our Genome-to-Natural Products platform. This highly automated, user-friendly programme provides a means of realizing the potential of genetically encoded natural products.

Permafrost-associated gas hydrate: is it really approximately 1% of the global system?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ruppel, Carolyn

2015-01-01

Permafrost-associated gas hydrates are often assumed to contain ∼1 % of the global gas-in-place in gas hydrates based on a study26 published over three decades ago. As knowledge of permafrost-associated gas hydrates has grown, it has become clear that many permafrost-associated gas hydrates are inextricably linked to an associated conventional petroleum system, and that their formation history (trapping of migrated gas in situ during Pleistocene cooling) is consistent with having been sourced at least partially in nearby thermogenic gas deposits. Using modern data sets that constrain the distribution of continuous permafrost onshore5 and subsea permafrost on circum-Arctic Ocean continental shelves offshore and that estimate undiscovered conventional gas within arctic assessment units,16 the done here reveals where permafrost-associated gas hydrates are most likely to occur, concluding that Arctic Alaska and the West Siberian Basin are the best prospects. A conservative estimate is that 20 Gt C (2.7·1013 kg CH4) may be sequestered in permafrost-associated gas hydrates if methane were the only hydrate-former. This value is slightly more than 1 % of modern estimates (corresponding to 1600 Gt C to 1800 Gt C2,22) for global gas-in-place in methane hydrates and about double the absolute estimate (11.2 Gt C) made in 1981.26

Geology and total petroleum systems of the West-Central Coastal province (7203), West Africa

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brownfield, Michael E.; Charpentier, Ronald R.

2006-01-01

The West-Central Coastal Province of the Sub-Saharan Africa Region consists of the coastal and offshore areas of Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Angola (including the disputed Cabinda Province), and Namibia. The area stretches from the east edge of the Niger Delta south to the Walvis Ridge. The West-Central Coastal Province includes the Douala, Kribi-Campo, Rio Muni, Gabon, Congo, Kwanza, Benguela, and Namibe Basins, which together form the Aptian salt basin of equatorial west Africa. The area has had significant exploration for petroleum; more than 295 oil fields have been discovered since 1954. Since 1995, several giant oil fields have been discovered, especially in the deep-water area of the Congo Basin. Although many total petroleum systems may exist in the West-Central Coastal Province, only four major total petroleum systems have been defined. The area of the province north of the Congo Basin contains two total petroleum systems: the Melania-Gamba Total Petroleum System, consisting of Lower Cretaceous source and reservoir rocks, and the Azile-Senonian Total Petroleum System, consisting of Albian to Turonian source rocks and Cretaceous reservoir rocks. Two assessment units are defined in the West-Central Coastal Province north of the Congo Basin: the Gabon Subsalt and the Gabon Suprasalt Assessment Units. The Congo Basin contains the Congo Delta Composite Total Petroleum System, consisting of Lower Cretaceous to Tertiary source and reservoir rocks. The Central Congo Delta and Carbonate Platform and the Central Congo Turbidites Assessment Units are defined in the Congo Delta Composite Total Petroleum System. The area south of the Congo Basin contains the Cuanza Composite Total Petroleum System, consisting of Lower Cretaceous to Tertiary source and reservoir rocks. The Cuanza-Namibe Assessment Unit is defined in the Cuanza Composite Total Petroleum System. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessed the potential for undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources in this province as part of its World Petroleum Assessment 2000. The USGS estimated a mean of 29.7 billion barrels of undiscovered conventional oil, 88.0 trillion cubic feet of gas, and 4.2 billion barrels of natural gas liquids. Most of the hydrocarbon potential remains in the offshore waters of the province in the Central Congo Turbidites Assessment Unit. Large areas of the offshore parts of the Kwanza, Douala, Kribi-Campo, and Rio Muni Basins are underexplored, considering their size, and current exploration activity suggests that the basins have hydrocarbon potential. Since about 1995, the offshore part of the Congo Basin has become a major area for new field discoveries and for hydrocarbon exploration, and many deeper water areas in the basin have excellent hydrocarbon potential. Gas resources may be significant and accessible in areas where the zone of oil generation is relatively shallow.

Pannonian Basin Province, Central Europe (Province 4808) -Petroleum Geology, Total Petroleum Systems, and Petroleum Resource Assessment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dolton, Gordon L.

2006-01-01

This report deals with the Pannonian Basin Province of Central Europe and summarizes the petroleum geology, which was the basis for assessment, and presents results of that assessment. The Pannonian Basin Province consists of a large compound extensional basin of Neogene age overlying Paleogene basins and interior elements of the greater Alpine foldbelt. Within it, six total petroleum systems (TPS) are defined and six assessment units established for estimation of undiscovered oil and gas resources. Other speculative TPSs were identified but not included for quantitative assessment within this study.

Introduction to the 2008 Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal (CARA) professional paper

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gautier, Donald L.; Moore, Thomas E.; Moore, Thomas E.; Gautier, D.L.

2017-11-15

The amount of yet-to-find oil and gas in the high northern latitudes is one of the great uncertainties of future energy supply. The possibility of extensive new petroleum developments in the Arctic Ocean is of interest to the Arctic nations, to petroleum companies, and to those concerned with the delicate and changing Arctic environment. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 2008 Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal (CARA) had the express purpose of conducting a geologically based assessment of undiscovered petroleum north of the Arctic Circle, thereby providing an initial evaluation of resource potential. 

Assessment of Coalbed Gas Resources in Cretaceous and Tertiary Rocks on the North Slope, Alaska, 2006

USGS Publications Warehouse

Roberts, Steve; Barker, Charles E.; Bird, Kenneth J.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Cook, Troy; Houseknecht, David W.; Klett, Timothy R.; Pollastro, Richard M.; Schenk, Christopher J.

2006-01-01

The North Slope of Alaska is a vast area of land north of the Brooks Range, extending from the Chukchi Sea eastward to the Canadian border. This Arctic region is known to contain extensive coal deposits; hypothetical coal resource estimates indicate that nearly 4 trillion short tons of coal are in Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks. Because of the large volume of coal, other studies have indicated that this region might also have potential for significant coalbed gas resources. The present study represents the first detailed assessment of undiscovered coalbed gas resources beneath the North Slope by the USGS. The assessment is based on the total petroleum system (TPS) concept. Geologic elements within a TPS relate to hydrocarbon source rocks (maturity, hydrocarbon generation, migration), the characteristics of reservoir rocks, and trap and seal formation. In the case of coalbed gas, the coal beds serve as both source rock and reservoir. The Brookian Coalbed Gas Composite TPS includes coal-bearing rocks in Cretaceous and Tertiary strata underlying the North Slope and adjacent Alaska State waters. Assessment units (AUs) within the TPS (from oldest to youngest) include the Nanushuk Formation Coalbed Gas AU, the Prince Creek and Tuluvak Formations Coalbed Gas AU, and the Sagavanirktok Formation Coalbed Gas AU.

Estimate of undiscovered copper resources of the world, 2013

USGS Publications Warehouse

Johnson, Kathleen M.; Hammarstrom, Jane M.; Zientek, Michael L.; Dicken, Connie L.

2014-01-01

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated a mean of 3,500 million metric tons (Mt) of undiscovered copper among 225 tracts around the world. Annual U.S. copper consumption is 2 Mt; global consumption is 20 Mt. The USGS assessed undiscovered copper in two deposit types that account for about 80 percent of the world's copper supply. Results of the assessment are provided by deposit type for 11 regions. Approximately 50 percent of the global total occurs in South America, South Central Asia and Indochina, and North America combined.

Oil and gas exploration in Egypt past, present, and future

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Halim, M.A.

1995-08-01

Egypt was among the early countries in which exploration for hydrocarbons took place. Back to 1886 when the first oil discovery was achieved and since then exploration operations were carried out covering almost every prospective area in Egypt. The history of oil exploration in Egypt passed through six stages, each of which is characterized by its own activities and reflects the impact of certain developments not only in the applied exploration techniques, but also in the work style and prevailing exploration concepts, in addition to the development in the agreement terms. Six areas could add new oil and gas reservesmore » to Egypt, namely: N. Sinai (onshore and offshore); Nile Delta (onshore and offshore); Western Desert (onshore and offshore); Nile Valley; Red Sea; and the Gulf of Aqaba. Such areas have the prerequisites for commercial oil and/or gas accumulations including potential source rocks, good reservoirs and adequate traps in addition to effective seals. It is believed that the undiscovered oil and gas reserves of Egypt could be several times that which have been discovered so far.« less

Role of reservoir engineering in the assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the National Petroleum Reserve, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Verma, M.K.; Bird, K.J.

2005-01-01

The geology and reservoir-engineering data were integrated in the 2002 U.S. Geological Survey assessment of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPRA). VVhereas geology defined the analog pools and fields and provided the basic information on sizes and numbers of hypothesized petroleum accumulations, reservoir engineering helped develop necessary equations and correlations, which allowed the determination of reservoir parameters for better quantification of in-place petroleum volumes and recoverable reserves. Seismic- and sequence-stratigraphic study of the NPRA resulted in identification of 24 plays. Depth ranges in these 24 plays, however, were typically greater than depth ranges of analog plays for which there were available data, necessitating the need for establishing correlations. The basic parameters required were pressure, temperature, oil and gas formation volume factors, liquid/gas ratios for the associated and nonassociated gas, and recovery factors. Finally, the re sults of U.S. Geological Survey deposit simulation were used in carrying out an economic evaluation, which has been separately published. Copyright ?? 2005. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All rights reserved.

Assessment of continuous (unconventional) oil and gas resources in the Late Cretaceous Mancos Shale of the Piceance Basin, Uinta-Piceance Province, Colorado and Utah, 2016

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hawkins, Sarah J.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Klett, Timothy R.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Finn, Tom M.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Marra, Kristen R.; Le, Phoung A.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Pitman, Janet K.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.

2016-06-08

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed a geology-based assessment of the continuous (unconventional) oil and gas resources in the Late Cretaceous Mancos Shale within the Piceance Basin of the Uinta-Piceance Province (fig. 1). The previous USGS assessment of the Mancos Shale in the Piceance Basin was completed in 2003 as part of a comprehensive assessment of the greater UintaPiceance Province (U.S. Geological Survey Uinta-Piceance Assessment Team, 2003). Since the last assessment, more than 2,000 wells have been drilled and completed in one or more intervals within the Mancos Shale of the Piceance Basin (IHS Energy Group, 2015). In addition, the USGS Energy Resources Program drilled a research core in the southern Piceance Basin that provided significant new geologic and geochemical data that were used to refine the 2003 assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas in the Mancos Shale.

Paleozoic shale gas resources in the Sichuan Basin, China

USGS Publications Warehouse

Potter, Christopher J.

2018-01-01

The Sichuan Basin, China, is commonly considered to contain the world’s most abundant shale gas resources. Although its Paleozoic marine shales share many basic characteristics with successful United States gas shales, numerous geologic uncertainties exist, and Sichuan Basin shale gas production is nascent. Gas retention was likely compromised by the age of the shale reservoirs, multiple uplifts and orogenies, and migration pathways along unconformities. High thermal maturities raise questions about gas storage potential in lower Paleozoic shales. Given these uncertainties, a new look at Sichuan Basin shale gas resources is advantageous. As part of a systematic effort to quantitatively assess continuous oil and gas resources in priority basins worldwide, the US Geological Survey (USGS) completed an assessment of Paleozoic shale gas in the Sichuan Basin in 2015. Three organic-rich marine Paleozoic shale intervals meet the USGS geologic criteria for quantitative assessment of shale gas resources: the lower Cambrian Qiongzhusi Formation, the uppermost Ordovician Wufeng through lowermost Silurian Longmaxi Formations (currently producing shale gas), and the upper Permian Longtan and Dalong Formations. This study defined geologically based assessment units and calculated probabilistic distributions of technically recoverable shale gas resources using the USGS well productivity–based method. For six assessment units evaluated in 2015, the USGS estimated a mean value of 23.9 tcf (677 billion cubic meters) of undiscovered, technically recoverable shale gas. This result is considerably lower than volumes calculated in previous shale gas assessments of the Sichuan Basin, highlighting a need for caution in this geologically challenging setting.

Undiscovered Arctic gas hydrates: permafrost relationship and resource evaluation.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cherkashov, G. A.; Matveeva, T.

2011-12-01

Though ice-core studies show that multidecadal-scale methane variability is only weakly correlated with reconstructed temperature variations (Mitchell et al., 2010) methane emission to the atmosphere still consider as the most significant contributions to the global warming processes. Pockmarks, seeps, mud volcanoes and other features associated with methane fluxes from the seabed have been widely reported, particularly during the last three decades. On continental margins, seepage of hydrocarbon gases from shallow sedimentary layers is a common phenomenon, resulting either from in situ formation of gases (mainly methane) by bacterial decomposition of organic matter within rapidly accumulated upper sediments or from upward migration of gases formed at greater depths. Furthermore, processes associated with seabed fluid flow have been shown to affect benthic ecology and to supply methane to the hydrosphere and the atmosphere (Judd, 2003; Hovland and Judd, 2007). The most recent investigations testified that revaluation of the role of gas seeps and related gas hydrate formation processes in the Arctic environment is necessary for the understanding of global methane balance and global climate changes (Westbrook et al., 2009; Shahova and Semiletov, 2010). With respect to gas hydrate formation, due to the presence of relict permafrost the Arctic submarine environment holds a specific place that is distinct from the rest of the Ocean. Submarine gas hydrates in the Arctic may be confined to (1) relict permafrost occurrences on the shelf; (2) concentrated methane infiltration toward the seafloor (shallow-seated gas hydrates); (3) dissipated methane infiltration from great depths (deep-seated gas hydrates). Permafrost-related or cryogenic gas hydrates form due to exogenous cooling of sediment (intra- and sub-permafrost gas hydrates). It is also suggested that some parts of hydrates may be preserved owing to a self-preservation effect above the gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ), which is shifted downwards due to permafrost degradation (Istomin et al., 2006; Dallimore and Collett, 1995). It is also believed that thermal conditions favourable to the formation of gas hydrates within permafrost have existed since the end of the Pliocene (about 1.88 Ma) (Collet and Dallimore, 2000). We estimate the total area of the distribution of GHSZ in the Arctic Ocean (including shelf areas, continental slope, and deep-sea troughs) to be as much as four million km2. Assuming the average gas amount per unit area in a separate gas hydrate accumulation to be 5x106 m3/km2 (Soloviev et al., 1999), it can be estimated that Arctic hydrates contain about 20 billion m3 of methane. The total area of GHSZ distribution within the Arctic seas off Russia is estimated to be about 1 million km2, with potential resources of gas in the hydrate state of about 2.36 billion m3. It should be noted, however, that field data are sparse and investigations are still producing surprising results, indicating that our understanding of gas hydrate formation and distribution within and out of sub-sea permafrost is incomplete. Estimates of the current and future release of methane from still undiscovered hydrates require particularly knowledge of the recent geological history of Polar Regions.

Brookian structural plays in the National Petroleum Reserve, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Potter, Christopher J.; Moore, Thomas E.

2003-01-01

As part of the U.S. Geological Survey assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPRA), two structural plays were assessed in thrust-faulted and folded Upper Cretaceous rocks of the Brookian megasequence. These are the Brookian Topset Structural Play and the Torok Structural Play, located in the Brooks Range foothills and the southern part of the coastal plain, within the Tertiary-age frontal part of the Jurassic to Tertiary Brooks Range orogenic belt. A new regional structural interpretation, developed through regional seismic analyses, reconnaissance field investigations, and new thermal constraints, guided the geologic evaluation and risking of these plays. Volumetric parameters were derived from seismic reflection data, well data and oil and gas field analogs. The fundamental elements of the Brookian Topset Structural Play, exemplified by the undeveloped Umiat oil field, include: (1) reservoirs in Nanushuk Group and uppermost Torok Formation shallow-marine to nonmarine sandstones draped over anticlines caused by structural thickening in underlying Torok mudstones; (2) seals provided by overlying shale drapes in the Nanushuk, and locally by thrust faults; (3) Torok, gamma-ray-zone (GRZ) or pebble shale source rocks; (4) remigration of hydrocarbons from early formed (Late Cretaceous) stratigraphic traps disrupted by 60 Ma thrusting, into newly formed structural traps. The 60 Ma thrusting was probably accompanied by new generation and migration of natural gas resulting from late structural thickening and tectonic loading. Subsurface data from the Umiat field and other seismic reflection data within the play area indicate that the structural traps are commonly compartmentalized by thrust faults. The fundamental elements of the Torok Structural Play, exemplified by the undeveloped East Kurupa gas accumulation just south of NPRA, include: (1) reservoirs in lower Torok Formation basin-floor sandstones, and perhaps in small sandstone bodies intercalated with middle to upper Torok mudstones; (2) structural traps provided by folded sandstone bodies above thrust faults within a pervasively deformed passive-roof duplex beneath the foothills and a less-strongly deformed domain to the north; (3) seals provided by Torok mudstone, both stratigraphically above the sandstone bodies and smeared along bounding thrust faults; (4) Torok, GRZ, pebble shale, or Kingak Shale source rocks; (5) a migration and charging scenario similar to that of the Brookian Topset Structural Play. According to our estimates, the Brookian Topset Structural Play contains 137 million barrels of technically recoverable oil and 10.6 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of technically recoverable, non-associated natural gas, with both values representing the mean estimate (expected value). The Torok Structural Play contains about 35 million barrels of technically recoverable oil and 17.9 TCF of technically recoverable, nonassociated natural gas.

The study of the undiscovered mineral resources of the Tongass National Forest and adjacent lands, Southeastern Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brew, D.A.; Drew, L.J.; Ludington, S.D.

1992-01-01

The quantitative probabilistic assessment of the undiscovered mineral resources of the 17.1-million-acre Tongass National Forest (the largest in the United States) and its adjacent lands is a nonaggregated, mineral-resource-tract-oriented assessment designed for land-planning purposes. As such, it includes the renewed use of gross-in-place values (GIPV's) in dollars of the estimated amounts of metal contained in the undiscovered resources as a measure for land-use planning. Southeastern Alaska is geologically complex and contains a wide variety of known mineral deposits, some of which have produced important amounts of metals during the past 100 years. Regional geological, economic geological, geochemical, geophysical, and mineral exploration history information for the region was integrated to define 124 tracts likely to contain undiscovered mineral resources. Some tracts were judged to contain more than one type of mineral deposit. Each type of deposit may contain one or more metallic elements of economic interest. For tracts where information was sufficient, the minimum number of as-yet-undiscovered deposits of each type was estimated at probability levels of 0.95, 0.90, 0.50, 0.10, and 0.05. The undiscovered mineral resources of the individual tracts were estimated using the U.S. Geological Survey's MARK3 mineral-resource endowment simulator; those estimates were used to calculate GIPV's for the individual tracts. Those GIPV's were aggregated to estimate the value of the undiscovered mineral resources of southeastern Alaska. The aggregated GIPV of the estimates is $40.9 billion. Analysis of this study indicates that (1) there is only a crude positive correlation between the size of individual tracts and their mean GIPV's: and (2) the number of mineral-deposit types in a tract does not dominate the GIPV's of the tracts, but the inferred presence of synorogenic-synvolcanic nickel-copper, porphyry copper skarn-related, iron skarn, and porphyry copper-molybdenum deposits does. The influence of this study on the U.S. Forest Service planning process is yet to be determined. ?? 1992 Oxford University Press.

A 3-D seismic investigation of the Ray gas storage reef, Macomb County, Michigan

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schaefer, S.F.; Dixon, R.A.

1994-08-01

A 4.2 mi[sup 2] 3-D seismic survey was acquired over the Ray Niagaran reef gas storage field in southeast Michigan as part of a program to maximize storage capacity and gas deliverability of the storage reservoir. Goals of the survey were to (1) determine if additional storage capacity could be found either as extensions to the Ray reef or as undiscovered satellite reefs, (2) investigate the relationship between the main body and a low-relief gas well east of the reef, and (3) determine if seismic data can be used to quantify reservoir parameters to maximize the productive capacity of infillmore » wells. Interpretation of the 3-D seismic data resulted in a detailed image of the reef, using several interpretive techniques. A seismic reflection within the reef was correlated with a known porosity zone, and a possible relationship between porosity and seismic amplitude was investigated. A potential connection between the main reef and the low-relief gas well was identified. This project illustrates the economic value of investigating an existing storage reef with 3-D seismic data, and underscores the necessity of such a survey prior to developing a new storage reservoir.« less

Petroleum resources of Libya, Algeria, and Egypt. Foreign energy supply assessment series

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1984-03-01

Part 1 of the report is a synopsis of each country's location, its exploration and development history, crude oil field production history, and markets. Part 2 discusses the production and reserve characteristics of the oil fields and status of the known crude oil resources. Part 3 provides an assessment of the ultimately recoverable crude oil and the possible future rate of availability of the crude oil. Part 4 discusses the status of the known and undiscovered natural gas resources, production, and markets. Part 5 is an overview of the petroleum geology of the three countries and the physical characteristics ofmore » their crude oils. Appendix A presents an annual resume of historical production by field and by basin for Libya; Appendix B shows the historical production by field and by basin for Algeria; Appendix C shows the historical production by field and by basin for Egypt; Appendix D provides production tables for each country. Data presented in Appendixes A through D are derived mostly from the April 1982 publication, Libya, Algeria and Egypt-Crude Oil Potential From Known Deposits DOE/EIA-0338, by William D. Dietzman, Naim R. Rafidi, and Thomas A. Ross. Appendix E is a geologic timetable.« less

Prediction of hydrocarbons in sedimentary basins

USGS Publications Warehouse

Harff, J.E.; Davis, J.C.; Eiserbeck, W.

1993-01-01

To estimate the undiscovered hydrocarbon potential of sedimentary basins, quantitative play assessments specific for each location in a region may be obtained using geostatistical methods combined with the theory of classification of geological objects, a methodology referred to as regionalization. The technique relies on process modeling and measured borehole data as well as probabilistic methods to exploit the relationship between geology (the "predictor") and known hydrocarbon productivity (the "target") to define prospective stratigraphic intervals within a basin. It is demonstrated in case studies from the oil-producing region of the western Kansas Pennsylvanian Shelf and the gas-bearing Rotliegend sediments of the Northeast German Basin. ?? 1993 International Association for Mathematical Geology.

Mineral resources of the Gila Lower Box Wilderness Study Area, Grant and Hilalgo counties, New Mexico

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Richter, D.H.; Lawrence, V.A.; Barton, H.

1988-01-01

This report presents an investigation to appraise the identified resources and to assess the potential for undiscovered resources of the Gila Lower Box Wilderness Study Area, southwestern New Mexico. Identified resources of manganese occur within 0.25 mi of the study area boundary, but none are known within the study area. The eastern part of the study area has a high mineral resource potential for manganese, and the western part has a moderate mineral resource potential for manganese. The entire study area has a low mineral and energy resource potential for other metals, gemstone, geothermal energy, oil and gas.

The Undiscovered Country: How Many Low-Delta-V Near-Earth Objects Remain to be Found?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elvis, Martin; Ranjan, Sukrit; Galache, Jose Luis

2014-11-01

Low delta-v near-Earth objects (NEOs) are of great interest as targets for science and human missions, for possible retrieval to cis-lunar space and as potential resource targets for both exploration and commercial uses. This interest stems from the exponential nature of the rocket equation that imposes a harsh mass penalty on any mission to a higher delta-v. We have compared the known NEO population from the IAU Minor Planet Center (MPC) with the NEOSSat-1 model residence times for the NEO population (Greenstreet & Gladman, 2012) to assess how many undiscovered NEOs there are as a function of H magnitude and delta-v. We find that the median of known NEOs is at lower delta-v (7.3 km/s) than the model population (9.8 km/s), suggesting a bias toward detecting lower delta-v NEOs. To the precision of our data, which is as low as 40% for the 300-500 m diameter (D) objects, the bulk of the larger D>300 m NEOs have been found from delta-v<10.3 km/s. However in the 50 < D < 300 m range there are tens of thousands of delta-v < 10.3 km/s to be found. We examine the total number of undiscovered NEOs as a function of delta-v and find that to find at least 100 now unknown NEOs requires a threshold delta-v of 5.7 km/s, while to find at least 1000 of them requires a threshold delta-v of 6.2 km/s. These numbers can be used to determine mission delta-v requirements for a given number of suitable targets, that will likely be restricted by other criteria (size, composition, spin state) to a few percent of the total population.

On the Diversity of Planetary Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lissauer, Jack J.; Young, Richard E. (Technical Monitor)

1997-01-01

Models of planet formation and of the orbital stability of planetary systems are described and used to discuss possible characteristics of undiscovered planetary systems. Modern theories of star and planet formation, which are based upon observations of the Solar System and of young stars and their environments, predict that rocky planets should form in orbit about most single stars. It is uncertain whether or not gas giant planet formation is common, because most protoplanetary disks may dissipate before solid planetary cores can grow large enough to gravitationally trap substantial quantities of gas. A potential hazard to planetary systems is radial decay of planetary orbits resulting from interactions with material within the disk. Planets more massive than Earth have the potential to decay the fastest, and may be able to sweep up smaller planets in their path. The implications of the giant planets found in recent radial velocity searches for the abundances of habitable planets are discussed.

The Birth of Planetary Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lissauer, Jack J.

1997-01-01

Models of planet formation and of the orbital stability of planetary systems are described and used to discuss possible characteristics of undiscovered planetary systems. Modern theories of star and planet formation, which are based upon observations of the Solar System and of young stars and their environments, predict that rocky planets should form in orbit about most single stars. It is uncertain whether or not gas giant planet formation is common, because most protoplanetary disks may dissipate before solid planetary cores can grow large- enough to gravitationally trap substantial quantities of gas. Another potential hazard to planetary systems is radial decay of planetary orbits resulting from interactions with material within the disk. Planets more massive than Earth have the potential to decay the fastest, and may be able to sweep up smaller planets in their path. The implications of the giant planets found in recent radial velocity searches for the abundances of habitable planets are discussed.

Map of assessed shale gas in the United States, 2012

USGS Publications Warehouse

,; Biewick, Laura R. H.

2013-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey has compiled a map of shale-gas assessments in the United States that were completed by 2012 as part of the National Assessment of Oil and Gas Project. Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey quantitatively estimated potential volumes of undiscovered gas within shale-gas assessment units. These shale-gas assessment units are mapped, and square-mile cells are shown to represent proprietary shale-gas wells. The square-mile cells include gas-producing wells from shale intervals. In some cases, shale-gas formations contain gas in deeper parts of a basin and oil at shallower depths (for example, the Woodford Shale and the Eagle Ford Shale). Because a discussion of shale oil is beyond the scope of this report, only shale-gas assessment units and cells are shown. The map can be printed as a hardcopy map or downloaded for interactive analysis in a Geographic Information System data package using the ArcGIS map document (file extension MXD) and published map file (file extension PMF). Also available is a publications access table with hyperlinks to current U.S. Geological Survey shale gas assessment publications and web pages. Assessment results and geologic reports are available as completed at the U.S. Geological Survey Energy Resources Program Web Site, http://energy.usgs.gov/OilGas/AssessmentsData/NationalOilGasAssessment.aspx. A historical perspective of shale gas activity in the United States is documented and presented in a video clip included as a PowerPoint slideshow.

Sandstone copper assessment of the Teniz Basin, Kazakhstan: Chapter R in Global mineral resource assessment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cossette, Pamela M.; Bookstrom, Arthur A.; Hayes, Timothy S.; Robinson, Gilpin R.; Wallis, John C.; Zientek, Michael L.

2014-01-01

A quantitative mineral resource assessment has been completed that (1) delineates one 49,714 km2 tract permissive for undiscovered, sandstone subtype, sediment-hosted stratabound copper deposits, and (2) provides probabilistic estimates of numbers of undiscovered deposits and probable amounts of copper resource contained in those deposits. The permissive tract delineated in this assessment encompasses no previously known sandstone subtype, sediment-hosted stratabound copper deposits. However, this assessment estimates (with 30 percent probability) that a mean of nine undiscovered sandstone subtype copper deposits may be present in the Teniz Basin and could contain a mean total of 8.9 million metric tons of copper and 7,500 metric tons of silver.

Statistical guides to estimating the number of undiscovered mineral deposits: an example with porphyry copper deposits

USGS Publications Warehouse

Singer, Donald A.; Menzie, W.D.; Cheng, Qiuming; Bonham-Carter, G. F.

2005-01-01

Estimating numbers of undiscovered mineral deposits is a fundamental part of assessing mineral resources. Some statistical tools can act as guides to low variance, unbiased estimates of the number of deposits. The primary guide is that the estimates must be consistent with the grade and tonnage models. Another statistical guide is the deposit density (i.e., the number of deposits per unit area of permissive rock in well-explored control areas). Preliminary estimates and confidence limits of the number of undiscovered deposits in a tract of given area may be calculated using linear regression and refined using frequency distributions with appropriate parameters. A Poisson distribution leads to estimates having lower relative variances than the regression estimates and implies a random distribution of deposits. Coefficients of variation are used to compare uncertainties of negative binomial, Poisson, or MARK3 empirical distributions that have the same expected number of deposits as the deposit density. Statistical guides presented here allow simple yet robust estimation of the number of undiscovered deposits in permissive terranes. 

Preliminary Assessment of Non-Fuel Mineral Resources of Afghanistan, 2007

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2007-01-01

Introduction Afghanistan has abundant mineral resources, including known deposits of copper, iron, barite, sulfur, talc, chromium, magnesium, salt, mica, marble, rubies, emeralds, lapis lazuli, asbestos, nickel, mercury, gold and silver, lead, zinc, fluorspar, bauxite, beryllium, and lithium (fig. 1). Between 2005 and 2007, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) funded a cooperative study by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Afghanistan Geological Survey (AGS) to assess the non-fuel mineral resources of Afghanistan as part of the effort to aid in the reconstruction of that country. An assessment is an estimation or evaluation, in this instance of undiscovered non-fuel mineral resources. Mineral resources are materials that are in such form that economic extraction of a commodity is currently or potentially feasible. In this assessment, teams of scientists from the USGS and the AGS compiled information about known mineral deposits and then evaluated the possible occurrence of undiscovered deposits of all types. Quantitative probabilistic estimates were made for undiscovered deposits of copper, mercury, rare-earth elements, sulfur, chromite, asbestos, potash, graphite, and sand and gravel. These estimates were made for undiscovered deposits at depths less than a kilometer. Other deposit types were considered and discussed in the assessment, but quantitative estimates of numbers of undiscovered deposits were not made. In addition, the assessment resulted in the delineation of 20 mineralized areas for further study, of which several may contain resources amenable to rapid development.

Undiscovered locatable mineral resources in the Bay Resource Management Plan Area, Southwestern Alaska: A probabilistic assessment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schmidt, J.M.; Light, T.D.; Drew, L.J.; Wilson, Frederic H.; Miller, M.L.; Saltus, R.W.

2007-01-01

The Bay Resource Management Plan (RMP) area in southwestern Alaska, north and northeast of Bristol Bay contains significant potential for undiscovered locatable mineral resources of base and precious metals, in addition to metallic mineral deposits that are already known. A quantitative probabilistic assessment has identified 24 tracts of land that are permissive for 17 mineral deposit model types likely to be explored for within the next 15 years in this region. Commodities we discuss in this report that have potential to occur in the Bay RMP area are Ag, Au, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mo, Pb, Sn, W, Zn, and platinum-group elements. Geoscience data for the region are sufficient to make quantitative estimates of the number of undiscovered deposits only for porphyry copper, epithermal vein, copper skarn, iron skarn, hot-spring mercury, placer gold, and placer platinum-deposit models. A description of a group of shallow- to intermediate-level intrusion-related gold deposits is combined with grade and tonnage data from 13 deposits of this type to provide a quantitative estimate of undiscovered deposits of this new type. We estimate that significant resources of Ag, Au, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mo, Pb, and Pt occur in the Bay Resource Management Plan area in these deposit types. At the 10th percentile probability level, the Bay RMP area is estimated to contain 10,067 metric tons silver, 1,485 metric tons gold, 12.66 million metric tons copper, 560 million metric tons iron, 8,100 metric tons mercury, 500,000 metric tons molybdenum, 150 metric tons lead, and 17 metric tons of platinum in undiscovered deposits of the eight quantified deposit types. At the 90th percentile probability level, the Bay RMP area is estimated to contain 89 metric tons silver, 14 metric tons gold, 911,215 metric tons copper, 330,000 metric tons iron, 1 metric ton mercury, 8,600 metric tons molybdenum and 1 metric ton platinum in undiscovered deposits of the eight deposit types. Other commodities, which may occur in the Bay RMP area, include Cr, Sn, W, Zn, and other platinum-group elements such as Ir, Os, and Pd. We define 13 permissive tracts for 9 additional deposit model types. These are: Besshi- and Cyprus, and Kuroko-volcanogenic massive sulfides, hot spring gold, low sulfide gold veins, Mississippi-Valley Pb-Zn, tin greisen, zinc skarn and Alaskan-type zoned ultramafic platinum-group element deposits. Resources in undiscovered deposits of these nine types have not been quantified, and would be in addition to those in known deposits and the undiscovered resources listed above. Additional mineral resources also may occur in the Bay RMP area in deposit types, which were not considered here.

Assessment of undiscovered sandstone-hosted uranium resources in the Texas Coastal Plain, 2015

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mihalasky, Mark J.; Hall, Susan M.; Hammarstrom, Jane M.; Tureck, Kathleen R.; Hannon, Mark T.; Breit, George N.; Zielinski, Robert A.; Elliott, Brent

2015-12-02

The U.S. Geological Survey estimated a mean of 220 million pounds of recoverable uranium oxide (U3O8 ) remaining as potential undiscovered resources in southern Texas. This estimate used a geology-based assessment method for Tertiary sandstone-hosted uranium deposits in the Texas Coastal Plain sedimentary strata (fig.1).

Spatial database for a global assessment of undiscovered copper resources: Chapter Z in Global mineral resource assessment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dicken, Connie L.; Dunlap, Pamela; Parks, Heather L.; Hammarstrom, Jane M.; Zientek, Michael L.; Zientek, Michael L.; Hammarstrom, Jane M.; Johnson, Kathleen M.

2016-07-13

As part of the first-ever U.S. Geological Survey global assessment of undiscovered copper resources, data common to several regional spatial databases published by the U.S. Geological Survey, including one report from Finland and one from Greenland, were standardized, updated, and compiled into a global copper resource database. This integrated collection of spatial databases provides location, geologic and mineral resource data, and source references for deposits, significant prospects, and areas permissive for undiscovered deposits of both porphyry copper and sediment-hosted copper. The copper resource database allows for efficient modeling on a global scale in a geographic information system (GIS) and is provided in an Esri ArcGIS file geodatabase format.

Regional resource depletion and industry activity: The case of oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico

USGS Publications Warehouse

Attanasi, E.D.

1986-01-01

Stable and declining oil and gas prices have changed the industry's price expectations and, along with depletion of promising exploration prospects, has resulted in reduced exploration. Even with intensive additional exploration, production in most U.S. areas is expected to decline. What does this imply for the drilling and petroleum industry suppliers in particular regions? How should planners in government and the private sector project and incorporate the consequences of these changes in their strategies? This paper answers these questions for the industry operating in the offshore Gulf of Mexico. Future oil and gas production, as well as demand for offshore drilling and production facilities, are shown to depend on the size distribution of undiscovered fields, their associated production costs, and oil and gas prices. Declining well productivity is a consequence of development of progressively smaller fields so that long-run drilling demand should not decline in proportion to the expected production decline. Calculations show a substantial payoff to the drilling industry, in terms of potential demand increases, if it can develop and implement cost reducing technologies. Implications of these results for other offshore producing areas such as the North Sea are also discussed. ?? 1986.

A 3D seismic investigation of the Ray Gas Storage Reef in Macomb County, Michigan

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schaefer, S.F.; Dixon, R.A.

1995-09-01

A 4.2 square mile 3D seismic survey was acquired over the Ray Niagaran Reef Gas Storage Field in southeast Michigan as part of a program to maximize storage capacity and gas deliverability of the field. Goals of the survey were: (1) to determine if additional storage capacity could be found, either as extensions to the main reef or as undiscovered satellite reefs, (2) to determine if 3D seismic data can be utilized to quantify reservoir parameters in order to maximize the productive capacity of infill wells, and (3) to investigate the relationship between the main reef body and a lowmore » relief/flow volume gas well east of the reef. Interpretation of the 3D seismic data resulted in a detailed image of the reef, using several interpretive techniques. A seismic reflection within the reef was correlated with a known porosity zone, and the relationship between porosity and seismic amplitude was investigated. A possible connection between the main reef and the low relief gas well was identified. This project illustrates the economic value of investigating an existing storage reef with 3D seismic data, and underscores the necessity of acquiring such a survey prior to developing a new storage reservoir.« less

Brookian stratigraphic plays in the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska (NPRA)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Houseknecht, David W.

2003-01-01

The Brookian megasequence in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPRA) includes bottomset and clinoform seismic facies of the Torok Formation (mostly Albian age) and generally coeval, topset seismic facies of the uppermost Torok Formation and the Nanushuk Group. These strata are part of a composite total petroleum system involving hydrocarbons expelled from three stratigraphic intervals of source rocks, the Lower Cretaceous gamma-ray zone (GRZ), the Lower Jurassic Kingak Shale, and the Triassic Shublik Formation. The potential for undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Brookian megasequence in NPRA was assessed by defining five plays (assessment units), one in the topset seismic facies and four in the bottomset-clinoform seismic facies. The Brookian Topset Play is estimated to contain between 60 (95-percent probability) and 465 (5-percent probability) million barrels of technically recoverable oil, with a mean (expected value) of 239 million barrels. The Brookian Topset Play is estimated to contain between 0 (95-percent probability) and 679 (5-percent probability) billion cubic feet of technically recoverable, nonassociated natural gas, with a mean (expected value) of 192 billion cubic feet. The Brookian Clinoform North Play, which extends across northern NPRA, is estimated to contain between 538 (95-percent probability) and 2,257 (5-percent probability) million barrels of technically recoverable oil, with a mean (expected value) of 1,306 million barrels. The Brookian Clinoform North Play is estimated to contain between 0 (95-percent probability) and 1,969 (5-percent probability) billion cubic feet of technically recoverable, nonassociated natural gas, with a mean (expected value) of 674 billion cubic feet. The Brookian Clinoform Central Play, which extends across central NPRA, is estimated to contain between 299 (95-percent probability) and 1,849 (5-percent probability) million barrels of technically recoverable oil, with a mean (expected value) of 973 million barrels. The Brookian Clinoform Central Play is estimated to contain between 1,806 (95-percent probability) and 10,076 (5-percent probability) billion cubic feet of technically recoverable, nonassociated natural gas, with a mean (expected value) of 5,405 billion cubic feet. The Brookian Clinoform South-Shallow Play is estimated to contain between 0 (95-percent probability) and 1,254 (5-percent probability) million barrels of technically recoverable oil, with a mean (expected value) of 508 million barrels. The Brookian Clinoform South-Shallow Play is estimated to contain between 0 (95-percent probability) and 5,809 (5-percent probability) billion cubic feet of technically recoverable, nonassociated natural gas, with a mean (expected value) of 2,405 billion cubic feet. The Brookian Clinoform South-Deep Play is estimated to contain between 0 (95-percent probability) and 8,796 (5-percent probability) billion cubic feet of technically recoverable, nonassociated natural gas, with a mean (expected value) of 3,788 billion cubic feet. No technically recoverable oil is assessed in the Brookian Clinoform South-Deep Play, as it lies at depths that are entirely in the gas window. Among the Brookian stratigraphic plays in NPRA, the Brookian Clinoform North Play and the Brookian Clinoform Central Play are most likely to be objectives of exploration activity in the near-term future because they are estimated to contain multiple oil accumulations larger than 128 million barrels technically recoverable oil, and because some of those accumulations may occur near existing infrastructure in the eastern parts of the plays. The other Brookian stratigraphic plays are not likely to be the focus of exploration activity because they are estimated to contain maximum accumulation sizes that are smaller, but they may be an objective of satellite exploration if infrastructure is extended into the play areas. The total volumes of natural gas estimated to occur in B

Assessment of undiscovered resources in calcrete uranium deposits, Southern High Plains region of Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, 2017

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hall, Susan M.; Mihalasky, Mark J.; Van Gosen, Bradley S.

2017-11-14

The U.S. Geological Survey estimates a mean of 40 million pounds of in-place uranium oxide (U3O8) remaining as potential undiscovered resources in the Southern High Plains region of Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. This estimate used a geology-based assessment method specific to calcrete uranium deposits.

Methodology for assessing quantities of water and proppant injection, and water production associated with development of continuous petroleum accumulations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Haines, Seth S.

2015-07-13

The quantities of water and hydraulic fracturing proppant required for producing petroleum (oil, gas, and natural gas liquids) from continuous accumulations, and the quantities of water extracted during petroleum production, can be quantitatively assessed using a probabilistic approach. The water and proppant assessment methodology builds on the U.S. Geological Survey methodology for quantitative assessment of undiscovered technically recoverable petroleum resources in continuous accumulations. The U.S. Geological Survey assessment methodology for continuous petroleum accumulations includes fundamental concepts such as geologically defined assessment units, and probabilistic input values including well-drainage area, sweet- and non-sweet-spot areas, and success ratio within the untested area of each assessment unit. In addition to petroleum-related information, required inputs for the water and proppant assessment methodology include probabilistic estimates of per-well water usage for drilling, cementing, and hydraulic-fracture stimulation; the ratio of proppant to water for hydraulic fracturing; the percentage of hydraulic fracturing water that returns to the surface as flowback; and the ratio of produced water to petroleum over the productive life of each well. Water and proppant assessments combine information from recent or current petroleum assessments with water- and proppant-related input values for the assessment unit being studied, using Monte Carlo simulation, to yield probabilistic estimates of the volume of water for drilling, cementing, and hydraulic fracture stimulation; the quantity of proppant for hydraulic fracture stimulation; and the volumes of water produced as flowback shortly after well completion, and produced over the life of the well.

Porphyry copper assessment of Central America and the Caribbean Basin: Chapter I in Global mineral resource assessment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gray, Floyd; Hammarstrom, Jane M.; Ludington, Stephen; Zürcher, Lukas; Nelson, Carl E.; Robinson, Gilpin R.; Miller, Robert J.; Moring, Barry C.

2014-01-01

This assessment estimated a total mean of 37 undiscovered porphyry copper deposits within the assessed permissive tracts in Central America and the Caribbean Basin. This represents more than five times the seven known deposits. Predicted mean (arithmetic) resources that could be associated with these undiscovered deposits are about 130 million metric tons of copper and about 5,200 metric tons of gold, as well as byproduct molybdenum and silver. The reported identified resources for the seven known deposits total about 39 million metric tons of copper and about 930 metric tons of gold. The assessment area is estimated to contain nearly four times as much copper and six times as much gold in undiscovered porphyry copper deposits as has been identified to date.

Evolution of Ore Deposits and Technology Transfer Project: Isotope and Chemical Methods in Support of the U.S. Geological Survey Science Strategy, 2003-2008

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rye, Robert O.; Johnson, Craig A.; Landis, Gary P.; Hofstra, Albert H.; Emsbo, Poul; Stricker, Craig A.; Hunt, Andrew G.; Rusk, Brian G.

2010-01-01

Principal functions of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Resources Program are providing assessments of the location, quantity, and quality of undiscovered mineral deposits, and predicting the environmental impacts of exploration and mine development. The mineral and environmental assessments of domestic deposits are used by planners and decisionmakers to improve the stewardship of public lands and public resources. Assessments of undiscovered mineral deposits on a global scale reveal the potential availability of minerals to the United States and other countries that manufacture goods imported to the United States. These resources are of fundamental relevance to national and international economic and security policy in our globalized world economy. Performing mineral and environmental assessments requires that predictions be made of the likelihood of undiscovered deposits. The predictions are based on geologic and geoenvironmental models that are constructed for the diverse types of mineral deposits from detailed descriptions of actual deposits and detailed understanding of the processes that formed them. Over the past three decades the understanding of ore-forming processes has benefited greatly from the integration of laboratory-based geochemical tools with field observations and other data sources. Under the aegis of the Evolution of Ore Deposits and Technology Transfer Project (referred to hereinafter as the Project), a 5-year effort that terminated in 2008, the Mineral Resources Program provided state-of-the-art analytical capabilities to support applications of several related geochemical tools to ore-deposit-related studies. The analytical capabilities and scientific approaches developed within the Project have wide applicability within Earth-system science. For this reason the Project Laboratories represent a valuable catalyst for interdisciplinary collaborations of the type that should be formed in the coming years for the United States to meet its natural-resources and natural-science needs. This circular presents an overview of the Project. Descriptions of the Project laboratories are given first including descriptions of the types of chemical or isotopic analyses that are made and the utility of the measurements. This is followed by summaries of select measurements that were carried out by the Project scientists. The studies are grouped by science direction. Virtually all of them were collaborations with USGS colleagues or with scientists from other governmental agencies, academia, or the private sector.

USGS assessment of water and proppant requirements and water production associated with undiscovered petroleum in the Bakken and Three Forks Formations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Haines, Seth S.; Varela, Brian; Hawkins, Sarah J.; Gianoutsos, Nicholas J.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.

2017-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has conducted an assessment of water and proppant requirements, and water production volumes, associated with possible future production of undiscovered petroleum resources in the Bakken and Three Forks Formations, Williston Basin, USA. This water and proppant assessment builds directly from the 2013 USGS petroleum assessment for the Bakken and Three Forks Formations, and it has been conducted using a new water and proppant assessment methodology that builds from the established USGS methodology for assessment of undiscovered petroleum in continuous reservoirs. We determined the assessment input values through extensive analysis of available data on per-well water and proppant use for hydraulic fracturing, including trends over time and space. We determined other assessment inputs through analysis of regional water-production trends.

Biodiversity hotspots house most undiscovered plant species.

PubMed

Joppa, Lucas N; Roberts, David L; Myers, Norman; Pimm, Stuart L

2011-08-09

For most organisms, the number of described species considerably underestimates how many exist. This is itself a problem and causes secondary complications given present high rates of species extinction. Known numbers of flowering plants form the basis of biodiversity "hotspots"--places where high levels of endemism and habitat loss coincide to produce high extinction rates. How different would conservation priorities be if the catalog were complete? Approximately 15% more species of flowering plant are likely still undiscovered. They are almost certainly rare, and depending on where they live, suffer high risks of extinction from habitat loss and global climate disruption. By using a model that incorporates taxonomic effort over time, regions predicted to contain large numbers of undiscovered species are already conservation priorities. Our results leave global conservation priorities more or less intact, but suggest considerably higher levels of species imperilment than previously acknowledged.

Mapping membrane activity in undiscovered peptide sequence space using machine learning

PubMed Central

Fulan, Benjamin M.; Wong, Gerard C. L.

2016-01-01

There are some ∼1,100 known antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), which permeabilize microbial membranes but have diverse sequences. Here, we develop a support vector machine (SVM)-based classifier to investigate ⍺-helical AMPs and the interrelated nature of their functional commonality and sequence homology. SVM is used to search the undiscovered peptide sequence space and identify Pareto-optimal candidates that simultaneously maximize the distance σ from the SVM hyperplane (thus maximize its “antimicrobialness”) and its ⍺-helicity, but minimize mutational distance to known AMPs. By calibrating SVM machine learning results with killing assays and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), we find that the SVM metric σ correlates not with a peptide’s minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), but rather its ability to generate negative Gaussian membrane curvature. This surprising result provides a topological basis for membrane activity common to AMPs. Moreover, we highlight an important distinction between the maximal recognizability of a sequence to a trained AMP classifier (its ability to generate membrane curvature) and its maximal antimicrobial efficacy. As mutational distances are increased from known AMPs, we find AMP-like sequences that are increasingly difficult for nature to discover via simple mutation. Using the sequence map as a discovery tool, we find a unexpectedly diverse taxonomy of sequences that are just as membrane-active as known AMPs, but with a broad range of primary functions distinct from AMP functions, including endogenous neuropeptides, viral fusion proteins, topogenic peptides, and amyloids. The SVM classifier is useful as a general detector of membrane activity in peptide sequences. PMID:27849600

Maps showing geology, oil and gas fields and geological provinces of Africa

USGS Publications Warehouse

Persits, Feliks M.; Ahlbrandt, T.S.; Tuttle, Michele L.W.; Charpentier, R.R.; Brownfield, M.E.; Takahashi, Kenneth

1997-01-01

The CD-ROM was compiled according to the methodology developed by the U.S. Geological Survey's World Energy Project . The goal of the project was to assess the undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources of the world and report these results by the year 2000. A worldwide series of geologic maps, published on CD-ROMs, was released by the U.S. Geological Survey's World Energy Project during 1997 - 2000. Specific details of the data sources and map compilation are given in the metadata files on this CD-ROM. These maps were compiled using Environmental Systems Research Institute Inc. (ESRI) ARC/INFO software. Political boundaries and cartographic representations on this map are shown (with permission) from ESRI's ArcWorld 1:3M digital coverage: they have no political significance and are displayed as general reference only. Portions of this database covering the coastline and country boundaries contain proprietary property of ESRI. (Copyright 1992 and 1996, Environmental Systems Research Institute Inc. All rights reserved.)

Subsurface stratigraphic cross sections of cretaceous and lower tertiary rocks in the Wind River Basin, central Wyoming: Chapter 9 in Petroleum systems and geologic assessment of oil and gas resources in the Wind River Basin Province, Wyoming

USGS Publications Warehouse

Finn, Thomas M.

2007-01-01

The stratigraphic cross sections presented in this report were constructed as part of a project conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey to characterize and evaluate the undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Wind River Basin (WRB) in central Wyoming. The primary purpose of the cross sections is to show the stratigraphic framework and facies relations of Cretaceous and lower Tertiary rocks in this large, intermontane structural and sedimentary basin, which formed in the Rocky Mountain foreland during the Laramide orogeny (Late Cretaceous through early Eocene time). The WRB is nearly 200 miles (mi) long, 70 mi wide, and encompasses about 7,400 square miles (mi2) (fig. 1). The basin is structurally bounded by the Owl Creek and Bighorn Mountains on the north, the Casper arch on the east, the Granite Mountains on the south, and the Wind River Range on the west.

Petroleum geology and resources of the middle Caspian Basin, Former Soviet Union

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ulmishek, Gregory F.

2001-01-01

The Middle Caspian basin occupies a large area between the Great Caucasus foldbelt and the southern edge of the Precambrian Russian craton. The basin also includes the central part of the Caspian Sea and the South Mangyshlak subbasin east of the sea. The basin was formed on the Hercynian accreted terrane during Late Permian?Triassic through Quaternary time. Structurally, the basin consists of the fold-and-thrust zone of the northern Caucasus foothills, the foredeep and foreland slope, the Stavropol-Prikumsk uplift and East Manych trough to the north of the slope, and the South Mangyshlak subbasin and slope of the Karabogaz arch east of the Caspian Sea. All these major structures extend offshore. Four total petroleum systems (TPS) have been identified in the basin. The South Mangyshlak TPS contains more than 40 discovered fields. The principal reserves are in Lower?Middle Jurassic sandstone reservoirs in structural traps. Source rocks are poorly known, but geologic data indicate that they are in the Triassic taphrogenic sequence. Migration of oil and gas significantly postdated maturation of source rocks and was related to faulting and fracturing during middle Miocene to present time. A single assessment unit covers the entire TPS. Largest undiscovered resources of this assessment unit are expected in the largely undrilled offshore portion of the TPS, especially on the western plunge of the Mangyshlak meganticline. The Terek-Caspian TPS occupies the fold-and-thrust belt, foredeep, and adjoining foreland slope. About 50 hydrocarbon fields, primarily oil, have been discovered in the TPS. Almost all hydrocarbon reserves are in faulted structural traps related to thrusting of the foldbelt, and most traps are in frontal edges of the thrust sheets. The traps are further complicated by plastic deformation of Upper Jurassic salt and Maykop series (Oligocene? lower Miocene) shale. Principal reservoirs are fractured Upper Cretaceous carbonates and middle Miocene sandstones. Principal source rocks are organic-rich shales in the lower part of the Maykop series. Source rocks may also be present in the Eocene, Upper Jurassic, and Middle Jurassic sections, but their contribution to discovered reserves is probably small. Three assessment units are delineated in the TPS. One of them encompasses the thrust-and-fold belt of northern Caucasus foothills. This assessment unit contains most of the undiscovered oil resources. The second assessment unit occupies the foredeep and largely undeformed foreland slope. Undiscovered resources of this unit are relatively small and primarily related to stratigraphic traps. The third unit is identified in almost untested subsalt Jurassic rocks occurring at great depths and is speculative. The unit may contain significant amounts of gas under the Upper Jurassic salt seal. The Stavropol-Prikumsk TPS lies north of the Terek-Caspian TPS and extends offshore into the central Caspian Sea where geologic data are scarce. More than one hundred oil and gas fields have been found onshore. Offshore, only one well was recently drilled, and this well discovered a large oil and gas field. Almost the entire sedimentary section of the TPS is productive; however, the principal oil reserves are in Lower Cretaceous clastic reservoirs in structural traps of the Prikumsk uplift. Most original gas reserves are in Paleogene reservoirs of the Stavropol arch and these reservoirs are largely depleted. At least three source rock formations, in the Lower Triassic, Middle Jurassic, and Oligocene?lower Miocene (Maykop series), are present in the TPS. Geochemical data are inadequate to correlate oils and gases in most reservoirs with particular source rocks, and widespread mixing of hydrocarbons apparently took place. Three assessment units encompassing the onshore area of the TPS, the offshore continuation of the Prikumsk uplift, and the central Caspian area, are identified. The

Petroleum geology and resources of the West Siberian Basin, Russia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ulmishek, Gregory F.

2003-01-01

The West Siberian basin is the largest petroleum basin in the world covering an area of about 2.2 million km2. The basin occupies a swampy plain between the Ural Mountains and the Yenisey River. On the north, the basin extends offshore into the southern Kara Sea. On the west, north, and east, the basin is surrounded by the Ural, Yenisey Ridge, and Turukhan-Igarka foldbelts that experienced major deformations during the Hercynian tectonic event and the Novaya Zemlya foldbelt that was deformed in early Cimmerian (Triassic) time. On the south, the folded Caledonian structures of the Central Kazakhstan and Altay-Sayan regions dip northward beneath the basin?s sedimentary cover. The basin is a relatively undeformed Mesozoic sag that overlies the Hercynian accreted terrane and the Early Triassic rift system. The basement is composed of foldbelts that were deformed in Late Carboniferous?Permian time during collision of the Siberian and Kazakhstan continents with the Russian craton. The basement also includes several microcontinental blocks with a relatively undeformed Paleozoic sedimentary sequence. The sedimentary succession of the basin is composed of Middle Triassic through Tertiary clastic rocks. The lower part of this succession is present only in the northern part of the basin; southward, progressively younger strata onlap the basement, so that in the southern areas the basement is overlain by Toarcian and younger rocks. The important stage in tectono-stratigraphic development of the basin was formation of a deep-water sea in Volgian?early Berriasian time. The sea covered more than one million km2 in the central basin area. Highly organic-rich siliceous shales of the Bazhenov Formation were deposited during this time in anoxic conditions on the sea bottom. Rocks of this formation have generated more than 80 percent of West Siberian oil reserves and probably a substantial part of its gas reserves. The deep-water basin was filled by prograding clastic clinoforms during Neocomian time. The clastic material was transported by a system of rivers dominantly from the eastern provenance. Sandstones within the Neocomian clinoforms contain the principal oil reservoirs. The thick continental Aptian?Cenomanian Pokur Formation above the Neocomian sequence contains giant gas reserves in the northern part of the basin. Three total petroleum systems are identified in the West Siberian basin. Volumes of discovered hydrocarbons in these systems are 144 billion barrels of oil and more than 1,300 trillion cubic feet of gas. The assessed mean undiscovered resources are 55.2 billion barrels of oil, 642.9 trillion cubic feet of gas, and 20.5 billion barrels of natural gas liquids. The largest known oil reserves are in the Bazhenov-Neocomian total petroleum system that includes Upper Jurassic and younger rocks of the central and southern parts of the basin. Oil reservoirs are mainly in Neocomian and Upper Jurassic clastic strata. Source rocks are organic-rich siliceous shales of the Bazhenov Formation. Most discovered reserves are in structural traps, but stratigraphic traps in the Neocomian clinoform sequence are pro-ductive and are expected to contain much of the undiscovered resources. Two assessment units are identified in this total petroleum system. The first assessment unit includes all conventional reservoirs in the stratigraphic interval from the Upper Jurassic to the Cenomanian. The second unit includes unconventional (or continuous), self-sourced, fractured reservoirs in the Bazhenov Formation. This unit was not assessed quantitatively. The Togur-Tyumen total petroleum system covers the same geographic area as the Bazhenov-Neocomian system, but it includes older, Lower?Middle Jurassic strata and weathered rocks at the top of the pre-Jurassic sequence. A Callovian regional shale seal of the Abalak and lower Vasyugan Formations separates the two systems. The Togur-Tyumen system is oil-prone; gas reserves are insignificant. The principal o

Mineral resources of the Gila Lower Box Wilderness Study Area, Grant and Hidalgo counties, New Mexico

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Richter, D.H.; Lawrence, V.A.; Barton, H.

1988-01-01

The US Bureau of Mines and the US Geological Survey conducted a joint investigate to appraise the identified resources and to assess the potential for undiscovered resources of the Gila Lower Box Wilderness Study Area, southwestern New Mexico. Identified resources of manganese occur within 0.25 mi of the study area boundary, but none are known within the study area. The eastern part of the study area has a high mineral resource potential for manganese, and the western part has a moderate mineral resource potential for manganese. The entire study area has a low mineral and energy resource potential for othermore » metals, gemstone, geothermal energy, oil and gas.« less

Identification of Geostructures of the Continental Crust Particularly as They Relate to Mineral Resource Evaluation. [Alaska

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lathram, E. H. (Principal Investigator)

1974-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. A pattern of very old geostructures was recognized, reflecting structures in the crust. This pattern is not peculiar to Alaska, but can be recognized throughout the northern cordillera. A new metallogenic hypothesis for Alaska was developed, based on the relationship of space image linears to known mineral deposits. Using image linear analysis, regional geologic features were also recognized; these features may be used to guide in the location of undiscovered oil and/or gas accumulations in northern Alaska. The effectiveness of ERTS data in enhancing medium and small scale mapping was demonstrated. ERTS data were also used to recognize and monitor the state of large scale vehicular scars on Arctic tundra.

Barite (Barium)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Johnson, Craig A.; Piatak, Nadine M.; Miller, M. Michael; Schulz, Klaus J.; DeYoung,, John H.; Seal, Robert R.; Bradley, Dwight C.

2017-12-19

Barite (barium sulfate, BaSO4) is vital to the oil and gas industry because it is a key constituent of the mud used to drill oil and gas wells. Elemental barium is an additive in optical glass, ceramic glazes, and other products. Within the United States, barite is produced mainly from mines in Nevada. Imports in 2011 (the latest year for which complete data were available) accounted for 78 percent of domestic consumption and came mostly from China.Barite deposits can be divided into the following four main types: bedded-sedimentary; bedded-volcanic; vein, cavity-fill, and metasomatic; and residual. Bedded-sedimentary deposits, which are found in sedimentary rocks with characteristics of high biological productivity during sediment accumulation, are the major sources of barite production and account for the majority of reserves, both in the United States and worldwide. In 2013, China and India were the leading producers of barite, and they have large identified resources that position them to be significant producers for the foreseeable future. The potential for undiscovered barite resources in the United States and in many other countries is considerable, however. The expected tight supply and rising costs in the coming years will likely be met by increased production from such countries as Kazakhstan, Mexico, Morocco, and Vietnam.Barium has limited mobility in the environment and exposed barium in the vicinity of barite mines poses minimal risk to human or ecosystem health. Of greater concern is the potential for acidic metal-bearing drainage at sites where the barite ores or waste rocks contain abundant sulfide minerals. This risk is lessened naturally if the host rocks at the site are acid-neutralizing, and the risk can also be lessened by engineering measures.

Global petroleum resources: A view to the future

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ahlbrandt, T.S.; McCabe, P.J.

2002-01-01

It is necessary to periodically reassess petroleum resources, not only because new data become available and better geologic models are developed; but also because many non-geologic factors determine which part of the crustal abundance of petroleum will be economic and acceptable over the foreseeable future. In 2000, the U.S. Geological Survey completed an assessment of the world's conventional petroleum resources, exclusive of the United States. This assessment is different from those before it: Overall the 2000 assessment of potential petroleum resources is higher than previous assessments, largely because it is the first USGS world assessment to include field growth estimates. Based on a thorough investigation of the petroleum geology of each province, the assessment couples geologic analysis with a probabilistic methodology to estimate remaining potential. Including the assessment numbers for the United States from USGS and the Minerals Management Service (MMS), the world's endowment of recoverable oil - which consists of cumulative production, remaining reserves, reserve growth and undiscovered resources - is estimated at about 3 trillion barrels of oil. Of this, about 24 percent has been produced and an additional 29 percent has been discovered and booked as reserves. The natural gas endowment is estimated at 15.4 quadrillion cubic feet (2.5 trillion barrels of oil equivalent), of which only about 11 percent has been produced and an additional 31 percent has been discovered and booked as reserves. The USGS assessment is not exhaustive, because it does not cover all sedimentary basins of the world. Relatively small volumes of oil or gas have been found in an additional 279 provinces, and significant accumulations may occur in these or other basins that were not assessed. The estimates are therefore conservative.

Lead in Albacore: Guide to Lead Pollution in Americans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Settle, Dorothy M.; Patterson, Clair C.

1980-03-01

Lead contamination in canned tuna, exceeding natural concentrations 10,000-fold, went undiscovered for decades because of analytical error. The magnitude of this pollution effect helps explain the difference between the lead concentration in the diets of present-day Americans (0.2 part per million) and in the diets of prehistoric peoples (estimated to be less than 0.002 part per million). It also explains how skeletal concentrations of lead in typical Americans became elevated 500-fold above the natural concentrations measured in bones of Peruvians who lived in an unpolluted environment 1800 years ago. It has been tacitly assumed that natural biochemical effects of lead in human cells have been studied, but this is not so because reagents, nutrients, and controls used in laboratory and field studies have been unknowingly contaminated with lead far in excess of naturally occurring levels. An unrecognized form of poisoning caused by this excessive exposure to lead may affect most Americans because magnitudes of biochemical dysfunctions are proportional to degrees of exposure.

Assessment of exploration bias in data-driven predictive models and the estimation of undiscovered resources

USGS Publications Warehouse

Coolbaugh, M.F.; Raines, G.L.; Zehner, R.E.

2007-01-01

The spatial distribution of discovered resources may not fully mimic the distribution of all such resources, discovered and undiscovered, because the process of discovery is biased by accessibility factors (e.g., outcrops, roads, and lakes) and by exploration criteria. In data-driven predictive models, the use of training sites (resource occurrences) biased by exploration criteria and accessibility does not necessarily translate to a biased predictive map. However, problems occur when evidence layers correlate with these same exploration factors. These biases then can produce a data-driven model that predicts known occurrences well, but poorly predicts undiscovered resources. Statistical assessment of correlation between evidence layers and map-based exploration factors is difficult because it is difficult to quantify the "degree of exploration." However, if such a degree-of-exploration map can be produced, the benefits can be enormous. Not only does it become possible to assess this correlation, but it becomes possible to predict undiscovered, instead of discovered, resources. Using geothermal systems in Nevada, USA, as an example, a degree-of-exploration model is created, which then is resolved into purely explored and unexplored equivalents, each occurring within coextensive study areas. A weights-of-evidence (WofE) model is built first without regard to the degree of exploration, and then a revised WofE model is calculated for the "explored fraction" only. Differences in the weights between the two models provide a correlation measure between the evidence and the degree of exploration. The data used to build the geothermal evidence layers are perceived to be independent of degree of exploration. Nevertheless, the evidence layers correlate with exploration because exploration has preferred the same favorable areas identified by the evidence patterns. In this circumstance, however, the weights for the "explored" WofE model minimize this bias. Using these revised weights, posterior probability is extrapolated into unexplored areas to estimate undiscovered deposits. ?? International Association for Mathematical Geology 2007.

Porphyry copper assessment of Southeast Asia and Melanesia: Chapter D in Global mineral resource assessment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hammarstrom, Jane M.; Bookstrom, Arthur A.; Dicken, Connie L.; Drenth, Benjamin J.; Ludington, Steve; Robinson, Gilpin R.; Setiabudi, Bambang Tjahjono; Sukserm, Wudhikarn; Sunuhadi, Dwi Nugroho; Wah, Alexander Yan Sze; Zientek, Michael L.

2013-01-01

This assessment includes an overview of the assessment results with summary tables. Detailed descriptions of each tract are included in appendixes, with estimates of numbers of undiscovered deposits, and probabilistic estimates of amounts of copper, molybdenum, gold, and silver that could be contained in undiscovered deposits for each permissive tract. A geographic information system (GIS) that accompanies the report includes tract boundaries and a database of known porphyry copper deposits and significant prospects.

Platinum-group elements in southern Africa: mineral inventory and an assessment of undiscovered mineral resources: Chapter Q in Global mineral resource assessment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Zientek, Michael L.; Causey, J. Douglas; Parks, Heather L.; Miller, Robert J.

2014-01-01

The large layered intrusions in southern Africa—the Bushveld Complex and the Great Dyke—are now and will continue to be a major source of the world’s supply of PGE. Mining will not deplete the identified mineral resources and reserves or potential undiscovered mineral resources for many decades; however, in the near-term, PGE supply could be affected by social, environmental, political, and economic factors.

Caring: An Undiscovered "Super Ility" of Smart Healthcare.

PubMed

Laplante, Nancy; Laplante, Phil; Voas, Jeff

2016-01-01

As new and exciting applications emerge using smart technologies, the Internet of Things, data analytics, and others for healthcare, a critical problem is emerging: the potential loss of caring. While these exciting technologies have improved patient care by allowing for better assessment, surveillance, and treatment, the use of technology can disassociate the caregiver from the patient, essentially removing the "care" from healthcare. Here we introduce the notion of caring as an undiscovered ility that ranks at least as important as other well-known ilities in healthcare systems.

Porphyry copper assessment of the Mesozoic of East Asia: China, Vietnam, North Korea, Mongolia, and Russia: Chapter G in Global mineral resource assessment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ludington, Steve; Mihalasky, Mark J.; Hammarstrom, Jane M.; Robinson, Giplin R.; Frost, Thomas P.; Gans, Kathleen D.; Light, Thomas D.; Miller, Robert J.; Alexeiev, Dmitriy V.

2012-01-01

This report includes an overview of the assessment results and summary tables. Descriptions of each tract are included in appendixes, with estimates of numbers of undiscovered deposits, and probabilistic estimates of amounts of copper, molybdenum, gold, and silver that could be contained in undiscovered deposits for each permissive tract. A geographic information system that accompanies the report includes tract boundaries and a database of known porphyry copper deposits and prospects.

Sediments, structural framework, petroleum potential, environmental conditions, and operational considerations of the United States North Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

1975-01-01

The area designated for possible oil and gas lease sale as modified from BLM memorandum 3310 #42 (722) and referred to therein as the North Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) contains about 58,300 sq km of shelf beneath water depths of less than 200 m and lies chiefly within the Georges Bank basin. The oldest sediments drilled or dredged on the bordering Continental Slope are sandstone, clay, and silt of Upper Cretaceous age. In Upper Cretaceous exposures, on Marthas Vineyard and nearby New England islands, the predominant lithology appears to be clay. About 125 km northeast of the eastern tip of Georges Bank, the Shell B-93 well penetrated clays and silts of Upper and Lower Cretaceous age above dense Jurassic carbonate rocks which overlie a basement of lower Paleozoic slate, schist, quartzite, and granite. Structurally, the Georges Bank basin is a westerly trending trough which opens to the west-southwest. Post-Paleozoic sediments are more than 8 km thick in parts of the basin. Major structural features appear to be directly related to basement structures. Local anticlines, probably caused by differential compaction over basement flexures and horst blocks or by later uplift along basement faults are reflected principally in Lower Cretaceous and older sediments, though some of these features continue upward to within 0.7 of a second (about 650 m) of the seafloor. Tertiary deposits in the Georges Bank basin are probably up to a kilometre thick and are made up of poorly consolidated sand, silt, and clay. The Cretaceous section is inferred to be up to 3.5 km thick and to be mainly clastics -- shale, siltstone, calcareous shale, changing to limestone in the lowest part of the system. Jurassic rocks in the deepest part of the basin appear to be about 3.6 to 4.0 km thick and probably consist mainly of dense carbonates. Potential source rocks in the Georges Bank basin may include organic-rich Cretaceous shale and carbonaceous Jurassic limestone. By analogy with the Scotian Shelf, Cretaceous sandstones are considered to be potential reservoir rocks. Local zones of porous dolomite are believed to be present in carbonate rocks of Jurassic age and should not be overlooked as potential reservoirs. Structural highs related to draping and differential compaction over basement blocks could be important potential petroleum traps. Additional traps may include reef structures near the shelf edge, updip pinchouts, and stratigraphic traps in both clastic and carbonate sediment. A statistical mean for the undiscovered recoverable petroleum resources is calculated to be 0.9 billion barrels of oil and 4.2 trillion cubic feet of gas. At the 5 percent probability level (1 in 20 chance) the undiscovered recoverable petroleum resources are calculated to be 2.4 billion barrels of oil and 12.5 trillion cubic feet of gas. These undiscovered recoverable petroleum resources are those quantities of oil and gas that may be reasonably expected to exist in favorable settings, but which have not yet been identified by drilling. Such estimates, therefore, carry a high degree of uncertainty. Environmental studies of Georges Bank indicated a low-moderate risk from petroleum development. However, the risk estimate is based on very limited data. Drift bottle returns used to infer oil spill trajectories show about a 2% overall recovery rate. Meteorologic data comes mainly from nearby land areas and from ships attempting to avoid storms. Seismicity on Georges Bank is low. This may reflect, in large part, the difficulty of land-based stations in recording earthquakes far from the coast. Direct data on the engineering properties of shallow buried sediment comes mainly from two Texas Tower surveys of limited areas on Georges Shoal and Nantucket Shoals made in the early 1950's. The 17 holes (most less than 30 m deep) reveal some silty layers below loose sand and much lateral variability in sediment type over short distances. The technology for exploration at the required water depths (20 m - 200 m) is available. Mobil drilling units are in great demand around the world and will have to be brought in from other areas along with skilled manpower. Our highest estimates indicate 50 platforms, 800 producing wells, 1,100 km of pipeline, and 5 onshore terminals may be needed. The time frame for production, using our high estimates (5% probability) for the undiscovered recoverable resources, could include 4-5 years for significant development, 6-7 years until production commences, and 18 years until peak production.

Behcet disease combined with Sjogren syndrome: A unique case report and literature review.

PubMed

Ju, Fang-He; Xu, Ting-Zhen; Hong, Hui-Hua; Mao, He; Wang, Meng; Wang, Zhen

2018-03-01

Behcet disease(BD) and Sjogren syndrome(SS) are separate conditions that rarely concomitantly affect an individual. In theory,mild symptoms of patients with BD or SS are easy to igore and,thus,remain undiagnosed. There,it is reasonable to believe there may be some clinical cases of combined diseases that go undiscovered and which needs to be taken seriously. In addition,it has been suggested that herpes simplex virus(HSV) types 1 and 2 are associated with BD,but have not been shown to be correlated to the direct pathogenesis of BD. The role of HSV in BD needs more research and attention. Here,we report a young woman who had both BD and SS. The first symptom of the disease was fever. However,the HSV type 1 IgG and HSV type 2 IgM antibody results were positive in our case and,which rendered this case unique. BD and SS concomitantly affect the individual,and BD was the acute type. IV methylprednisolone was used for 9 days and then oral glucocorticoids was used to instead,and the treatment works very well. BD and SS can concomitantly affect an individual,and we believe that HSV-2 may be directly related to the pathogenesis of BD. The nature of BD as an auto-inflammatory disorder, autoimmune disorder, or both, is controversial. If we can find more patients who combined affected these two disease, it might helpful for us to understand the nature of BD. For patients with clinical diagnosis of BD or SS,we need to be alert that it may combinded the other disease. Long term follow up and detailed inspection are important means to avoid undiscovered.

Mineral Resources of the Antelope Wilderness Study Area, Nye County, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hardyman, Richard F.; Poole, Forrest G.; Kleinhampl, Frank J.; Turner, Robert L.; Plouff, Donald; Duval, Joe S.; Johnson, Fredrick L.; Benjamin, David A.

1987-01-01

At the request of the U.S. Bureau of land Management, 83,100 acres of the Antelope Wilderness Study Area (NV-4)60-231/241) was studied. In this report the studied area is called the 'wilderness study area', or simply the 'study area.' No identified mineral or energy resources occur within the study area. The southern part of the area has moderate mineral resource potential for undiscovered gold and silver, and the Woodruff Formation in the southern part of the area has high resource potential for undiscovered vanadium, zinc, selenium, molybdenum, and silver (fig. 1). This assessment is based on field geochemical studies in 1984 and 1985 by the U.S. Bureau of Mines and field geochemical studies and geologic mapping by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1984 and 1985. The remainder of the study area has low resource potential for undiscovered gold, silver, lead, zinc, manganese, tin, and molybdenum. The study area also has low resource potential for undiscovered oil and gas resources. The Antelope Wilderness Study Area is about midway between Tonopah and Eureka, Nev., in the northern Hot Creek Range and southern Antelope Range of central Nevada. It is accessible by unimproved dirt roads extending 20 mi (miles) north from U.S. Highway 6 and 40 mi south from U.S. Highway 50 (fig. 2). Most of the study area consists of rugged mountainous terrain having approximately 2,600 ft (feet) of relief. The mountain range is a block tilted gently to the east and bounded on both sides by normal faults that dip steeply to moderately west and have major displacements. Most of the study area is underlain by a thick sequence of Tertiary volcanic rocks that predominantly consist of silicic ash-flow tuff, the Windous Butte Formation. Paleozoic and lower Mesozoic (see geologic time chart in appendix) marine sediments occur along the southern margin of the study area, and lower Paleozoic rocks are exposed in the northeast corner. The areas of exposed Paleozoic-Mesozoic rocks along the southern margin of the study area have moderate mineral resource potential for gold and silver in sediment-hosted, disseminated, epithermal (low-temperature) gold-silver deposits (fig. 1). These rocks consist of folded and thrust-faulted, fine-grained clastic sediments and limestone and dolomite that locally have been brecciated and hydrothermally altered. The alteration (locally, strong silicification) and geochemical associations of these rocks indicate a favorable environment for such deposits. Exploration for disseminated gold deposits in the same geologic environment is currently being conducted just south of the study area. The remainder of the study area has low resource potential for epithermal gold and silver vein deposits in the Tertiary volcanic rocks. The Cenozoic sedimentary basins adjacent to the fault-bounded mountain block have moderate potential for petroleum resources; the study area itself has low potential for petroleum resources.

Qualitative assessment of selected areas of the world for undiscovered sediment-hosted stratabound copper deposits: Chapter Y in Global mineral resource assessment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Zientek, Michael L.; Wintzer, Niki E.; Hayes, Timothy S.; Parks, Heather L.; Briggs, Deborah A.; Causey, J. Douglas; Hatch, Shyla A.; Jenkins, M. Christopher; Williams, David J.; Zientek, Michael L.; Hammarstrom, Jane M.; Johnson, Kathleen M.

2015-12-14

An analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used to rank assessment areas according to their potential for undiscovered copper deposits. Once the main characteristics of each area were compiled (age of host rock, geologic setting, stratigraphy, host lithology, deposit subtype(s), known deposits and occurrences, and mineral system components), three criteria (mineralization, extent of study area, and lithostratigraphic framework, each with multiple subcriteria) were scored for all assessment areas. Relative weights and scores were assigned to all criteria by three geologists. In addition, the assessment areas were ranked for comparison exclusively on the basis of professional opinion. The AHP and professional opinion lists are similar but not the same. Both the professional opinion and the cumulative AHP lists rate the Northwest Botswana Rift in Botswana and Namibia as the area most likely to contain the most undiscovered copper deposits. The Salta Rift System in Argentina is rated lowest among the 10 qualitatively assessed areas.

A hybrid thermal video and FTIR spectrometer system for rapidly locating and characterizing gas leaks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, David J.; Wadsworth, Winthrop; Salvaggio, Carl; Messinger, David W.

2006-08-01

Undiscovered gas leaks, known as fugitive emissions, in chemical plants and refinery operations can impact regional air quality and present a loss of product for industry. Surveying a facility for potential gas leaks can be a daunting task. Industrial leak detection and repair programs can be expensive to administer. An efficient, accurate and cost effective method for detecting and quantifying gas leaks would both save industries money by identifying production losses and improve regional air quality. Specialized thermal video systems have proven effective in rapidly locating gas leaks. These systems, however, do not have the spectral resolution for compound identification. Passive FTIR spectrometers can be used for gas compound identification, but using these systems for facility surveys is problematic due to their small field of view. A hybrid approach has been developed that utilizes the thermal video system to locate gas plumes using real time visualization of the leaks, coupled with the high spectral resolution FTIR spectrometer for compound identification and quantification. The prototype hybrid video/spectrometer system uses a sterling cooled thermal camera, operating in the MWIR (3-5 μm) with an additional notch filter set at around 3.4 μm, which allows for the visualization of gas compounds that absorb in this narrow spectral range, such as alkane hydrocarbons. This camera is positioned alongside of a portable, high speed passive FTIR spectrometer, which has a spectral range of 2 - 25 μm and operates at 4 cm -1 resolution. This system uses a 10 cm telescope foreoptic with an onboard blackbody for calibration. The two units are optically aligned using a turning mirror on the spectrometer's telescope with the video camera's output.

Mineral resources of the Meadow Valley Range Wilderness Study Area, Lincoln and Clark counties, Nevada

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pampeyan, E.H.; Blank, H.R. Jr.; Campbell, H.W.

1988-01-01

The authors report that no mines or active prospects are located within the study area. The only identified resource is perlite. The northern part of the study area has moderate resource potential for zeolites,marekanite (Apache tears), agate, and opaline rock associated with the perlite, and tin. The southern part of the study area has low resource potential for sediment-hosted gold, silver, zinc, copper, and lead. The study area has moderate potential for oil and gas resources. Identified resources of vanadium are present outside the study area and about 800,000 tons of subeconomic metalliferous resources are inferred in the outcrop area,more » however the potential for undiscovered vanadium resources within the immediately adjacent study area is unknown.« less

Mineral-resource assessments in Alaska; background information to accompany maps and reports about the geology and undiscovered-mineral-resource potential of the Mount Katmai Quadrangle and adjacent parts of the Naknek and Afognak quadrangles, Alaska Peninsula

USGS Publications Warehouse

Riehle, J.R.; Church, S.E.; Detterman, R.L.; Miller, J.W.

1994-01-01

Geologic and geochemical field studies were carded out from 1983 to 1987 in the Mount Katmai l?x2 ? quadrangle and adjoining region, at the northeast end of the Alaska Peninsula. The region is nearly entirely within Katmai National Park and Preserve and has had almost no mineral production, so prior to this study there were few data by which to assess the mineral potential of the region. This report describes the folio of publications that have resulted from the study: geologic maps, geochemical results, fossil identifications, radiometric rock ages, and an assessment of the undiscovered-mineral-resource potential of the region. The Katmai region is inferred to potentially have three types of undiscovered mineral deposits: porphyry copper (molybdenum), precious-metal vein, and hot-springs gold. These deposit types occur elsewhere on the Alaska Peninsula in similar geologic units. Evidence suggesting their occurrence in the Katmai region is the presence of trace amounts of metals typically associated with these kinds of deposits in bedrock of certain tracts and in sediments of streams draining those tracts. Magma to provide heat, fractures to provide pathways for mineralizing fluids, and altered rock are required by genetic models of these deposit types. Such features do occur in the Katmai tracts. Confirmation of any mineral deposit in the Katmai region requires detailed follow-up sampling and acquisition of subsurface information, which is beyond the scope of this study. However, producing porphyry deposits are unknown elsewhere on the Alaska Peninsula in similar rocks, so if any such deposits occur in the Katmai region, they are likely to be few in number. Conversely, vein deposits are typically small in size so there may be several of such deposits. The properties and thermal history of the sedimentary rocks that could serve as reservoirs for oil or gas are unfavorable in adjacent regions. Thus the potential of the Katmai region for producible quantities of fossil fuels is low. In theory the region has shallow concentrations of geothermal fluids, but specific evidence for their presence is obscured by heavy precipitation and cold young rocks or deposits. Small volumes of coal occur at tidewater sites on the Pacific coast.

Geology and undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Madison Group, Williston Basin, North Dakota and Montana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Lillis, Paul G.; Pollastro, Richard M.; Anna, Lawrence O.

2010-01-01

Two of the total petroleum systems (TPS) defined as part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessment of the Williston Basin contain Mississippian Madison Group strata: 1) the Bakken-Lodgepole TPS, which includes the Lodgepole Formation; and 2) the Madison TPS, which includes the Mission Canyon, Charles, and Spearfish formations. The Bakken-Lodgepole TPS is defined as the area in which oil generated from the upper and lower shales of the Upper Devonian-Lower Mississippian Bakken Formation has accumulated in reservoirs in the Three Forks, Bakken, and Lodgepole formations. Two conventional assessment units (AU) have been identified within the Bakken-Lodgepole TPS, including one in the Bakken Formation and another in the Waulsortian mound reservoirs of the lower Lodgepole Formation. Lodgepole Formation Waulsortian mound oil production has been restricted to a small part of Stark County, North Dakota. Reservoirs are sealed by middle and upper Lodgepole Formation tight argillaceous limestones. Several nonproductive mounds and mound-like structures have also been identified in the Lodgepole Formation. Productivity correlates closely with the oil window of the Bakken Formation shales, and also indicates the likelihood of limited lateral migration of Bakken Formation oil into Lodgepole Formation reservoirs in North Dakota and Montana. Such considerations limit the estimated mean of undiscovered, technically recoverable resources to 8 million barrels of oil (MMBO) for the Lodgepole Formation conventional reservoirs. The Madison TPS is defined as the area where oil generated from Mission Canyon and Charles formation source rocks has accumulated in reservoirs of the Mission Canyon and Charles formations and in reservoirs within the Triassic Spearfish Formation. One continuous reservoir AU, the Mission Canyon-Charles AU, was defined within the Madison TPS; its boundary coincides with the TPS boundary. There is extensive conventional production throughout the AU on major structures and in stratigraphic-structural traps. The largest fields are on the Little Knife, Billings Nose, and Nesson anticlines. Recent studies show that Madison Group oils were generated from organic-rich Mission Canyon Formation and Ratcliffe Interval carbonates adjacent to the reservoirs. Seals were formed by overlying or lateral evaporites or tight carbonates. Based on available geologic and production data, the undiscovered oil resources for conventional reservoirs in the Mission Canyon-Charles AU were estimated to have a mean of 45 MMBO.

Transylvanian Composite Total Petroleum System of the Transylvanian Basin Province, Romania, Eastern Europe

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pawlewicz, Mark

2005-01-01

The Transylvanian Composite Total Petroleum System and the Transylvanian Neogene Suprasalt Gas Assessment Unit were identified in the Transylvanian Basin Province (4057), which lies entirely within the country of Romania. The assessment unit is composed of middle Miocene (Badenian) to Pliocene strata. Gas from the assessment unit is biogenic and originated from bacterial activity on dispersed organic matter in shales and siltstones. Gas migration is believed to be minimal, both vertically and laterally, with gases trapped in local stratigraphic traps and in structural traps (most likely domes and anticlinal folds created by salt diapirism) in the central part of the basin. For this reason, the gas fields also are concentrated in the central part of the basin. Reservoirs are isolated and composed of vertically stacked sandstones and siltstones sealed by shales and possibly by evaporite layers. Traps result from stratigraphic and facies changes within the entire assessment unit stratigraphic section. Some gas fields contain as much or more than a trillion cubic feet, but in most, the estimated resources are between 6 billion and 96 billion cubic feet. Petroleum exploration in the province is in the mature stage, which, combined with the geologic complexity of the region, is considered to limit future discoveries to a relatively few small fields. The undiscovered resources for the Transylvanian Basin Neogene Suprasalt Composite AU in the Transylvanian Hybrid Total Petroleum System (4057) are, at the mean, 2.083 trillion cubic feet of gas. No oil is produced in the basin. Rocks underlying the salt layers were not assessed for hydrocarbon potential.

Particle dark matter: A multimessenger endeavour

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Regis, M.

2017-01-01

The search for dark matter (DM) as a new, yet undiscovered, particle is explored through a complex host of different signals, from collider to direct and indirect searches. A special focus is dedicated to the latter ones, covering the full electromagnetic spectrum (from radio to gamma-rays), charged cosmic-rays and neutrinos. The expected DM signals are by definition faint, but the possibility to exploit a wide-field investigation offers promising prospects. In this brief review, I summarize the state-of-the-art in the search for particle DM signals, exploring some new ideas that are emerging in the effort of the scientific community to understand the elusive nature of DM.

Use of ERTS imagery for natural resources research and development in Lesotho. [Southern Africa

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nixon, P. H. (Principal Investigator); Jackson, A. A.

1974-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. As far as the geological aspects of the project were concerned, the project was a success. It was concluded that: (1) It is possible to trace the lithological boundaries between sedimentary rocks and basaltic rocks, both extrusive and intrusive. (2) It was possible to localize sponges in the mountain areas, some of which may conceal undiscovered diamond pipes. (3) Possible main structural axes were localized within the framework of lineaments. Due to drought which occured at the time the images were gathered by ERTS-1, the usefulness of the data was limited for agricultural purposes.

Review: Diversity of Microorganisms in Global Fermented Foods and Beverages

PubMed Central

Tamang, Jyoti P.; Watanabe, Koichi; Holzapfel, Wilhelm H.

2016-01-01

Culturalable and non-culturable microorganisms naturally ferment majority of global fermented foods and beverages. Traditional food fermentation represents an extremely valuable cultural heritage in most regions, and harbors a huge genetic potential of valuable but hitherto undiscovered strains. Holistic approaches for identification and complete profiling of both culturalable and non-culturable microorganisms in global fermented foods are of interest to food microbiologists. The application of culture-independent technique has thrown new light on the diversity of a number of hitherto unknown and non-cultural microorganisms in naturally fermented foods. Functional bacterial groups (“phylotypes”) may be reflected by their mRNA expression in a particular substrate and not by mere DNA-level detection. An attempt has been made to review the microbiology of some fermented foods and alcoholic beverages of the world. PMID:27047484

Caring: An Undiscovered “Super Ility” of Smart Healthcare

PubMed Central

Laplante, Nancy; Laplante, Phil; Voas, Jeff

2017-01-01

As new and exciting applications emerge using smart technologies, the Internet of Things, data analytics, and others for healthcare, a critical problem is emerging: the potential loss of caring. While these exciting technologies have improved patient care by allowing for better assessment, surveillance, and treatment, the use of technology can disassociate the caregiver from the patient, essentially removing the “care” from healthcare. Here we introduce the notion of caring as an undiscovered ility that ranks at least as important as other well-known ilities in healthcare systems. PMID:28133414

Local air pollution in the Arctic: knowledge gaps, challenges and future directions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Law, K.; Schmale, J.; Anenberg, S.; Arnold, S.; Simpson, W. R.; Mao, J.; Starkweather, S.

2017-12-01

It is estimated that about 30 % of the world's undiscovered gas and 13 % of undiscovered oil resources are located in the Arctic. Sea ice loss with climate change is progressing rapidly and by 2050 the Arctic could be nearly sea ice free in summer. This will allow for Arctic industrialization, commercial shipping, fishing and tourism to increase. Given that the world population is projected to grow beyond 9 billion by mid-century needing more resources, partly to be found in the Arctic, it can be expected that the current urbanization trend in the region will accelerate in the future. Against this background, it is likely that new local emission sources emerge which may lead to increased burdens of air pollutants such as particulate matter (PM), reactive nitrogen, and ozone. Typical Arctic emission sources include road transport, domestic fuel burning, diesel emissions, as well as industrial sources such as oil and gas extraction, metallurgical smelting, power generation as well as shipping in coastal areas. These emissions and their impacts remain poorly quantified in the Arctic. Boreal wildfires can already affect summertime air quality and may increase in frequency and size in a warmer climate. Locally produced air pollution, in combination with cold, stagnant weather conditions and inversion layers in winter, can also lead to significant localized pollutant concentrations, often in exceedance of air quality standards. Despite these concerns, very few process studies on local air pollution in or near inhabited areas in the Arctic have been conducted, which significantly limits our understanding of atmospheric chemical reactions involving air pollutants under Arctic conditions (e.g., extremely cold and dry air with little solar radiation in winter) and their impacts on human health and ecosystems. We will provide an overview of our current understanding of local air pollution and its impacts in Arctic urban environments and highlight key gaps. We will discuss a new interdisciplinary study being designed under PACES to improve our knowledge of pollutant sources, processing and health impacts including participation of local residents and policy-makers.

Water and Proppant Requirements and Water Production Associated with Undiscovered Petroleum in the Bakken and Three Forks Formations, North Dakota and Montana, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haines, S. S.; Varela, B. A.; Thamke, J.; Hawkins, S. J.; Gianoutsos, N. J.; Tennyson, M. E.

2017-12-01

Water is used for several stages of oil and gas production, in particular for hydraulic fracturing that is typically used during production of petroleum from low-permeability shales and other rock types (referred to as "continuous" petroleum accumulations). Proppant, often sand, is also consumed during hydraulic fracturing. Water is then produced from the reservoir along with the oil and gas, representing either a disposal consideration or a possible source of water for further petroleum development or other purposes. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has developed an approach for regional-scale estimation of these water and proppant quantities in order to provide an improved understanding of possible impacts and to help with planning and decision-making. Using the new methodology, the USGS has conducted a quantitative assessment of water and proppant requirements, and water production volumes, associated with associated with possible future production of undiscovered petroleum resources in the Bakken and Three Forks Formations, Williston Basin, USA. This water and proppant assessment builds directly from the 2013 USGS petroleum assessment for the Bakken and Three Forks Formations. USGS petroleum assessments incorporate all available geologic and petroleum production information, and include the definition of assessment units (AUs) that specify the geographic regions and geologic formations for the assessment. The 2013 petroleum assessment included 5 continuous AUs for the Bakken Formation and one continuous AU for the Three Forks Formation. The assessment inputs are defined probabilistically, and a Monte Carlo approach provides outputs that include uncertainty bounds. We can summarize the assessment outputs with the mean values of the associated distributions. The mean estimated total volume of water for well drilling and cement for all six continuous AUs is 5.9 billion gallons, and the mean estimated volume of water for hydraulic fracturing for all AUs is 164.3 billion gallons. The mean estimated quantity of proppant for hydraulic fracturing is 101.3 million tons. Summing over all of the AUs, the mean estimated total flowback water volume is 9.9 billion gallons and the mean estimated total produced water is 414.5 billion gallons.

Formulation of a correlated variables methodology for assessment of continuous gas resources with an application to the Woodford play, Arkoma Basin, eastern Oklahoma

USGS Publications Warehouse

Olea, R.A.; Houseknecht, D.W.; Garrity, C.P.; Cook, T.A.

2011-01-01

Shale gas is a form of continuous unconventional hydrocarbon accumulation whose resource estimation is unfeasible through the inference of pore volume. Under these circumstances, the usual approach is to base the assessment on well productivity through estimated ultimate recovery (EUR). Unconventional resource assessments that consider uncertainty are typically done by applying analytical procedures based on classical statistics theory that ignores geographical location, does not take into account spatial correlation, and assumes independence of EUR from other variables that may enter into the modeling. We formulate a new, more comprehensive approach based on sequential simulation to test methodologies known to be capable of more fully utilizing the data and overcoming unrealistic simplifications. Theoretical requirements demand modeling of EUR as areal density instead of well EUR. The new experimental methodology is illustrated by evaluating a gas play in the Woodford Shale in the Arkoma Basin of Oklahoma. Differently from previous assessments, we used net thickness and vitrinite reflectance as secondary variables correlated to cell EUR. In addition to the traditional probability distribution for undiscovered resources, the new methodology provides maps of EUR density and maps with probabilities to reach any given cell EUR, which are useful to visualize geographical variations in prospectivity.

Vitrinite reflectance data for the Greater Green River basin, southwestern Wyoming, northwestern Colorado, and northeastern Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pawlewicz, Mark J.; Finn, Thomas M.

2002-01-01

The Greater Green River Basin is a large Laramide (Late Cretaceous through Eocene) structural and sedimentary basin that encompasses about 25,000 square miles in southwestern Wyoming, northwestern Colorado, and northeastern Utah (fig. 1). Important conventional oil and gas resources have been discovered and produced from reservoirs ranging in age from Cambrian through Tertiary (Law, 1996). In addition, an extensive overpressured basin - centered gas accumulation has also been identified in Cretaceous and Tertiary reservoirs by numerous researchers including Law (1984a, 1996), Law and others (1980, 1989), McPeek (1981), and Spencer (1987). The purpose of this report is to present new vitrinite reflectance data to be used in support of the U.S Geological Survey assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Greater Green River Basin. One hundred eighty-six samples were collected from Cretaceous and Tertiary coalbearing strata (figs. 1 and 2) in an effort to better understand and characterize the thermal maturation and burial history of potential source rocks. Two samples were from core, one from outcrop, and the remainder from well cuttings. These data were collected to supplement previously published data by Law (1984b), Pawlewicz and others (1986), Merewether and others (1987), and Garcia-Gonzalez and Surdam (1995) and are presented in table 1.

Petroleum geology and resources of the Baykit High province, East Siberia, Russia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ulmishek, Gregory F.

2001-01-01

The Baykit High province consists of two principal structural units?the Baykit regional high in the west, which occupies most of the province, and the Katanga structural saddle in the east. The province is on the western margin of the Siberian craton east of theYenisey Ridge foldbelt. The province is an exploration frontier and only a few prospects have been drilled. The oldest sedimentary rocks of the province, Riphean carbonate and clastic strata of Late Proterozoic age (1,650?650 million years old) that were deposited on the passive margin, cover the Archean?Lower Proterozoic basement. Basal Vendian (uppermost Proterozoic, 650?570 million years old) clastic rocks unconformably overlie various units of the Riphean and locally lie directly on the basement. Younger Vendian and lowermost Cambrian rocks are primarily dolomites. The Vendian/Cambrian boundary is con-formable, and its exact stratigraphic position has not been identified with certainty. The Lower Cambrian section is thick, and it consists of alternating beds of dolomite and evaporites (mostly salt). Middle and Upper Cambrian strata are composed of shale and dolomite. Ordovician-Silurian and upper Paleozoic rocks are thin, and they are present only in the northern areas of the province. Structural pattern of Riphean rocks differs substantially from that of Vendian-Cambrian rocks. A single total petroleum system (TPS) was identified in the Baykit High province. Discovered oil of the system is chiefly concentrated in Riphean carbonate reservoirs of the Yurubchen-Tokhom zone that is currently being explored and that has the Abstract 1 potential to become a giant field (or group of fields). The TPS also contains about 5 trillion cubic feet of discovered recover-able gas in clastic reservoir rocks at the base of the Vendian section. Petroleum source rocks are absent in the stratigraphic succession over most of the TPS area. Riphean organic-rich shales and carbonates that crop out in the Yenisey Ridge foldbelt west of the Baykit high are probable source rocks. Their areal distribution extends from the foldbelt into the foredeep along the province?s western margin. Potential source rocks also are present in platform depressions in eastern areas of the province. Hydrocarbon generation and migration west of the province started as early as Riphean time, before the beginning of the deformation in the Yenisey Ridge foldbelt that occurred about 820?850 million years ago. However, the presently known oil and gas accumulations were formed after deposition of the Lower Cambrian salt seal. Available data allow identification of only one assessment unit, and it covers the entire TPS area. Undiscovered oil and gas resources are moderate, primarily due to the poor quality of reservoir rocks. However, the reserve growth in the Yurubchen-Tokhom zone may be large and may exceed the volume of undiscovered resources in the rest of the province. Most oil and gas resourcesareexpectedtobeinstructuralandstratigraphictrapsin Riphean carbonate reservoirs. Vendian clastic reservoirs are probably gas-prone.

PRISM 3: expanded prediction of natural product chemical structures from microbial genomes

PubMed Central

Skinnider, Michael A.; Merwin, Nishanth J.; Johnston, Chad W.

2017-01-01

Abstract Microbial natural products represent a rich resource of pharmaceutically and industrially important compounds. Genome sequencing has revealed that the majority of natural products remain undiscovered, and computational methods to connect biosynthetic gene clusters to their corresponding natural products therefore have the potential to revitalize natural product discovery. Previously, we described PRediction Informatics for Secondary Metabolomes (PRISM), a combinatorial approach to chemical structure prediction for genetically encoded nonribosomal peptides and type I and II polyketides. Here, we present a ground-up rewrite of the PRISM structure prediction algorithm to derive prediction of natural products arising from non-modular biosynthetic paradigms. Within this new version, PRISM 3, natural product scaffolds are modeled as chemical graphs, permitting structure prediction for aminocoumarins, antimetabolites, bisindoles and phosphonate natural products, and building upon the addition of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides. Further, with the addition of cluster detection for 11 new cluster types, PRISM 3 expands to detect 22 distinct natural product cluster types. Other major modifications to PRISM include improved sequence input and ORF detection, user-friendliness and output. Distribution of PRISM 3 over a 300-core server grid improves the speed and capacity of the web application. PRISM 3 is available at http://magarveylab.ca/prism/. PMID:28460067

Characteristics of discrete and basin-centered parts of the Lower Silurian regional oil and gas accumulation, Appalachian basin; preliminary results from a data set of 25 oil and gas fields

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ryder, Robert T.

1998-01-01

Oil and gas trapped in Lower Silurian 'Clinton' sands and Medina Group sandstone constitute a regional hydrocarbon accumulation that extends 425 mi in length from Ontario, Canada to northeastern Kentucky. The 125-mi width of the accumulation extends from central Ohio eastward to western Pennsylvania and west-central New York. Lenticular and intertonguing reservoirs, a gradual eastward decrease in reservoir porosity and permeability, and poorly segregated gas, oil, and water in the reservoirs make it very difficult to recognize clear-cut geologic- and production-based subdivisions in the accumulation that are relevant to resource assessment. However, subtle variations are recognizable that permit the regional accumulation to be subdivided into three tentative parts: a western gas-bearing part having more or less discrete fields; an eastern gas-bearing part having many characteristics of a basin-centered accumulation; and a central oil- and gas-bearing part with 'hybrid' fields that share characteristics of both discrete and basin-centered accumulation. A data set of 25 oil and gas fields is used in the report to compare selected attributes of the three parts of the regional accumulation. A fourth part of the regional accumulation, not discussed here, is an eastern extension of basin-centered accumulation having local commercial gas in the Tuscarora Sandstone, a proximal facies of the Lower Silurian depositional system. A basin-centered gas accumulation is a regionally extensive and commonly very thick zone of gas saturation that occurs in low-permeability rocks in the central, deeper part of a sedimentary basin. Another commonly used term for this type of accumulation is deep-basin gas accumulation. Basin-centered accumulation is a variety of continuous-type accumulation. The 'Clinton' sands and Medina Group sandstone part of the basin-centered gas accumulation is characterized by: a) reservoir porosity ranging from about 5 to 10 percent; b) reservoir permeability equal to or less than 0.1 mD; c) low reservoir water saturation and an average water yield per well less than about 9 to 13 BW/MMCFG; d) a broadly defined updip water-block trap; e) underpressured reservoirs with a gradient ranging from 0.25 to 0.35 psi/ft; and f) reservoir temperature of at least 125? F (52? C). Other than for historical and location purposes, the term field has little or no meaning as an assessment unit for the regional accumulation. In practice, each designated field represents a production sweet spot having relatively high EURs per well that in turn merges with surrounding gas-productive regions that are generally larger in area but have lower EURs per well. This important feature of the Lower Silurian regional accumulation, whereby most wells drilled into it are gas productive, must be considered when assessing its potential for remaining recoverable gas resources. Most of the remaining gas resources reside in 'Clinton' sands and Medina Group sandstone in the basin-centered part of the accumulation where as much as several tens of TCF of natural gas may be technically recoverable. The Tuscarora Sandstone in the eastern extension of the basin-centered part of the accumulation underlies a very large area and, although commonly characterized by very low porosity and permeability and low-Btu gas, probably contains additional gas resources. Remaining undiscovered recoverable gas and oil resources in the discrete and hybrid parts of the accumulation are primarily located beneath Lake Erie.

An Index to PGE-Ni-Cr Deposits and Occurrences in Selected Mineral-Occurrence Databases

USGS Publications Warehouse

Causey, J. Douglas; Galloway, John P.; Zientek, Michael L.

2009-01-01

Databases of mineral deposits and occurrences are essential to conducting assessments of undiscovered mineral resources. In the USGS's (U.S. Geological Survey) global assessment of undiscovered resources of copper, potash, and the platinum-group elements (PGE), only a few mineral deposit types will be evaluated. For example, only porphyry-copper and sediment-hosted copper deposits will be considered for the copper assessment. To support the global assessment, the USGS prepared comprehensive compilations of the occurrences of these two deposit types in order to develop grade and tonnage models and delineate permissive areas for undiscovered deposits of those types. This publication identifies previously published databases and database records that describe PGE, nickel, and chromium deposits and occurrences. Nickel and chromium were included in this overview because of the close association of PGE with nickel and chromium mineralization. Users of this database will need to refer to the original databases for detailed information about the deposits and occurrences. This information will be used to develop a current and comprehensive global database of PGE deposits and occurrences.

Vitrinite Reflectance Data for the Wind River Basin, Central Wyoming

USGS Publications Warehouse

Finn, Thomas M.; Roberts, Laura N.R.; Pawlewicz, Mark J.

2006-01-01

Introduction: The Wind River Basin is a large Laramide (Late Cretaceous through Eocene) structural and sedimentary basin that encompasses about 7,400 mi2 in central Wyoming. The basin boundaries are defined by fault-bounded Laramide uplifts that surround it, including the Owl Creek and Bighorn Mountains to the north, Wind River Range to the west, Granite Mountains to the south, and Casper Arch to the east. The purpose of this report is to present new vitrinite reflectance data to be used in support of the U.S Geological Survey assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Wind River Basin. One hundred and nineteen samples were collected from Jurassic through Tertiary rocks, mostly coal-bearing strata, in an effort to better understand and characterize the thermal maturation and burial history of potential source rocks.

Petroleum exploration plays and resource estimates, 1989, onshore United States; Region 1, Alaska; Region 2, Pacific Coast

USGS Publications Warehouse

Powers, Richard B.

1993-01-01

This study provides brief discussions of the petroleum geology, play descriptions, and resource estimates of 220 individually assessed exploration plays in all 80 onshore geologic provinces within nine assessment regions of the continental United States in 1989; these 80 onshore provinces were assessed in connection with the determination of the Nation's estimated undiscovered resources of oil and gas. The present report covers the 25 provinces that make up Region 1, Alaska, and Region 2, Pacific Coast. It is our intention to issue Region 3, Colorado Plateau and Basin and Range, and Region 4, Rocky Mountains and Northern Great Plains, in book form as well. Regions 5 through 9 (West Texas and Eastern New Mexico, Gulf Coast, Midcontinent, Eastern Interior and Atlantic Coast) will be released individually, as Open-File Reports.

Geology and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Chukchi Borderland Province, 2008

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bird, Kenneth J.; Houseknecht, David W.; Moore, Thomas E.; Gautier, Donald L.

2017-12-22

The Chukchi Borderland is both a stand-alone petroleum province and assessment unit (AU) that lies north of the Chukchi Sea. It is a bathymetrically high-standing block of continental crust that was probably rifted from the Canadian continental margin. The sum of our knowledge of this province is based upon geophysical data (seismic, gravity, and magnetic) and a limited number of seafloor core and dredge samples. As expected from the limited data set, the basin’s petroleum potential is poorly known. A single assessment unit, the Chukchi Borderland AU, was defined and assigned an overall probability of about a 5 percent chance of at least one petroleum accumulation >50 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBOE). No quantitative assessment of sizes and numbers of petroleum accumulations was conducted for this AU.

Porphyry copper assessment of eastern Australia: Chapter L in Global mineral resource assessment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bookstrom, Arthur A.; Len, Richard A.; Hammarstrom, Jane M.; Robinson, Gilpin R.; Zientek, Michael L.; Drenth, Benjamin J.; Jaireth, Subhash; Cossette, Pamela M.; Wallis, John C.

2014-01-01

This assessment estimates that 15 undiscovered deposits contain an arithmetic mean of ~21 million metric tons or more of copper in four tracts, in addition to the 24 known porphyry copper deposits that contain identified resources of ~16 million metric tons of copper. In addition to copper, the mean expected amount of undiscovered byproduct gold predicted by the simulation is ~1,500 metric tons. The probability associated with these arithmetic means is on the order of 30 percent. Median expected amounts of metals predicted by the simulations may be ~50 percent lower than mean estimates.

Coalbed methane resources of the Appalachian Basin, eastern USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Milici, Robert C.; Hatch, Joseph R.; Pawlewicz, Mark J.

2010-01-01

In 2002, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessed the technically recoverable, undiscovered coalbed-gas resources in the Appalachian basin and Black Warrior basin Assessment Provinces as about 15.5 trillion cubic feet. Although these resources are almost equally divided between the two areas, most of the production occurs within relatively small areas within these Provinces, where local geological and geochemical attributes have resulted in the generation and retention of large amounts of methane within the coal beds and have enhanced the producibility of the gas from the coal. In the Appalachian basin, coalbed methane (CBM) tests are commonly commercial where the cumulative coal thickness completed in wells is greater than three meters (10 ft), the depth of burial of the coal beds is greater than 100 m (350 ft), and the coal is in the thermogenic gas window. In addition to the ubiquitous cleating within the coal beds, commercial production may be enhanced by secondary fracture porosity related to supplemental fracture systems within the coal beds. In order to release the methane from microporus coal matrix, most wells are dewatered prior to commercial production of gas. Two Total Petroleum Systems (TPS) were defined by the USGS during the assessment: the Pottsville Coal-bed gas TPS in Alabama, and the Carboniferous Coal-bed Gas TPS in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, and Alabama. These were divided into seven assessment units, of which three had sufficient data to be assessed. Production rates are higher in most horizontal wells drilled into relatively thick coal beds, than in vertical wells; recovery per unit area is greater, and potential adverse environmental impact is decreased.

Ancient Egypt and radiology, a future for the past!

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Van Tiggelen, R.

2004-11-01

X-rays, discovered by W.K. Röntgen was a scientific bombshell and was received with extraordinary interest by scientist in all disciplines, including Egyptology: the first radiological essay was already made in Germany 3 months after Röntgens discovery. Since then, radiological examinations of mummies are used to detect frauds, to appreciate sex and age, and possible cause of death. As non-destructive tool it can reveal the nature of materials, presence of jewellery and amulets. The paper gives a brief history of major milestones in Belgium and abroad. More modern technology such as axial computed tomography and image colouring will allow better representations and reveal up to now undiscovered funerary artefacts.

Geothermal Exploration Case Studies on OpenEI (Presentation)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Young, K.; Bennett, M.; Atkins, D.

2014-03-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) resource assessment (Williams et al., 2008) outlined a mean 30 GWe of undiscovered hydrothermal resource in the western United States. One goal of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Geothermal Technology Office (GTO) is to accelerate the development of this undiscovered resource. DOE has focused efforts on helping industry identify hidden geothermal resources to increase geothermal capacity in the near term. Increased exploration activity will produce more prospects, more discoveries, and more readily developable resources. Detailed exploration case studies akin to those found in oil and gas (e.g. Beaumont and Foster, 1990-1992) will give developersmore » central location for information gives models for identifying new geothermal areas, and guide efficient exploration and development of these areas. To support this effort, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has been working with GTO to develop a template for geothermal case studies on the Geothermal Gateway on OpenEI. In 2012, the template was developed and tested with two case studies: Raft River Geothermal Area (http://en.openei.org/wiki/Raft_River_Geothermal_Area) and Coso Geothermal Area (http://en.openei.org/wiki/Coso_Geothermal_Area). In 2013, ten additional case studies were completed, and Semantic MediaWiki features were developed to allow for more data and the direct citations of these data. These case studies are now in the process of external peer review. In 2014, NREL is working with universities and industry partners to populate additional case studies on OpenEI. The goal is to provide a large enough data set to start conducting analyses of exploration programs to identify correlations between successful exploration plans for areas with similar geologic occurrence models.« less

Chapter 32: Geology and petroleum potential of the Arctic Alaska petroleum province

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bird, K.J.; Houseknecht, D.W.

2011-01-01

The Arctic Alaska petroleum province encompasses all lands and adjacent continental shelf areas north of the Brooks Range-Herald Arch orogenic belt and south of the northern (outboard) margin of the Beaufort Rift shoulder. Even though only a small part is thoroughly explored, it is one of the most prolific petroleum provinces in North America with total known resources (cumulative production plus proved reserves) of c. 28 BBOE. The province constitutes a significant part of a displaced continental fragment, the Arctic Alaska microplate, that was probably rifted from the Canadian Arctic margin during formation of the Canada Basin. Petroleum prospective rocks in the province, mostly Mississippian and younger, record a sequential geological evolution through passive margin, rift and foreland basin tectonic stages. Significant petroleum source and reservoir rocks were formed during each tectonic stage but it was the foreland basin stage that provided the necessary burial heating to generate petroleum from the source rocks. The lion's share of known petroleum resources in the province occur in combination structural-stratigraphic traps formed as a consequence of rifting and located along the rift shoulder. Since the discovery of the super-giant Prudhoe Bay accumulation in one of these traps in the late 1960s, exploration activity preferentially focused on these types of traps. More recent activity, however, has emphasized the potential for stratigraphic traps and the prospect of a natural gas pipeline in this region has spurred renewed interest in structural traps. For assessment purposes, the province is divided into a Platform assessment unit (AU), comprising the Beaufort Rift shoulder and its relatively undeformed flanks, and a Fold-and-Thrust Belt AU, comprising the deformed area north of the Brooks Range and Herald Arch tectonic belt. Mean estimates of undiscovered, technically recoverable resources include nearly 28 billion barrels of oil (BBO) and 122 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of nonassociated gas in the Platform AU and 2 BBO and 59 TCF of nonassociated gas in the Fold-and-Thrust Belt AU. ?? 2011 The Geological Society of London.

Undiscovered porphyry copper resources in the Urals—A probabilistic mineral resource assessment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hammarstrom, Jane M.; Mihalasky, Mark J.; Ludington, Stephen; Phillips, Jeffrey; Berger, Byron R.; Denning, Paul; Dicken, Connie; Mars, John; Zientek, Michael L.; Herrington, Richard J.; Seltmann, Reimar

2017-01-01

A probabilistic mineral resource assessment of metal resources in undiscovered porphyry copper deposits of the Ural Mountains in Russia and Kazakhstan was done using a quantitative form of mineral resource assessment. Permissive tracts were delineated on the basis of mapped and inferred subsurface distributions of igneous rocks assigned to tectonic zones that include magmatic arcs where the occurrence of porphyry copper deposits within 1 km of the Earth's surface are possible. These permissive tracts outline four north-south trending volcano-plutonic belts in major structural zones of the Urals. From west to east, these include permissive lithologies for porphyry copper deposits associated with Paleozoic subduction-related island-arc complexes preserved in the Tagil and Magnitogorsk arcs, Paleozoic island-arc fragments and associated tonalite-granodiorite intrusions in the East Uralian zone, and Carboniferous continental-margin arcs developed on the Kazakh craton in the Transuralian zone. The tracts range from about 50,000 to 130,000 km2 in area. The Urals host 8 known porphyry copper deposits with total identified resources of about 6.4 million metric tons of copper, at least 20 additional porphyry copper prospect areas, and numerous copper-bearing skarns and copper occurrences.Probabilistic estimates predict a mean of 22 undiscovered porphyry copper deposits within the four permissive tracts delineated in the Urals. Combining estimates with established grade and tonnage models predicts a mean of 82 million metric tons of undiscovered copper. Application of an economic filter suggests that about half of that amount could be economically recoverable based on assumed depth distributions, availability of infrastructure, recovery rates, current metals prices, and investment environment.

Inertial frames and breakthrough propulsion physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Millis, Marc G.

2017-09-01

The term ;Breakthrough Propulsion Physics; comes from the NASA project by that name which examined non-rocket space drives, gravity control, and faster-than-light travel. The focus here is on space drives and the related unsolved physics of inertial frames. A ;space drive; is a generic term encompassing any concept for using as-yet undiscovered physics to move a spacecraft instead of existing rockets, sails, or tethers. The collective state of the art spans mostly steps 1-3 of the scientific method: defining the problem, collecting data, and forming hypotheses. The key issues include (1) conservation of momentum, (2) absence of obvious reaction mass, and (3) the net-external thrusting requirement. Relevant open problems in physics include: (1) the sources and mechanisms of inertial frames, (2) coupling of gravitation to the other fundamental forces, and (3) the nature of the quantum vacuum. Rather than following the assumption that inertial frames are an immutable, intrinsic property of space, this paper revisits Mach's Principle, where it is posited that inertia is relative to the distant surrounding matter. This perspective allows conjectures that a space drive could impart reaction forces to that matter, via some as-yet undiscovered interaction with the inertial frame properties of space. Thought experiments are offered to begin a process to derive new hypotheses. It is unknown if this line of inquiry will be fruitful, but it is hoped that, by revisiting unsolved physics from a propulsion point of view, new insights will be gained.

Biogenic origin of coalbed gas in the northern Gulf of Mexico Coastal Plain, U.S.A

USGS Publications Warehouse

Warwick, Peter D.; Breland, F. Clayton; Hackley, Paul C.

2008-01-01

New coal-gas exploration and production in northern Louisiana and south-central Mississippi, Gulf of Mexico Basin, is focused on the Wilcox Group (Paleocene–Eocene), where the depth to targeted subbituminous C to high volatile C bituminous coal beds ranges from 300 to 1680 m, and individual coal beds have a maximum thickness of about 6 m. Total gas content (generally excluding residual gas) of the coal beds ranges from less than 0.37 cm3/g (as-analyzed or raw basis; 1.2 cm3/g, dry, ash free basis, daf) at depths less than 400 m, to greater than 7.3 cm3/g (as-analyzed basis; 8.76 cm3/g, daf) in deeper (> 1,500 m) parts of the basin. About 20 Wilcox coal-gas wells in northern Louisiana produce from 200 to 6485 m3 of gas/day and cumulative gas production from these wells is approximately 25 million m3 (as of December, 2006). U.S. Geological Survey assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable gas resources in the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Plain, including northern and south-central Mississippi, indicates that coal beds of the Wilcox Group contain an estimated mean total 109.3 million m3 (3.86 trillion ft3) of producible natural gas.To determine the origin of the Wilcox Group coal gases in northern Louisiana, samples of gas, water, and oil were collected from Wilcox coal and sandstone reservoirs and from under- and overlying Late Cretaceous and Eocene carbonate and sandstone reservoirs. Isotopic data from Wilcox coal-gas samples have an average δ13CCH4 value of − 62.6‰ VPDB (relative to Vienna Peedee Belemnite) and an average δDCH4 value of − 199.9‰ VSMOW (relative to Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water). Values of δ13CCO2 range from − 25.4 to 3.42‰ VPDB. Produced Wilcox saline water collected from oil, conventional gas, and coalbed gas wells have δDH2O values that range from − 27.3 to − 18.0‰ VSMOW. These data suggest that the coal gases primarily are generated in saline formation water by bacterial reduction of CO2. Shallow (< 150 m) Wilcox coal beds containing freshwater have little or no biogenic gas.Molecular and isotopic analyses of gas samples collected from conventional gas and oil wells suggests that both biogenic and thermogenic gases are present in and adjacent to the Wilcox intervals that contain biogenic coal gases. Oil, probably sourced from thermally mature, down-structural-dip parts of the Wilcox Group, is produced from sandstones within the coal-bearing interval. Gas chromatograms of C10+ saturated hydrocarbons from Wilcox oils show a depletion of n-alkanes probably resulting from biodegradation of the oil. Isotopic composition of the gases associated with the oils is of mixed themogenic and biogenic origin (average δ13CCH4 = − 44.4‰ VPDB, and average δDCH4 = − 182.4‰ VSMOW).

HIGH-TEMPERATURE GEOTHERMAL RESOURCES IN HYDROTHERMAL CONVECTION SYSTEMS IN THE UNITED STATES.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nathenson, Manuel

1983-01-01

The calculation of high-temperature geothermal resources ( greater than 150 degree C) in the United States has been done by estimating the temperature, area, and thickness of each identified system. These data, along with a general model for recoverability of geothermal energy and a calculation that takes account of the conversion of thermal energy to electricity, yielded an estimate of 23,000 MW//e for 30 years. The undiscovered component was estimated based on multipliers of the identified resource as either 72,000 or 127,000 MW//e for 30 years depending on the model chosen for the distribution of undiscovered energy as a function of temperature.

Prediction and discovery of new geothermal resources in the Great Basin: Multiple evidence of a large undiscovered resource base

USGS Publications Warehouse

Coolbaugh, M.F.; Raines, G.L.; Zehner, R.E.; Shevenell, L.; Williams, C.F.

2006-01-01

Geothermal potential maps by themselves cannot directly be used to estimate undiscovered resources. To address the undiscovered resource base in the Great Basin, a new and relatively quantitative methodology is presented. The methodology involves three steps, the first being the construction of a data-driven probabilistic model of the location of known geothermal systems using weights of evidence. The second step is the construction of a degree-of-exploration model. This degree-of-exploration model uses expert judgment in a fuzzy logic context to estimate how well each spot in the state has been explored, using as constraints digital maps of the depth to the water table, presence of the carbonate aquifer, and the location, depth, and type of drill-holes. Finally, the exploration model and the data-driven occurrence model are combined together quantitatively using area-weighted modifications to the weights-of-evidence equations. Using this methodology in the state of Nevada, the number of undiscovered geothermal systems with reservoir temperatures ???100??C is estimated at 157, which is 3.2 times greater than the 69 known systems. Currently, nine of the 69 known systems are producing electricity. If it is conservatively assumed that an additional nine for a total of 18 of the known systems will eventually produce electricity, then the model predicts 59 known and undiscovered geothermal systems are capable of producing electricity under current economic conditions in the state, a figure that is more than six times higher than the current number. Many additional geothermal systems could potentially become economic under improved economic conditions or with improved methods of reservoir stimulation (Enhanced Geothermal Systems).This large predicted geothermal resource base appears corroborated by recent grass-roots geothermal discoveries in the state of Nevada. At least two and possibly three newly recognized geothermal systems with estimated reservoir temperatures ???150??C have been identified on the Pyramid Lake Paiute Reservation in west-central Nevada. Evidence of three blind geothermal systems has recently been uncovered near the borate-bearing playas at Rhodes, Teels, and Columbus Marshes in southwestern Nevada. Recent gold exploration drilling has resulted in at least four new geothermal discoveries, including the McGinness Hills geothermal system with an estimated reservoir temperature of roughly 200??C. All of this evidence suggests that the potential for expansion of geothermal power production in Nevada is significant.

Chapter 48: Geology and petroleum potential of the Eurasia Basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Moore, Thomas E.; Pitman, Janet K.

2011-01-01

The Eurasia Basin petroleum province comprises the younger, eastern half of the Arctic Ocean, including the Cenozoic Eurasia Basin and the outboard part of the continental margin of northern Europe. For the USGS petroleum assessment (CARA), it was divided into four assessment units (AUs): the Lena Prodelta AU, consisting of the deep-marine part of the Lena Delta; the Nansen Basin Margin AU, comprising the passive margin sequence of the Eurasian plate; and the Amundsen Basin and Nansen Basin AUs which encompass the abyssal plains north and south of the Gakkel Ridge spreading centre, respectively. The primary petroleum system thought to be present is sourced in c. 50–44 Ma (Early to Middle Eocene) condensed pelagic deposits that could be widespread in the province. Mean estimates of undiscovered, technically recoverable petroleum resources include <1 billion barrels of oil (BBO) and about 1.4 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of nonassociated gas in Lena Prodelta AU, and <0.4 BBO and 3.4 TCF nonassociated gas in the Nansen Basin Margin AU. The Nansen Basin and Amundsen Basin AUs were not quantitatively assessed because they have less than 10% probability of containing at least one accumulation of 50 MMBOE (million barrels of oil equivalent).

Geologic Model for Oil and Gas Assessment of the Kemik-Thomson Play, Central North Slope, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schenk, Christopher J.; Houseknecht, David W.

2008-01-01

A geologic model was developed to assess undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Kemik-Thomson Play of the Central North Slope, Alaska. In this model, regional erosion during the Early Cretaceous produced an incised valley system on the flanks and crest of the Mikkelsen High and formed the Lower Cretaceous unconformity. Locally derived, coarse-grained siliciclastic and carbonate detritus from eroded Franklinian-age basement rocks, Carboniferous Kekiktuk Conglomerate (of the Endicott Group), Lisburne Group, and Permian-Triassic Sadlerochit Group may have accumulated in the incised valleys during lowstand and transgression, forming potential reservoirs in the Lower Cretaceous Kemik Sandstone and Thomson sandstone (informal term). Continued transgression resulted in the deposition of the mudstones of the over-lying Cretaceous pebble shale unit and Hue Shale, which form top seals to the potential reservoirs. Petroleum from thermally mature facies of the Triassic Shublik Formation, Jurassic Kingak Shale, Hue Shale (and pebble shale unit), and the Cretaceous-Tertiary Canning Formation might have charged Thomson and Kemik sandstone reservoirs in this play during the Tertiary. The success of this play depends largely upon the presence of reservoir-quality units in the Kemik Sandstone and Thomson sandstone.

Formation and Detection of Planetary Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lissauer, Jack J.; DeVincenzi, Donald (Technical Monitor)

1999-01-01

Modern theories of star and planet formation and of the orbital stability of planetary systems are described and used to discuss possible characteristics of undiscovered planetary systems. The most detailed models of planetary growth are based upon observations of planets and smaller bodies within our own Solar System and of young stars and their environments. Terrestrial planets are believed to grow via pairwise accretion until the spacing of planetary orbits becomes large enough that the configuration is stable for the age of the system. Giant planets begin their growth as do terrestrial planets, but they become massive enough that they are able to accumulate substantial amounts of gas before the protoplanetary disk dissipates. These models predict that rocky planets should form in orbit about most single stars. It is uncertain whether or not gas giant planet formation is common, because most protoplanetary disks may dissipate before solid planetary cores can grow large enough to gravitationally trap substantial quantities of gas. A potential hazard to planetary systems is radial decay of planetary orbits resulting from interactions with material within the disk. Planets more massive than Earth have the potential to decay the fastest, and may be able to sweep up smaller planets in their path. The implications of the giant planets found in recent radial velocity searches for the abundances of habitable planets are discussed, and the methods that are being used and planned for detecting and characterizing extrasolar planets are reviewed.

Planet Formation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lissauer, Jack J.; Fonda, Mark (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Modern theories of star and planet formation and of the orbital stability of planetary systems are described and used to discuss possible characteristics of undiscovered planetary systems. The most detailed models of planetary growth are based upon observations of planets and smaller bodies within our own Solar System and of young stars and their environments. Terrestrial planets are believed to grow via pairwise accretion until the spacing of planetary orbits becomes large enough that the configuration is stable for the age of the system. Giant planets begin their growth as do terrestrial planets, but they become massive enough that they are able to accumulate substantial amounts of gas before the protoplanetary disk dissipates. These models predict that rocky planets should form in orbit about most single stars. It is uncertain whether or not gas giant planet formation is common, because most protoplanetary disks may dissipate before solid planetary cores can grow large enough to gravitationally trap substantial quantities of gas. A potential hazard to planetary systems is radial decay of planetary orbits resulting from interactions with material within the disk. Planets more massive than Earth have the potential to decay the fastest, and may be able to sweep up smaller planets in their path. The implications of the giant planets found in recent radial velocity searches for the abundances of habitable planets are discussed, and the methods that are being used and planned for detecting and characterizing extrasolar planets are reviewed.

Mineral resources of the Fish Creek Canyon, Road Canyon, and Mule Canyon Wilderness Study Areas, San Juan County, Utah

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bove, D.J.; Shawe, D.R.; Lee, G.K.

1989-01-01

This book reports the Fish Creek Canyon (UT-060-204), Road Canyon(UT-060-201), and Mule Canyon (UT-060-205B) Wilderness Study Areas, which comprise 40,160 acres, 52,420 acres, and 5,990 acres, respectively, studied for their mineral endowment. A search of federal, state, and county records showed no current or previous mining-claim activity. No mineral resources were identified during field examination of the study areas. Sandstone and sand and gravel have no unique qualities but could have limited local use for road metal or other construction purposes. However, similar materials are abundant outside the study areas. The three study areas have moderate resource potential for undiscoveredmore » oil and gas and low resource potential for undiscovered metals, including uranium and thorium, coal, and geothermal energy.« less

Hybrid Welding Possibilities of Thick Sections for Arctic Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bunaziv, Ivan; Akselsen, Odd M.; Ren, Xiaobo; Salminen, Antti

The arctic shelf contains about 20% of all undiscovered hydrocarbons on our planet, therefore oil and gas industry requires advanced steels to be used which withstand appropriate fracture toughness up to -60 °C and suitable welding technologies. High brightness laser with combination with arc source can be appropriate joining process even for very high strength advanced steels above 700 MPa for low temperature applications. Hybrid welding has improved each year becoming more standardized and reliable welding process. However, until now, its application was limited to shipbuilding and pipeline industry. Due to many reasonable advantages, hybrid welding, especially when it is combined with MIG/MAG, can be used in every possible industry. Inherent filler wire addition from the MIG/MAG source can improve fracture toughness at lower temperatures and increase overall productivity. This paper provides information about recent breakthrough in hybrid welding of thick section high-strength steels.

PRISM 3: expanded prediction of natural product chemical structures from microbial genomes.

PubMed

Skinnider, Michael A; Merwin, Nishanth J; Johnston, Chad W; Magarvey, Nathan A

2017-07-03

Microbial natural products represent a rich resource of pharmaceutically and industrially important compounds. Genome sequencing has revealed that the majority of natural products remain undiscovered, and computational methods to connect biosynthetic gene clusters to their corresponding natural products therefore have the potential to revitalize natural product discovery. Previously, we described PRediction Informatics for Secondary Metabolomes (PRISM), a combinatorial approach to chemical structure prediction for genetically encoded nonribosomal peptides and type I and II polyketides. Here, we present a ground-up rewrite of the PRISM structure prediction algorithm to derive prediction of natural products arising from non-modular biosynthetic paradigms. Within this new version, PRISM 3, natural product scaffolds are modeled as chemical graphs, permitting structure prediction for aminocoumarins, antimetabolites, bisindoles and phosphonate natural products, and building upon the addition of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides. Further, with the addition of cluster detection for 11 new cluster types, PRISM 3 expands to detect 22 distinct natural product cluster types. Other major modifications to PRISM include improved sequence input and ORF detection, user-friendliness and output. Distribution of PRISM 3 over a 300-core server grid improves the speed and capacity of the web application. PRISM 3 is available at http://magarveylab.ca/prism/. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

Total Petroleum Systems of the Carpathian - Balkanian Basin Province of Romania and Bulgaria

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pawlewicz, Mark

2007-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey defined the Moesian Platform Composite Total Petroleum System and the Dysodile Schist-Tertiary Total Petroleum System, which contain three assessment units, in the Carpathian-Balkanian Basin Province of Romania and Bulgaria. The Moesian Platform Assessment Unit, contained within the Moesian Platform Composite Total Petroleum System, is composed of Mesozoic and Cenozoic rocks within the Moesian platform region of southern Romania and northern Bulgaria and also within the Birlad depression in the northeastern platform area. In Romania, hydrocarbon sources are identified as carbonate rocks and bituminous claystones within the Middle Devonian, Middle Jurassic, Lower Cretaceous, and Neogene stratigraphic sequences. In the Birlad depression, Neogene pelitic strata have the best potential for generating hydrocarbons. In Bulgaria, Middle and Upper Jurassic shales are the most probable hydrocarbon sources. The Romania Flysch Zone Assessment Unit in the Dysodile Schist-Tertiary Total Petroleum System encompasses three structural and paleogeographic subunits within the Pre-Carpathian Mountains region: (1) the Getic depression, a segment of the Carpathian foredeep; (2) the flysch zone of the eastern Carpathian Mountains (also called the Marginal Fold nappe); and (3) the Miocene zone (also called the Sub-Carpathian nappe). Source rocks are interpreted to be Oligocene dysodile schist and black claystone, along with Miocene black claystone and marls. Also part of the Dysodile Schist-Tertiary Total Petroleum System is the Romania Ploiesti Zone Assessment Unit, which includes a zone of diapir folds. This zone lies between the Rimnicu Sarat and Dinibovita valleys and between the folds of the inner Carpathian Mountains and the external flanks of the Carpathian foredeep. The Oligocene Dysodile Schist is considered the main hydrocarbon source rock and Neogene black marls and claystones are likely secondary sources; all are thought to be at their maximum thermal maturation. Undiscovered resources in the Carpathian-Balkanian Basin Province are estimated, at the mean, to be 2,076 billion cubic feet of gas, 1,013 million barrels of oil, and 116 million barrels of natural gas liquids.

Complex Dark Matter

ScienceCinema

Lincoln, Don

2018-01-16

After a century of study, scientists have come to the realization that the ordinary matter made of atoms is a minority in the universe. In order to explain observations, it appears that there exists a new and undiscovered kind of matter, called dark matter, that is five times more prevalent than ordinary matter. The evidence for this new matter’s existence is very strong, but scientists know only a little about its nature. In today’s video, Fermilab’s Dr. Don Lincoln talks about an exciting and unconventional idea, specifically that dark matter might have a very complex set of structures and interactions. While this idea is entirely speculative, it is an interesting hypothesis and one that scientists are investigating.

75 FR 13524 - Northern Natural Gas Company, Southern Natural Gas Company, Florida Gas Transmission Company, LLC...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-22

... Natural Gas Company, Southern Natural Gas Company, Florida Gas Transmission Company, LLC, Transcontinental... notice that on March 5, 2010, Northern Natural Gas Company (Northern Natural), 1111 South 103rd Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68124- 1000, filed on behalf of itself and other owners, Southern Natural Gas Company...

RE-INFLATED WARM JUPITERS AROUND RED GIANTS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lopez, Eric D.; Fortney, Jonathan J.

2016-02-10

Since the discovery of the first transiting hot Jupiters, models have sought to explain the anomalously large radii of highly irradiated gas giants. We now know that the size of hot Jupiter radius anomalies scales strongly with a planet's level of irradiation and numerous models like tidal heating, ohmic dissipation, and thermal tides have since been developed to help explain these inflated radii. In general, however, these models can be grouped into two broad categories: models that directly inflate planetary radii by depositing a fraction of the incident irradiation into the interior and models that simply slow a planet's radiativemore » cooling, allowing it to retain more heat from formation and thereby delay contraction. Here we present a new test to distinguish between these two classes of models. Gas giants orbiting at moderate orbital periods around post-main-sequence stars will experience enormous increases to their irradiation as their host stars move up the sub-giant and red-giant branches. If hot Jupiter inflation works by depositing irradiation into the planet's deep interiors then planetary radii should increase in response to the increased irradiation. This means that otherwise non-inflated gas giants at moderate orbital periods of >10 days can re-inflate as their host stars evolve. Here we explore the circumstances that can lead to the creation of these “re-inflated” gas giants and examine how the existence or absence of such planets can be used to place unique constraints on the physics of the hot Jupiter inflation mechanism. Finally, we explore the prospects for detecting this potentially important undiscovered population of planets.« less

Accelerating the discovery of hidden two-dimensional magnets using machine learning and first principle calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miyazato, Itsuki; Tanaka, Yuzuru; Takahashi, Keisuke

2018-02-01

Two-dimensional (2D) magnets are explored in terms of data science and first principle calculations. Machine learning determines four descriptors for predicting the magnetic moments of 2D materials within reported 216 2D materials data. With the trained machine, 254 2D materials are predicted to have high magnetic moments. First principle calculations are performed to evaluate the predicted 254 2D materials where eight undiscovered stable 2D materials with high magnetic moments are revealed. The approach taken in this work indicates that undiscovered materials can be surfaced by utilizing data science and materials data, leading to an innovative way of discovering hidden materials.

ASSESSMENT OF HIGH-TEMPERATURE GEOTHERMAL RESOURCES IN HYDROTHERMAL CONVECTION SYSTEMS IN THE UNITED STATES.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nathenson, Manuel

1984-01-01

The amount of thermal energy in high-temperature geothermal systems (>150 degree C) in the United States has been calculated by estimating the temperature, area, and thickness of each identified system. These data, along with a general model for recoverability of geothermal energy and a calculation that takes account of the conversion of thermal energy to electricity, yield a resource estimate of 23,000 MWe for 30 years. The undiscovered component was estimated based on multipliers of the identified resource as either 72,000 or 127,000 MWe for 30 years depending on the model chosen for the distribution of undiscovered energy as a function of temperature.

40 CFR 307.14 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... natural gas, natural gas liquids, liquefied natural gas, or synthetic gas usable for fuel (or mixtures of natural gas and such synthetic gas). National Contingency Plan, or NCP means the National Oil and... under section 101(14)(A) through (F) of the Act, nor does it include natural gas, liquefied natural gas...

40 CFR 307.14 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... natural gas, natural gas liquids, liquefied natural gas, or synthetic gas usable for fuel (or mixtures of natural gas and such synthetic gas). National Contingency Plan, or NCP means the National Oil and... under section 101(14)(A) through (F) of the Act, nor does it include natural gas, liquefied natural gas...

40 CFR 307.14 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... natural gas, natural gas liquids, liquefied natural gas, or synthetic gas usable for fuel (or mixtures of natural gas and such synthetic gas). National Contingency Plan, or NCP means the National Oil and... under section 101(14)(A) through (F) of the Act, nor does it include natural gas, liquefied natural gas...

40 CFR 307.14 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... natural gas, natural gas liquids, liquefied natural gas, or synthetic gas usable for fuel (or mixtures of natural gas and such synthetic gas). National Contingency Plan, or NCP means the National Oil and... under section 101(14)(A) through (F) of the Act, nor does it include natural gas, liquefied natural gas...

40 CFR 307.14 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... natural gas, natural gas liquids, liquefied natural gas, or synthetic gas usable for fuel (or mixtures of natural gas and such synthetic gas). National Contingency Plan, or NCP means the National Oil and... under section 101(14)(A) through (F) of the Act, nor does it include natural gas, liquefied natural gas...

Next Generation Seismic Imaging; High Fidelity Algorithms and High-End Computing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bevc, D.; Ortigosa, F.; Guitton, A.; Kaelin, B.

2007-05-01

The rich oil reserves of the Gulf of Mexico are buried in deep and ultra-deep waters up to 30,000 feet from the surface. Minerals Management Service (MMS), the federal agency in the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages the nation's oil, natural gas and other mineral resources on the outer continental shelf in federal offshore waters, estimates that the Gulf of Mexico holds 37 billion barrels of "undiscovered, conventionally recoverable" oil, which, at 50/barrel, would be worth approximately 1.85 trillion. These reserves are very difficult to find and reach due to the extreme depths. Technological advances in seismic imaging represent an opportunity to overcome this obstacle by providing more accurate models of the subsurface. Among these technological advances, Reverse Time Migration (RTM) yields the best possible images. RTM is based on the solution of the two-way acoustic wave-equation. This technique relies on the velocity model to image turning waves. These turning waves are particularly important to unravel subsalt reservoirs and delineate salt-flanks, a natural trap for oil and gas. Because it relies on an accurate velocity model, RTM opens new frontier in designing better velocity estimation algorithms. RTM has been widely recognized as the next chapter in seismic exploration, as it can overcome the limitations of current migration methods in imaging complex geologic structures that exist in the Gulf of Mexico. The chief impediment to the large-scale, routine deployment of RTM has been a lack of sufficient computer power. RTM needs thirty times the computing power used in exploration today to be commercially viable and widely usable. Therefore, advancing seismic imaging to the next level of precision poses a multi-disciplinary challenge. To overcome these challenges, the Kaleidoscope project, a partnership between Repsol YPF, Barcelona Supercomputing Center, 3DGeo Inc., and IBM brings together the necessary components of modeling, algorithms and the uniquely powerful computing power of the MareNostrum supercomputer in Barcelona to realize the promise of RTM, incorporate it into daily processing flows, and to help solve exploration problems in a highly cost-effective way. Uniquely, the Kaleidoscope Project is simultaneously integrating software (algorithms) and hardware (Cell BE), steps that are traditionally taken sequentially. This unique integration of software and hardware will accelerate seismic imaging by several orders of magnitude compared to conventional solutions running on standard Linux Clusters.

Geology and Nonfuel Mineral Deposits of Africa and the Middle East

USGS Publications Warehouse

Taylor, Cliff D.; Schulz, Klaus J.; Doebrich, Jeff L.; Orris, Greta; Denning, Paul; Kirschbaum, Michael J.

2009-01-01

A nation's endowment of nonfuel mineral resources, relative to the world's endowment, is a fundamental consideration in decisions related to a nation's economic and environmental well being and security. Knowledge of the worldwide abundance, distribution, and general geologic setting of mineral commodities provides a framework within which a nation can make decisions about economic development of its own resources, and the economic and environmental consequences of those decisions, in a global perspective. The information in this report is part of a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) endeavor to evaluate the global endowment of both identified and undiscovered nonfuel mineral resources. The results will delineate areas of the world that are geologically permissive for the occurrence of undiscovered selected nonfuel mineral resources together with estimates of the quantity and quality of the resources. The results will be published as a series of regional reports; this one provides basic data on the identified resources and geologic setting, together with a brief appraisal of the potential for undiscovered mineral resources in Africa and the Middle East. Additional information, such as production statistics, economic factors that affect the mineral industries of the region, and historical information, is available in U.S. Geological Survey publications such as the Minerals Yearbook and the annual Mineral Commodity Summaries (available at http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals).

U.S. crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids reserves 1997 annual report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wood, John H.; Grape, Steven G.; Green, Rhonda S.

1998-12-01

This report presents estimates of proved reserves of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids as of December 31, 1997, as well as production volumes for the US and selected States and State subdivisions for the year 1997. Estimates are presented for the following four categories of natural gas: total gas (wet after lease separation), nonassociated gas and associated-dissolved gas (which are the two major types of wet natural gas), and total dry gas (wet gas adjusted for the removal of liquids at natural gas processing plants). In addition, reserve estimates for two types of natural gas liquids, leasemore » condensate and natural gas plant liquids, are presented. Also included is information on indicated additional crude oil reserves and crude oil, natural gas, and lease condensate reserves in nonproducing reservoirs. A discussion of notable oil and gas exploration and development activities during 1997 is provided. 21 figs., 16 tabs.« less

Petroleum geology and resources of the Dnieper-Donets Basin, Ukraine and Russia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ulmishek, Gregory F.

2001-01-01

The Dnieper-Donets basin is almost entirely in Ukraine, and it is the principal producer of hydrocarbons in that country. A small southeastern part of the basin is in Russia. The basin is bounded by the Voronezh high of the Russian craton to the northeast and by the Ukrainian shield to the southwest. The basin is principally a Late Devonian rift that is overlain by a Carboniferous to Early Permian postrift sag. The Devonian rift structure extends northwestward into the Pripyat basin of Belarus; the two basins are separated by the Bragin-Loev uplift, which is a Devonian volcanic center. Southeastward, the Dnieper-Donets basin has a gradational boundary with the Donbas foldbelt, which is a structurally inverted and deformed part of the basin. The sedimentary succession of the basin consists of four tectono-stratigraphic sequences. The prerift platform sequence includes Middle Devonian to lower Frasnian, mainly clastic, rocks that were deposited in an extensive intracratonic basin. 1 The Upper Devonian synrift sequence probably is as thick as 4?5 kilometers. It is composed of marine carbonate, clastic, and volcanic rocks and two salt formations, of Frasnian and Famennian age, that are deformed into salt domes and plugs. The postrift sag sequence consists of Carboniferous and Lower Permian clastic marine and alluvial deltaic rocks that are as thick as 11 kilometers in the southeastern part of the basin. The Lower Permian interval includes a salt formation that is an important regional seal for oil and gas fields. The basin was affected by strong compression in Artinskian (Early Permian) time, when southeastern basin areas were uplifted and deeply eroded and the Donbas foldbelt was formed. The postrift platform sequence includes Triassic through Tertiary rocks that were deposited in a shallow platform depression that extended far beyond the Dnieper-Donets basin boundaries. A single total petroleum system encompassing the entire sedimentary succession is identified in the Dnieper-Donets basin. Discovered reserves of the system are 1.6 billion barrels of oil and 59 trillion cubic feet of gas. More than one-half of the reserves are in Lower Permian rocks below the salt seal. Most of remaining reserves are in upper Visean-Serpukhovian (Lower Carboniferous) strata. The majority of discovered fields are in salt-cored anticlines or in drapes over Devonian horst blocks; little exploration has been conducted for stratigraphic traps. Synrift Upper Devonian carbonate reservoirs are almost unexplored. Two identified source-rock intervals are the black anoxic shales and carbonates in the lower Visean and Devonian sections. However, additional source rocks possibly are present in the deep central area of the basin. The role of Carboniferous coals as a source rock for gas is uncertain; no coal-related gas has been identified by the limited geochemical studies. The source rocks are in the gas-generation window over most of the basin area; consequently gas dominates over oil in the reserves. Three assessment units were identified in the Dnieper-Donets Paleozoic total petroleum system. The assessment unit that contains all discovered reserves embraces postrift Carboniferous and younger rocks. This unit also contains the largest portion of undiscovered resources, especially gas. Stratigraphic and combination structural and stratigraphic traps probably will be the prime targets for future exploration. The second assessment unit includes poorly known synrift Devonian rocks. Carbonate reef reservoirs along the basin margins probably will contain most of the undiscovered resources. The third assessment unit is an unconventional, continuous, basin-centered gas accumulation in Carboniferous low-permeability clastic rocks. The entire extent of this accumulation is unknown, but it occupies much of the basin area. Resources of this assessment unit were not estimated quantitatively.

78 FR 38309 - Northern Natural Gas Company; Southern Natural Gas Company, L.L.C.; Florida Gas Transmission...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-26

... Natural Gas Company; Southern Natural Gas Company, L.L.C.; Florida Gas Transmission Company, LLC; Notice of Application Take notice that on June 4, 2013, Northern Natural Gas Company (Northern), 1111 South 103rd Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68124; on behalf of itself, Southern Natural Gas Company, L.L.C., and...

Porphyry copper deposit density

USGS Publications Warehouse

Singer, Donald A.; Berger, Vladimir; Menzie, W. David; Berger, Byron R.

2005-01-01

Estimating numbers of undiscovered mineral deposits has been a source of unease among economic geologists yet is a fundamental task in considering future supplies of resources. Estimates can be based on frequencies of deposits per unit of permissive area in control areas around the world in the same way that grade and tonnage frequencies are models of sizes and qualities of undiscovered deposits. To prevent biased estimates it is critical that, for a particular deposit type, these deposit density models be internally consistent with descriptive and grade and tonnage models of the same type. In this analysis only deposits and prospects that are likely to be included in future grade and tonnage models are employed, and deposits that have mineralization or alteration separated by less than an arbitrary but consistent distance—2 km for porphyry copper deposits—are combined into one deposit. Only 286 deposits and prospects that have more than half of the deposit not covered by postmineral rocks, sediments, or ice were counted.Nineteen control areas were selected and outlined along borders of hosting magmatic arc terranes based on three main features: (1) extensive exploration for porphyry copper deposits, (2) definable geologic settings of the porphyry copper deposits in island and continental volcanic-arc subduction-boundary zones, and (3) diversity of epochs of porphyry copper deposit formation.Porphyry copper deposit densities vary from 2 to 128 deposits per 100,000 km2 of exposed permissive rock, and the density histogram is skewed to high values. Ninety percent of the control areas have densities of four or more deposits, 50 percent have densities of 15 or more deposits, and 10 percent have densities of 35 or more deposits per 100,000 km2. Deposit density is not related to age or depth of emplacement. Porphyry copper deposit density is inversely related to the exposed area of permissive rock. The linear regression line and confidence limits constructed with the 19 control areas can be used to estimate the number of undiscovered deposits, given the size of a permissive area. In an example of the use of the equations, we estimate a 90 percent chance of at least four, a 50 percent chance of at least 11, and a 10 percent chance of at least 34 undiscovered porphyry copper deposits in the exposed parts of the Andean belt of Antarctica, which has no known deposits in a permissive area of about 76,000 km2. Measures of densities of deposits presented here allow rather simple yet robust estimation of the number of undiscovered porphyry copper deposits in exposed or covered permissive terranes.

40 CFR 310.3 - What terms have specific definitions?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

..., and the term does not include natural gas, natural gas liquids, liquefied natural gas, or synthetic gas usable for fuel (or mixtures of natural gas and such synthetic gas). (g) Local emergency response... substance under section 101(14)(A) through (F) of CERCLA, nor does it include natural gas, liquefied natural...

40 CFR 310.3 - What terms have specific definitions?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

..., and the term does not include natural gas, natural gas liquids, liquefied natural gas, or synthetic gas usable for fuel (or mixtures of natural gas and such synthetic gas). (g) Local emergency response... substance under section 101(14)(A) through (F) of CERCLA, nor does it include natural gas, liquefied natural...

40 CFR 310.3 - What terms have specific definitions?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

..., and the term does not include natural gas, natural gas liquids, liquefied natural gas, or synthetic gas usable for fuel (or mixtures of natural gas and such synthetic gas). (g) Local emergency response... substance under section 101(14)(A) through (F) of CERCLA, nor does it include natural gas, liquefied natural...

40 CFR 310.3 - What terms have specific definitions?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

..., and the term does not include natural gas, natural gas liquids, liquefied natural gas, or synthetic gas usable for fuel (or mixtures of natural gas and such synthetic gas). (g) Local emergency response... substance under section 101(14)(A) through (F) of CERCLA, nor does it include natural gas, liquefied natural...

40 CFR 310.3 - What terms have specific definitions?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

..., and the term does not include natural gas, natural gas liquids, liquefied natural gas, or synthetic gas usable for fuel (or mixtures of natural gas and such synthetic gas). (g) Local emergency response... substance under section 101(14)(A) through (F) of CERCLA, nor does it include natural gas, liquefied natural...

75 FR 13644 - TORP Terminal LP, Bienville Offshore Energy Terminal Liquefied Natural Gas Deepwater Port License...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-22

... interconnect pipelines to four existing offshore pipelines (Dauphin Natural Gas Pipeline, Williams Natural Gas Pipeline, Destin Natural Gas Pipeline, and Viosca Knoll Gathering System [VKGS] Gas Pipeline) that connect to the onshore natural gas transmission pipeline system. Natural gas would be delivered to customers...

Microstructural characteristics of natural gas hydrates hosted in various sand sediments.

PubMed

Zhao, Jiafei; Yang, Lei; Liu, Yu; Song, Yongchen

2015-09-21

Natural gas hydrates have aroused worldwide interest due to their energy potential and possible impact on climate. The occurrence of natural gas hydrates hosted in the pores of sediments governs the seismic exploration, resource assessment, stability of deposits, and gas production from natural gas hydrate reserves. In order to investigate the microstructure of natural gas hydrates occurring in pores, natural gas hydrate-bearing sediments were visualized using microfocus X-ray computed tomography (CT). Various types of sands with different grain sizes and wettability were used to study the effect of porous materials on the occurrence of natural gas hydrates. Spatial distributions of methane gas, natural gas hydrates, water, and sands were directly identified. This work indicates that natural gas hydrates tend to reside mainly within pore spaces and do not come in contact with adjacent sands. Such an occurring model of natural gas hydrates is termed the floating model. Furthermore, natural gas hydrates were observed to nucleate at gas-water interfaces as lens-shaped clusters. Smaller sand grain sizes contribute to higher hydrate saturation. The wetting behavior of various sands had little effect on the occurrence of natural gas hydrates within pores. Additionally, geometric properties of the sediments were collected through CT image reconstructions. These findings will be instructive for understanding the microstructure of natural gas hydrates within major global reserves and for future resource utilization of natural gas hydrates.

US crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids reserves, 1992 annual report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1993-10-18

This report presents estimates of proved reserves of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids as of December 31, 1992, as well as production volumes for the United States, and selected States and State subdivisions for the year 1992. Estimates are presented for the following four categories of natural gas: total gas (wet after lease separation), its two major components (nonassociated and associated-dissolved gas), and total dry gas (wet gas adjusted for the removal of liquids at natural gas processing plants). In addition, two components of natural gas liquids, lease condensate and natural gas plant liquids, have their reservesmore » and production data presented. Also included is information on indicated additional crude oil reserves and crude oil, natural gas, and lease condensate reserves in nonproducing reservoirs. A discussion of notable oil and gas exploration and development activities during 1992 is provided.« less

Porphyry copper assessment of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and eastern Tethysides: China, Mongolia, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and India: Chapter X in Global mineral resource assessment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mihalasky, Mark J.; Ludington, Stephen; Hammarstrom, Jane M.; Alexeiev, Dmitriy V.; Frost, Thomas P.; Light, Thomas D.; Robinson, Gilpin R.; Briggs, Deborah A.; Wallis, John C.; Miller, Robert J.; Bookstrom, Arthur A.; Panteleyev, Andre; Chitalin, Andre; Seltmann, Reimar; Guangsheng, Yan; Changyun, Lian; Jingwen, Mao; Jinyi, Li; Keyan, Xiao; Ruizhao, Qiu; Jianbao, Shao; Gangyi, Shai; Yuliang, Du

2015-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey collaborated with international colleagues to assess undiscovered resources in porphyry copper deposits in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and eastern Tethysides. These areas host 20 known porphyry copper deposits, including the world class Oyu Tolgoi deposit in Mongolia that was discovered in the late 1990s. The study area covers major parts of the world’s largest orogenic systems. The Central Asian Orogenic Belt is a collage of amalgamated Precambrian through Mesozoic terranes that extends from the Ural Mountains in the west nearly to the Pacific Coast of Asia in the east and records the evolution and final closure of the Paleo-Asian Ocean in Permian time. The eastern Tethysides, the orogenic belt to the south of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, records the evolution of another ancient ocean system, the Tethys Ocean. The evolution of these orogenic belts involved magmatism associated with a variety of geologic settings appropriate for formation of porphyry copper deposits, including subduction-related island arcs, continental arcs, and collisional and postconvergent settings. The original settings are difficult to trace because the arcs have been complexly deformed and dismembered by younger tectonic events. Twelve mineral resource assessment tracts were delineated to be permissive for the occurrence of porphyry copper deposits based on mapped and inferred subsurface distributions of igneous rocks of specific age ranges and compositions. These include (1) nine Paleozoic tracts in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, which range in area from about 60,000 to 800,000 square kilometers (km2); (2) a complex area of about 400,000 km2 on the northern margin of the Tethysides, the Qinling-Dabie tract, which spans central China and areas to the west, encompassing Paleozoic through Triassic igneous rocks that formed in diverse settings; and (3) assemblages of late Paleozoic and Mesozoic rocks that define two other tracts in the Tethysides, the 100,000 km2 Jinsajiang tract and the 300,000 km2 Tethyan-Gangdese tract. Assessment participants evaluated applicable grade and tonnage models and estimated numbers of undiscovered deposits at different confidence levels for each permissive tract. The estimates were then combined with the selected grade and tonnage models using Monte Carlo simulations to generate probabilistic estimates of undiscovered resources. Additional resources in extensions of deposits with identified resources were not specifically evaluated. Assessment results, presented in tables and graphs, show amounts of metal and rock in undiscovered deposits at selected quantile levels of probability (0.95, 0.9, 0.5, 0.1, and 0.05 confidence levels), as well as the arithmetic mean and associated standard deviations and variances for each tract. This assessment estimated a total of 97 undiscovered porphyry copper deposits within the assessed permissive tracts. This represents nearly five times the 20 known deposits. Predicted mean resources that could be associated with these undiscovered deposits are about 370,000,000 metric tons (t) of copper, 10,000 t of gold, 7,700,000 t of molybdenum, and 120,000 t of silver. The assessment area is estimated to contain about five times as much copper in undiscovered deposits as has been identified to date. This report includes a summary of the data used in the assessment, a brief overview of the geologic framework of the area, descriptions of permissive tracts and known deposits, maps, and tables. A geographic information system database that accompanies this report includes the tract boundaries and known porphyry copper deposits, significant prospects, and prospects. Assessments of overlapping younger rocks and adjacent areas are included in separate reports available on-line at http://minerals.usgs.gov/global/.

18 CFR 382.202 - Annual charges under the Natural Gas Act and Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 and related statutes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... the Natural Gas Act and Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 and related statutes. 382.202 Section 382.202... GENERAL RULES ANNUAL CHARGES Annual Charges § 382.202 Annual charges under the Natural Gas Act and Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 and related statutes. The adjusted costs of administration of the natural gas...

18 CFR 382.202 - Annual charges under the Natural Gas Act and Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 and related statutes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... the Natural Gas Act and Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 and related statutes. 382.202 Section 382.202... GENERAL RULES ANNUAL CHARGES Annual Charges § 382.202 Annual charges under the Natural Gas Act and Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 and related statutes. The adjusted costs of administration of the natural gas...

U.S. Natural Gas Markets: Mid-Term Prospects for Natural Gas Supply

EIA Publications

2001-01-01

This service report describes the recent behavior of natural gas markets with respect to natural gas prices, their potential future behavior, the potential future supply contribution of liquefied natural gas and increased access to federally restricted resources, and the need for improved natural gas data.

US crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids reserves 1996 annual report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1997-12-01

The EIA annual reserves report series is the only source of comprehensive domestic proved reserves estimates. This publication is used by the Congress, Federal and State agencies, industry, and other interested parties to obtain accurate estimates of the Nation`s proved reserves of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. These data are essential to the development, implementation, and evaluation of energy policy and legislation. This report presents estimates of proved reserves of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids as of December 31, 1996, as well as production volumes for the US and selected States and State subdivisionsmore » for the year 1996. Estimates are presented for the following four categories of natural gas: total gas (wet after lease separation), nonassociated gas and associated-dissolved gas (which are the two major types of wet natural gas), and total dry gas (wet gas adjusted for the removal of liquids at natural gas processing plants). In addition, reserve estimates for two types of natural gas liquids, lease condensate and natural gas plant liquids, are presented. Also included is information on indicated additional crude oil reserves and crude oil, natural gas, and lease condensate reserves in nonproducing reservoirs. A discussion of notable oil and gas exploration and development activities during 1996 is provided. 21 figs., 16 tabs.« less

Map showing geology, oil and gas fields, and geologic provinces of the Gulf of Mexico region

USGS Publications Warehouse

French, Christopher D.; Schenk, Christopher J.

2006-01-01

This map was created as part of a worldwide series of geologic maps for the U.S. Geological Survey's World Energy Project. These products are available on CD-ROM and the Internet. The goal of the project is to assess the undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources of the world. Two previously published digital geologic data sets (U.S. and Caribbean) were clipped to the map extent, while the dataset for Mexico was digitized for this project. Original attributes for all data layers were maintained, and in some cases, graphically merged with common symbology for presentation purposes. The world has been divided into geologic provinces that are used for allocation and prioritization of oil and gas assessments. For the World Energy Project, a subset of those provinces is shown on this map. Each province has a set of geologic characteristics that distinguish it from surrounding provinces. These characteristics may include dominant lithologies, the age of the strata, and/or structural type. The World Geographic Coordinate System of 1984 is used for data storage, and the data are presented in a Lambert Conformal Conic Projection on the OFR 97-470-L map product. Other details about the map compilation and data sources are provided in metadata documents in the data section on this CD-ROM. Several software packages were used to create this map including: Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI) ArcGIS 8.3, ArcInfo software, Adobe Photoshop CS, Illustrator CS, and Acrobat 6.0.

Chapter 8: US geological survey Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal (CARA): Introduction and summary of organization and methods

USGS Publications Warehouse

Charpentier, R.R.; Gautier, D.L.

2011-01-01

The USGS has assessed undiscovered petroleum resources in the Arctic through geological mapping, basin analysis and quantitative assessment. The new map compilation provided the base from which geologists subdivided the Arctic for burial history modelling and quantitative assessment. The CARA was a probabilistic, geologically based study that used existing USGS methodology, modified somewhat for the circumstances of the Arctic. The assessment relied heavily on analogue modelling, with numerical input as lognormal distributions of sizes and numbers of undiscovered accumulations. Probabilistic results for individual assessment units were statistically aggregated taking geological dependencies into account. Fourteen papers in this Geological Society volume present summaries of various aspects of the CARA. ?? 2011 The Geological Society of London.

40 CFR 60.5430 - What definitions apply to this subpart?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... natural gas liquids from field gas, the fractionation of the liquids into natural gas products, or other... gas unit means a unit used to cool natural gas to the point at which it is condensed into a liquid... pressurized natural gas. Natural gas liquids means the hydrocarbons, such as ethane, propane, butane, and...

Deaths involving 1,1-difluoroethane at the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office.

PubMed

Vance, Chris; Swalwell, Christopher; McIntyre, Iain M

2012-01-01

Intentional abuse of 1,1-difluoroethane has been reported to cause transient symptoms such as confusion, tremors, pulmonary irritation, loss of consciousness and, rarely, coma. In the last five years, 17 cases from the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office showed the presence of 1,1-difluoroethane in postmortem tissues, and the gas was cited in the cause of death in 13 of those cases. Detected during routine ethanol screening, 1,1-difluoroethane was evaluated for concentrations in peripheral blood, central blood and vitreous humor by a slightly modified method published by Avella et al. In many cases, death from abuse of 1,1-difluoroethane seemed to occur within minutes of intentional abuse; large concentrations (>100 mg/L) of the gas were still in the blood. It is important that forensic toxicology laboratories have routine screening procedures to detect 1,1-difluoroethane because cases exist in which evidence of use from cans may not be present in proximity to the decedent, or may be undiscovered in the debris of a motor vehicle accident. It is also important to quantify concentrations of 1,1-difluoroethane in both peripheral blood and central blood, whose ratio may be useful in interpreting how recently the use of the 1,1-difluoroethane occurred.

40 CFR 98.400 - Definition of the source category.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... (CONTINUED) MANDATORY GREENHOUSE GAS REPORTING Suppliers of Natural Gas and Natural Gas Liquids § 98.400 Definition of the source category. This supplier category consists of natural gas liquids fractionators and local natural gas distribution companies. (a) Natural gas liquids fractionators are installations that...

40 CFR 98.400 - Definition of the source category.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... (CONTINUED) MANDATORY GREENHOUSE GAS REPORTING Suppliers of Natural Gas and Natural Gas Liquids § 98.400 Definition of the source category. This supplier category consists of natural gas liquids fractionators and local natural gas distribution companies. (a) Natural gas liquids fractionators are installations that...

40 CFR 98.400 - Definition of the source category.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... (CONTINUED) MANDATORY GREENHOUSE GAS REPORTING Suppliers of Natural Gas and Natural Gas Liquids § 98.400 Definition of the source category. This supplier category consists of natural gas liquids fractionators and local natural gas distribution companies. (a) Natural gas liquids fractionators are installations that...

40 CFR 98.400 - Definition of the source category.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... (CONTINUED) MANDATORY GREENHOUSE GAS REPORTING Suppliers of Natural Gas and Natural Gas Liquids § 98.400 Definition of the source category. This supplier category consists of natural gas liquids fractionators and local natural gas distribution companies. (a) Natural gas liquids fractionators are installations that...

40 CFR 98.400 - Definition of the source category.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... (CONTINUED) MANDATORY GREENHOUSE GAS REPORTING Suppliers of Natural Gas and Natural Gas Liquids § 98.400 Definition of the source category. This supplier category consists of natural gas liquids fractionators and local natural gas distribution companies. (a) Natural gas liquids fractionators are installations that...

18 CFR 284.263 - Exemption from section 7 of Natural Gas Act and certain regulatory conditions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 7 of Natural Gas Act and certain regulatory conditions. 284.263 Section 284.263 Conservation of... UNDER THE NATURAL GAS POLICY ACT OF 1978 AND RELATED AUTHORITIES CERTAIN SALES AND TRANSPORTATION OF NATURAL GAS UNDER THE NATURAL GAS POLICY ACT OF 1978 AND RELATED AUTHORITIES Emergency Natural Gas Sale...

Alternative Fuels Data Center: Natural Gas

Science.gov Websites

Natural Gas Printable Version Share this resource Send a link to Alternative Fuels Data Center : Natural Gas to someone by E-mail Share Alternative Fuels Data Center: Natural Gas on Facebook Tweet about Alternative Fuels Data Center: Natural Gas on Twitter Bookmark Alternative Fuels Data Center: Natural Gas on

18 CFR 284.263 - Exemption from section 7 of Natural Gas Act and certain regulatory conditions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 7 of Natural Gas Act and certain regulatory conditions. 284.263 Section 284.263 Conservation of... UNDER THE NATURAL GAS POLICY ACT OF 1978 AND RELATED AUTHORITIES CERTAIN SALES AND TRANSPORTATION OF NATURAL GAS UNDER THE NATURAL GAS POLICY ACT OF 1978 AND RELATED AUTHORITIES Emergency Natural Gas Sale...

Natural Gas Exports from Iran

EIA Publications

2012-01-01

This assessment of the natural gas sector in Iran, with a focus on Iran’s natural gas exports, was prepared pursuant to section 505 (a) of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (Public Law No: 112-158). As requested, it includes: (1) an assessment of exports of natural gas from Iran; (2) an identification of the countries that purchase the most natural gas from Iran; (3) an assessment of alternative supplies of natural gas available to those countries; (4) an assessment of the impact a reduction in exports of natural gas from Iran would have on global natural gas supplies and the price of natural gas, especially in countries identified under number (2); and (5) such other information as the Administrator considers appropriate.

75 FR 35632 - Transparency Provisions of Section 23 of the Natural Gas Act

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-23

... pipeline- quality natural gas. For instance, some Respondents questioned whether pipeline-quality natural gas that is sold directly into an interstate or intrastate natural gas pipeline without processing... reported transactions of pipeline-quality gas under the assumption that ``unprocessed natural gas'' was...

Assessment of undiscovered conventionally recoverable petroleum resources of the Northwest European region

USGS Publications Warehouse

Masters, Charles D.; Klemme, H. Douglas

1984-01-01

The estimates of undiscovered conventionally recoverable petroleum resources in the northwest European region at probability levels of 95 percent, 5 percent, statistical mean, and mode are for oil (in billions of barrels): 9, 34, 20, and 15; and for gas (in trillions of cubic feet): 92, 258, 167, and 162. The occurrence of petroleum can be accounted for in two distinct geological plays located in the various subbasins of the region. Play I is associated with the distribution of mature source rocks of Late Jurassic age relative to four distinct trapping conditions. The play has been demonstrated productive mostly in the Viking and Central Grabens of the North Sea, where the shale has been buried to optimum depths for the generation of both oil and gas. To the north of 62 ? N. latitude up to the Barents Sea, source rocks become increasingly deeply buried and are interpreted to be dominantly gas prone; a narrow band of potentially oil-prone shales tracks most of the coast of Norway, but water depths in favorable localities commonly range from 600 to 1,200 feet. To the south of the Central Graben, the Jurassic source rocks are either immature or minimally productive because of a change in facies. Undrilled traps remain within the favorable source-rock area, and exploration will continue to challenge the boundaries of conventional wisdom, especially on the Norwegian side where little has .been reported on the geology of the adjoining Bergen High or Horda Basin, though, reportedly, the Jurassic source rocks are missing on the high and are immature in the southern part of the basin. Play II is associated with the distribution of a coal facies of Carboniferous age that is mature for the generation of gas and locally underlies favorable reservoir and sealing rocks. The play is limited largely by facies development to the present area of discovery and production but is limited as well to the southeast into onshore Netherlands and Germany by the unfavorable economics of an increasing nitrogen content in the gas. This increase is apparently caused by excessive temperatures associated with increasing depth of burial of the source rock. The history of discovery in the North Sea would appear to deny the commonly held maxim that large fields are found first and early in the exploration process. However, if the discovery data are examined from the perspective of the award date of each exploration license, then it is clear that the largest fields and most of the reserves have indeed been found early in the exploration process of a particular license. Discoveries made within 1 year of granting the license are on average large giants, and they account for slightly less than two-thirds of the original reserves. Discoveries made within 2 to 5 years of the granting of the license are on average less than giant size and smaller than increment-l-year discoveries by a factor of 4; these fields account for a little less than one-third of the reserves. Those fields found 6 or more years after the granting of the license are relatively small and account for 20 percent of all discoveries but only 4 percent of total original reserves. These data suggest that a measure of an area's exploration maturity is the length of time elapsed since the award of the concession.

76 FR 64010 - Special Rules Governing Certain Information Obtained Under the Clean Air Act: Technical Correction

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-17

... natural gas. 211112 Natural gas liquid extraction facilities. Petrochemical Production 32511 Ethylene.... Suppliers of Natural Gas and NGLs 221210 Natural gas distribution facilities. 211112 Natural gas liquid... Gas Reporting Rule, which are provided in the Special Rules Governing Certain Information Obtained...

Role of natural gas in meeting an electric sector emissions ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

With advances in natural gas extraction technologies, there is an increase in availability of domestic natural gas, and natural gas is gaining a larger share of use as a fuel in electricity production. At the power plant, natural gas is a cleaner burning fuel than coal, but uncertainties exist in the amount of methane leakage occurring upstream in the extraction and production of natural gas. At high leakage levels, these methane emissions could outweigh the benefits of switching from coal to natural gas. This analysis uses the MARKAL linear optimization model to compare the carbon emissions profiles and system-wide global warming potential of the U.S. energy system over a series of model runs in which the power sector is asked to meet a specific CO2 reduction target and the availability of natural gas changes. Scenarios are run with a range of upstream methane emission leakage rates from natural gas production. While the total CO2 emissions are reduced in most scenarios, total greenhouse gas emissions show an increase or no change when both natural gas availability and methane emissions from natural gas production are high. Article presents summary of results from an analyses of natural gas resource availability and power sector emissions reduction strategies under different estimates of methane leakage rates during natural gas extraction and production. This was study was undertaken as part of the Energy Modeling Forum Study #31:

77 FR 48878 - Approval and Promulgation of Federal Implementation Plan for Oil and Natural Gas Well Production...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-15

... the sales natural gas pipeline or to an emissions control unit when a natural gas sales pipeline is... vapor recovery unit (VRU) to be injected into a natural gas sales pipeline for conveyance to a natural gas plant. In the event that pipeline injection of recoverable natural gas is temporarily infeasible...

Assessment of Undiscovered Deposits of Gold, Silver, Copper, Lead, and Zinc in the United States: A Portable Document (PDF) Recompilation of USGS Open-File Report 96-96 and Circular 1178

USGS Publications Warehouse

U.S. Geological Survey National Mineral Resource Assessment Team Recompiled by Schruben, Paul G.

2002-01-01

This publication contains the results of a national mineral resource assessment study. The study (1) identifies regional tracts of ground believed to contain most of the nation's undiscovered resources of gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc in conventional types of deposits; and (2) includes probabilistic estimates of the amounts of these undiscovered resources in most of the tracts. It also contains a table of the significant known deposits in the tracts, and includes descriptions of the mineral deposit models used for the assessment. The assessment was previously released in two major publications. The conterminous United States assessment was published in 1996 as USGS Open-File Report 96-96. Subsequently, the Alaska assessment was combined with the conterminous assessment in 1998 and released as USGS Circular 1178. This new recompilation was undertaken for several reasons. First, the graphical browser software used in Circular 1178 was ONLY compatible with the Microsoft Windows operating system. It was incompatible with the Macintosh operating system, Linux, and other types of Unix computers. Second, the browser on Circular 1178 is much less intuitive to operate, requiring most users to follow a tutorial to understand how to navigate the information on the CD. Third, this release corrects several errors and numbering inconsistencies in Circular 1178.

18 CFR 152.1 - Exemption applications and blanket certificates.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... implementing the Natural Gas Act, “vehicular natural gas” or “VNG” means natural gas that will be used, in... Commission's regulations implementing the Natural Gas Act, vehicular natural gas, or VNG, is deemed to be... REGULATORY COMMISSION, DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY REGULATIONS UNDER NATURAL GAS ACT APPLICATION FOR EXEMPTION FROM...

Petroleum geology and resources of the North Ustyurt Basin, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ulmishek, Gregory F.

2001-01-01

The triangular-shaped North Ustyurt basin is located between the Caspian Sea and the Aral Lake in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and extends offshore both on the west and east. Along all its sides, the basin is bounded by the late Paleozoic and Triassic foldbelts that are partially overlain by Jurassic and younger rocks. The basin formed on a cratonic microcontinental block that was accreted northward to the Russian craton in Visean or Early Permian time. Continental collision and deformation along the southern and eastern basin margins occurred in Early Permian time. In Late Triassic time, the basin was subjected to strong compression that resulted in intrabasinal thrusting and faulting. Jurassic-Tertiary, mostly clastic rocks several hundred meters to 5 km thick overlie an older sequence of Devonian?Middle Carboniferous carbonates, Upper Precambrian massifs and deformed Caledonian foldbelts. The Carboniferous?Lower Permian clastics, carbonates, and volca-basement is at depths from 5.5 km on the highest uplifts to 11 nics, and Upper Permian?Triassic continental clastic rocks, pri-km in the deepest depressions. marily red beds. Paleogeographic conditions of sedimentation, Three total petroleum systems are identified in the basin. the distribution of rock types, and the thicknesses of pre-Triassic Combined volumes of discovered hydrocarbons in these sysstratigraphic units are poorly known because the rocks have been tems are nearly 2.4 billion barrels of oil and 2.4 trillion cubic penetrated by only a few wells in the western and eastern basin feet of gas. Almost all of the oil reserves are in the Buzachi Arch areas. The basement probably is heterogeneous; it includes and Surrounding Areas Composite Total Petroleum System in 2 Petroleum Geology, Resources?North Ustyurt Basin, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan the western part of the basin. Oil pools are in shallow Jurassic and Neocomian sandstone reservoirs, in structural traps. Source rocks are absent in the total petroleum system area; therefore, the oil could have migrated from the adjacent North Caspian basin. The North Ustyurt Jurassic Total Petroleum System encompasses the rest of the basin area and includes Jurassic and younger rocks. Several oil and gas fields have been discovered in this total petroleum system. Oil accumulations are in Jurassic clastic reservoirs, in structural traps at depths of 2.5?3 km. Source rocks for the oil are lacustrine beds and coals in the continental Jurassic sequence. Gas fields are in shallow Eocene sandstones in the northern part of the total petroleum system. The origin of the gas is unknown. The North Ustyurt Paleozoic Total Petroleum System stratigraphically underlies the North Ustyurt Jurassic system and occupies the same geographic area. The total petroleum system is almost unexplored. Two commercial flows of gas and several oil and gas shows have been tested in Carboniferous shelf carbonates in the eastern part of the total petroleum system. Source rocks probably are adjacent Carboniferous deep-water facies interpreted from seismic data. The western extent of the total petroleum system is conjectural. Almost all exploration drilling in the North Ustyurt basin has been limited to Jurassic and younger targets. The underlying Paleozoic-Triassic sequence is poorly known and completely unexplored. No wells have been drilled in offshore parts of the basin. Each of three total petroleum systems was assessed as a single assessment unit. Undiscovered resources of the basin are small to moderate. Most of the undiscovered oil probably will be discovered in Jurassic and Neocomian stratigraphic and structural traps on the Buzachi arch, especially on its undrilled off-shore extension. Most of the gas discoveries are expected to be in Paleozoic carbonate reservoirs in the eastern part of the basin.

76 FR 37300 - Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases: Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems: Revisions to Best...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-27

... natural gas. 211112 Natural gas liquid extraction facilities. Table 1 of this preamble is not intended to... Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases: Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems: Revisions to Best Available... regulations for Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule. Specifically, EPA is...

76 FR 14812 - Final Regulation Extending the Reporting Deadline for Year 2010 Data Elements Required Under the...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-18

.... Suppliers of Natural Gas and 221210 Natural gas Natural Gas Liquids. distribution facilities. 211112 Natural gas liquid extraction facilities. Suppliers of Industrial 325120 Industrial gas Greenhouse Gases..., 75 FR Natural Gas Liquids. 66434, 75 FR 79092. Suppliers of Industrial OO 74 FR 56260, 75 FR...

15 CFR 742.1 - Introduction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... (certain other petroleum products); 1C983 (Natural gas liquids and other natural gas derivatives); 1C984 (certain manufactured gas and synthetic natural gas (except when commingled with natural gas and thus...

15 CFR 742.1 - Introduction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... (certain other petroleum products); 1C983 (Natural gas liquids and other natural gas derivatives); 1C984 (certain manufactured gas and synthetic natural gas (except when commingled with natural gas and thus...

15 CFR 742.1 - Introduction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... (certain other petroleum products); 1C983 (Natural gas liquids and other natural gas derivatives); 1C984 (certain manufactured gas and synthetic natural gas (except when commingled with natural gas and thus...

15 CFR 742.1 - Introduction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... (certain other petroleum products); 1C983 (Natural gas liquids and other natural gas derivatives); 1C984 (certain manufactured gas and synthetic natural gas (except when commingled with natural gas and thus...

15 CFR 742.1 - Introduction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... (certain other petroleum products); 1C983 (Natural gas liquids and other natural gas derivatives); 1C984 (certain manufactured gas and synthetic natural gas (except when commingled with natural gas and thus...

76 FR 22825 - Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases: Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-04-25

... Reporting of Greenhouse Gases: Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency... Subpart W: Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule. As part of the... greenhouse gas emissions for the petroleum and natural gas systems source category of the greenhouse gas...

76 FR 52037 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Order Approving a Proposed Rule Change To List...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-19

... the Following Under NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.200: ProShares Short DJ-UBS Natural Gas, ProShares Ultra DJ-UBS Natural Gas and ProShares UltraShort DJ-UBS Natural Gas August 15, 2011. I. Introduction On... DJ-UBS Natural Gas, ProShares Ultra DJ-UBS Natural Gas, and ProShares UltraShort DJ-UBS Natural Gas...

15 CFR 754.1 - Introduction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... (Other petroleum products); (C) ECCN 1C983 (Natural gas liquids and other natural gas derivatives); and (D) ECCN 1C984 (Manufactured gas and synthetic natural gas (except when commingled with natural gas...

15 CFR 754.1 - Introduction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... (Other petroleum products); (C) ECCN 1C983 (Natural gas liquids and other natural gas derivatives); and (D) ECCN 1C984 (Manufactured gas and synthetic natural gas (except when commingled with natural gas...

15 CFR 754.1 - Introduction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... (Other petroleum products); (C) ECCN 1C983 (Natural gas liquids and other natural gas derivatives); and (D) ECCN 1C984 (Manufactured gas and synthetic natural gas (except when commingled with natural gas...

15 CFR 754.1 - Introduction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... (Other petroleum products); (C) ECCN 1C983 (Natural gas liquids and other natural gas derivatives); and (D) ECCN 1C984 (Manufactured gas and synthetic natural gas (except when commingled with natural gas...

15 CFR 754.1 - Introduction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... (Other petroleum products); (C) ECCN 1C983 (Natural gas liquids and other natural gas derivatives); and (D) ECCN 1C984 (Manufactured gas and synthetic natural gas (except when commingled with natural gas...

Mineral resources of the Mormon Mountains Wilderness Study Area, Lincoln County, Nevada

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shawe, D.R.; Blank, H.R. Jr.; Wernicke, B.P.

1988-01-01

The U.S. Bureau of Mines and the U.S. Geological Survey conducted investigations to appraise the identified resources and to assess the potential for undiscovered resources of the Mormon Mountains Wilderness Study Area, southeastern Nevada. There are no identified resources in or near the study area; however, there are no occurrences of commercial-grade limestones and sand gravel. The study area has high mineral resource potential for copper, lead, zinc, silver, and (or) gold in its southern part and copper, lead, zinc, silver, gold, arsenic, and (or) antimony in its northern part. Part of the study area has moderate mineral resource potentialmore » for antimony. Two areas in the central part of the study area have moderate mineral resource potential for molybdenum, tungsten, and (or) tin. The study area has moderate energy resource potential for oil and gas, except for areas of low potential where significant hydrothermal activity has occurred. It has low mineral and energy resource potential for manganese, barite, vermiculite, coal, and geothermal energy.« less

Assessment of continuous oil resources in the Wolfcamp shale of the Midland Basin, Permian Basin Province, Texas, 2016

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gaswirth, Stephanie B.

2017-03-06

The U.S. Geological Survey completed a geology-based assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable continuous petroleum resources in the Wolfcamp shale in the Midland Basin part of the Permian Basin Province of west Texas. This is the first U.S. Geological Survey evaluation of continuous resources in the Wolfcamp shale in the Midland Basin. Since the 1980s, the Wolfcamp shale in the Midland Basin has been part of the “Wolfberry” play. This play has traditionally been developed using vertical wells that are completed and stimulated in multiple productive stratigraphic intervals that include the Wolfcamp shale and overlying Spraberry Formation. Since the shift to horizontal wells targeting the organic-rich shale of the Wolfcamp, more than 3,000 horizontal wells have been drilled and completed in the Midland Basin Wolfcamp section. The U.S. Geological Survey assessed technically recoverable mean resources of 20 billion barrels of oil and 16 trillion cubic feet of associated gas in the Wolfcamp shale in the Midland Basin.

Mineral resources of the East Fork High Rock Canyon Wilderness Study Area, Washoe and Humboldt counties, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ach, Jay A.; Plouff, Donald; Turner, R.L.; Schmauch, S.W.

1987-01-01

The part of the East Fork High Rock Canyon Wilderness Study Area (CA-020-914/NV-020-006A) included in this study encompasses 33,460 acres in the northwestern part of Nevada. Throughout this report, "wilderness study area" and "study area" refertothe 33,460 acres for which mineral surveys were requested. The U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Bureau of Mines conducted geological, geophysical, and geochemical surveys to assess the mineral resources (known) and the mineral resource potential (undiscovered) of the study area. Fieldwork for this report was carried out in 1985 and 1986. No mines, significant prospects, or mining claims are located inside the study area, and no identified resources were found. The wilderness study area has moderate mineral resource potential for gold, silver, and mercury and for zeolite minerals. A low potential also exists for geothermal energy resources, and potential for oil and gas is unknown.

Characterization of Two New Records of Zygomycete Species Belonging to Undiscovered Taxa in Korea.

PubMed

Nguyen, Thi Thuong Thuong; Lee, Seo Hee; Bae, Sarah; Jeon, Sun Jeong; Mun, Hye Yeon; Lee, Hyang Burm

2016-03-01

During a biodiversity survey of undiscovered taxa in Korea, two zygomycetous fungal strains were isolated. The first strain, EML-FSDY6-1 was isolated from a soil sample collected at Dokdo Island in the East Sea of Korea in 2013, and the second strain, EML-DG-NH3-1 was isolated from a rat dung sample collected at Chonnam National University garden, Gwangju, Korea in 2014. Based on the morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analysis of the internal transcribed spacer, 18S and 28S rDNA, actin and translation elongation factor-1α genes. EML-FSDY6-1 and EML-DG-NH3-1 isolates were confirmed as zygomycete species, Absidia pseudocylindrospora and Absidia glauca, respectively. Neither species has previously been described in Korea.

Characterization of Two New Records of Zygomycete Species Belonging to Undiscovered Taxa in Korea

PubMed Central

Nguyen, Thi Thuong Thuong; Lee, Seo Hee; Bae, Sarah; Jeon, Sun Jeong; Mun, Hye Yeon

2016-01-01

During a biodiversity survey of undiscovered taxa in Korea, two zygomycetous fungal strains were isolated. The first strain, EML-FSDY6-1 was isolated from a soil sample collected at Dokdo Island in the East Sea of Korea in 2013, and the second strain, EML-DG-NH3-1 was isolated from a rat dung sample collected at Chonnam National University garden, Gwangju, Korea in 2014. Based on the morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analysis of the internal transcribed spacer, 18S and 28S rDNA, actin and translation elongation factor-1α genes. EML-FSDY6-1 and EML-DG-NH3-1 isolates were confirmed as zygomycete species, Absidia pseudocylindrospora and Absidia glauca, respectively. Neither species has previously been described in Korea. PMID:27103852

40 CFR 98.405 - Procedures for estimating missing data.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) MANDATORY GREENHOUSE GAS REPORTING Suppliers of Natural Gas and Natural Gas Liquids... of natural gas liquids or natural gas supplied during any period is unavailable (e.g., if a flow...

40 CFR 98.405 - Procedures for estimating missing data.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) MANDATORY GREENHOUSE GAS REPORTING Suppliers of Natural Gas and Natural Gas Liquids... of natural gas liquids or natural gas supplied during any period is unavailable (e.g., if a flow...

40 CFR 98.405 - Procedures for estimating missing data.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) MANDATORY GREENHOUSE GAS REPORTING Suppliers of Natural Gas and Natural Gas Liquids... of natural gas liquids or natural gas supplied during any period is unavailable (e.g., if a flow...

40 CFR 98.405 - Procedures for estimating missing data.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) MANDATORY GREENHOUSE GAS REPORTING Suppliers of Natural Gas and Natural Gas Liquids... of natural gas liquids or natural gas supplied during any period is unavailable (e.g., if a flow...

40 CFR 98.405 - Procedures for estimating missing data.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) MANDATORY GREENHOUSE GAS REPORTING Suppliers of Natural Gas and Natural Gas Liquids... of natural gas liquids or natural gas supplied during any period is unavailable (e.g., if a flow...

Alternative Fuels Data Center: Natural Gas Related Links

Science.gov Websites

, AGA provides services to member natural gas pipelines, marketers, gatherers, international gas Natural Gas Printable Version Share this resource Send a link to Alternative Fuels Data Center : Natural Gas Related Links to someone by E-mail Share Alternative Fuels Data Center: Natural Gas Related

Role of natural gas in meeting an electric sector emissions reduction strategy and effects on greenhouse gas emissions

EPA Science Inventory

With advances in natural gas extraction technologies, there is an increase in availability of domestic natural gas, and natural gas is gaining a larger share of use as a fuel in electricity production. At the power plant, natural gas is a cleaner burning fuel than coal, but unce...

40 CFR 68.3 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... for reasons of national security.” Condensate means hydrocarbon liquid separated from natural gas that... processing plant (gas plant) means any processing site engaged in the extraction of natural gas liquids from field gas, fractionation of mixed natural gas liquids to natural gas products, or both, classified as...

40 CFR 68.3 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... for reasons of national security.” Condensate means hydrocarbon liquid separated from natural gas that... processing plant (gas plant) means any processing site engaged in the extraction of natural gas liquids from field gas, fractionation of mixed natural gas liquids to natural gas products, or both, classified as...

40 CFR 68.3 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... for reasons of national security.” Condensate means hydrocarbon liquid separated from natural gas that... processing plant (gas plant) means any processing site engaged in the extraction of natural gas liquids from field gas, fractionation of mixed natural gas liquids to natural gas products, or both, classified as...

40 CFR 68.3 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... for reasons of national security.” Condensate means hydrocarbon liquid separated from natural gas that... processing plant (gas plant) means any processing site engaged in the extraction of natural gas liquids from field gas, fractionation of mixed natural gas liquids to natural gas products, or both, classified as...

40 CFR 68.3 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... for reasons of national security.” Condensate means hydrocarbon liquid separated from natural gas that... processing plant (gas plant) means any processing site engaged in the extraction of natural gas liquids from field gas, fractionation of mixed natural gas liquids to natural gas products, or both, classified as...

40 CFR 98.401 - Reporting threshold.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

...) MANDATORY GREENHOUSE GAS REPORTING Suppliers of Natural Gas and Natural Gas Liquids § 98.401 Reporting threshold. Any supplier of natural gas and natural gas liquids that meets the requirements of § 98.2(a)(4...

40 CFR 98.401 - Reporting threshold.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

...) MANDATORY GREENHOUSE GAS REPORTING Suppliers of Natural Gas and Natural Gas Liquids § 98.401 Reporting threshold. Any supplier of natural gas and natural gas liquids that meets the requirements of § 98.2(a)(4...

40 CFR 98.401 - Reporting threshold.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

...) MANDATORY GREENHOUSE GAS REPORTING Suppliers of Natural Gas and Natural Gas Liquids § 98.401 Reporting threshold. Any supplier of natural gas and natural gas liquids that meets the requirements of § 98.2(a)(4...

40 CFR 98.401 - Reporting threshold.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

...) MANDATORY GREENHOUSE GAS REPORTING Suppliers of Natural Gas and Natural Gas Liquids § 98.401 Reporting threshold. Any supplier of natural gas and natural gas liquids that meets the requirements of § 98.2(a)(4...

40 CFR 98.401 - Reporting threshold.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

...) MANDATORY GREENHOUSE GAS REPORTING Suppliers of Natural Gas and Natural Gas Liquids § 98.401 Reporting threshold. Any supplier of natural gas and natural gas liquids that meets the requirements of § 98.2(a)(4...

40 CFR 80.33 - Controls applicable to natural gas retailers and wholesale purchaser-consumers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 16 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Controls applicable to natural gas... Prohibitions § 80.33 Controls applicable to natural gas retailers and wholesale purchaser-consumers. (a) After... feet of natural gas per month shall equip each pump from which natural gas is introduced into natural...

40 CFR 80.33 - Controls applicable to natural gas retailers and wholesale purchaser-consumers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 16 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Controls applicable to natural gas... Prohibitions § 80.33 Controls applicable to natural gas retailers and wholesale purchaser-consumers. (a) After... feet of natural gas per month shall equip each pump from which natural gas is introduced into natural...

77 FR 72840 - CE FLNG, LLC; Application for Long-Term Authorization To Export Liquefied Natural Gas Produced...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-06

... States natural gas pipeline system. CE FLNG states that the source of natural gas supply will come from... purchase gas for export from any point in the U.S. interstate pipeline system. CE FLNG states that this... Authorization To Export Liquefied Natural Gas Produced From Domestic Natural Gas Resources to Non-Free Trade...

76 FR 4417 - Liberty Natural Gas LLC, Liberty Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Deepwater Port License Application

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-01-25

... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Maritime Administration [USCG-2010-0993] Liberty Natural Gas LLC, Liberty Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Deepwater Port License Application AGENCY: Maritime Administration... application describes an offshore natural gas deepwater port facility that would be located approximately 16.2...

75 FR 39934 - Oil and Natural Gas Sector-Notice of Public Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-13

... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0505; FRL-9174-8] Oil and Natural Gas Sector... EPA's review of air regulations affecting the oil and natural gas industry. The review in progress covers oil and natural gas exploration and production, as well as natural gas processing, transmission...

75 FR 70350 - Liberty Natural Gas LLC, Liberty Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Deepwater Port License Application

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-17

... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Maritime Administration [USCG-2010-0993] Liberty Natural Gas LLC, Liberty Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Deepwater Port License Application AGENCY: Maritime Administration... announce they have received an application for the licensing of a natural gas deepwater port and the...

7 CFR 2900.4 - Natural gas requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Natural gas requirements. 2900.4 Section 2900.4..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE ESSENTIAL AGRICULTURAL USES AND VOLUMETRIC REQUIREMENTS-NATURAL GAS POLICY ACT § 2900.4 Natural gas requirements. For purposes of Section 401(c), NGPA, the natural gas requirements for...

77 FR 32624 - Eastern Shore Natural Gas Company; Notice of Application

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-01

... Natural Gas Company; Notice of Application Take notice that on May 14, 2012, Eastern Shore Natural Gas... Natural Gas Act (NGA) and Part 157 of the Commission's regulations, requesting authorization to construct..., Eastern Shore Natural Gas Company, 1110 Forrest Avenue, Suite 201, Dover, Delaware, 19904, or by calling...

Alternative Fuels Data Center: Natural Gas Benefits

Science.gov Websites

Benefits to someone by E-mail Share Alternative Fuels Data Center: Natural Gas Benefits on Facebook Tweet about Alternative Fuels Data Center: Natural Gas Benefits on Twitter Bookmark Alternative Fuels Data Center: Natural Gas Benefits on Google Bookmark Alternative Fuels Data Center: Natural Gas

Alternative Fuels Data Center: Natural Gas Production

Science.gov Websites

Production to someone by E-mail Share Alternative Fuels Data Center: Natural Gas Production on Facebook Tweet about Alternative Fuels Data Center: Natural Gas Production on Twitter Bookmark Alternative Fuels Data Center: Natural Gas Production on Google Bookmark Alternative Fuels Data Center: Natural Gas

Alternative Fuels Data Center: Conventional Natural Gas Production

Science.gov Websites

Conventional Natural Gas Production to someone by E-mail Share Alternative Fuels Data Center : Conventional Natural Gas Production on Facebook Tweet about Alternative Fuels Data Center: Conventional Natural Gas Production on Twitter Bookmark Alternative Fuels Data Center: Conventional Natural Gas Production

7 CFR 2900.4 - Natural gas requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 15 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Natural gas requirements. 2900.4 Section 2900.4..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE ESSENTIAL AGRICULTURAL USES AND VOLUMETRIC REQUIREMENTS-NATURAL GAS POLICY ACT § 2900.4 Natural gas requirements. For purposes of Section 401(c), NGPA, the natural gas requirements for...

77 FR 33453 - Agency Information Collection Extension

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-06

... Report of the Origin of Natural Gas Liquids. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed extended... accurate annual estimates of U.S. proved crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids reserves, and EIA..., natural gas, and natural gas liquids to facilitate national energy policy decisions. These estimates are...

40 CFR 98.403 - Calculating GHG emissions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... (CONTINUED) MANDATORY GREENHOUSE GAS REPORTING Suppliers of Natural Gas and Natural Gas Liquids § 98.403...). Fuel = Total annual volume of product “h” supplied (volume per year, in Mscf for natural gas and bbl... procedures below. (1) For natural gas that is received for redelivery to downstream gas transmission...

GHGRP Natural Gas and Natural Gas Liquids Suppliers Sector Industrial Profile

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA's Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program periodically produces detailed profiles of the various industries that report under the program. The profiles available for download below contain detailed analyses for the Natural Gas and Natural Gas Suppliers indust

Prospects of and Problems in Using Natural Gas for Motor Transport in RUSSIA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chikishev, E.; Ivanov, A.; Anisimov, I.; Chainikov, D.

2016-08-01

This article is devoted to increasing the use of natural gas in Russia as a measure to decrease the negative influence of motor transport on the environment. A brief analysis of the global fleet of natural gas vehicles is provided above. The documents accepted in Russia to promote public awareness of compressed natural gas in transport are submitted. The basic reasons keeping the growth of natural gas vehicle fleets in Russia consist of weak branching of refuelling stations; difficulty in determining the actual amount of compressed natural gas required; and control methods of the consumption of gas fuel. The offers promoting the growth of the fleet of natural gas vehicles are given.

77 FR 3255 - Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Acquisition of a Natural...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-23

... Acquisition of a Natural Gas Pipeline and Natural Gas Utility Service at the Hanford Site, Richland, WA, and... Environmental Impact Statement for the Acquisition of a Natural Gas Pipeline and Natural Gas Utility Service at the Hanford Site, Richland, Washington (Natural Gas Pipeline or NGP EIS), and initiate a 30-day public...

Hydrocarbon gas liquids production and related industrial development

EIA Publications

2016-01-01

Hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGL) are produced at refineries from crude oil and at natural gas processing plants from unprocessed natural gas. From 2010 to 2015, total HGL production increased by 42%. Natural gas processing plants accounted for all the increase, with recovered natural gas plant liquids (NGPL)—light hydrocarbon gases such as propane—rising by 58%, from 2.07 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2010 to 3.27 million b/d in 2015, while refinery output of HGL declined by 7%. The rapid increase in NGPL output was the result of rapid growth in natural gas production, as production shifted to tight gas and shale gas resources, and as producers targeted formations likely to yield natural gas with high liquids content. Annual Energy Outlook 2016 results suggest varying rates of future NGPL production growth, depending on relative crude oil and natural gas prices.

Importance of Low Permeability Natural Gas Reservoirs (released in AEO2010)

EIA Publications

2010-01-01

Production from low-permeability reservoirs, including shale gas and tight gas, has become a major source of domestic natural gas supply. In 2008, low-permeability reservoirs accounted for about 40% of natural gas production and about 35% of natural gas consumption in the United States. Permeability is a measure of the rate at which liquids and gases can move through rock. Low-permeability natural gas reservoirs encompass the shale, sandstone, and carbonate formations whose natural permeability is roughly 0.1 millidarcies or below. (Permeability is measured in darcies.)

Greenhouse gas impacts of natural gas: Influence of deployment choice, methane leak rate, and methane GWP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohan, D. S.

2015-12-01

Growing supplies of natural gas have heightened interest in the net impacts of natural gas on climate. Although its production and consumption result in greenhouse gas emissions, natural gas most often substitutes for other fossil fuels whose emission rates may be higher. Because natural gas can be used throughout the sectors of the energy economy, its net impacts on greenhouse gas emissions will depend not only on the leak rates of production and distribution, but also on the use for which natural gas is substituted. Here, we present our estimates of the net greenhouse gas emissions impacts of substituting natural gas for other fossil fuels for five purposes: light-duty vehicles, transit buses, residential heating, electricity generation, and export for electricity generation overseas. Emissions are evaluated on a fuel cycle basis, from production and transport of each fuel through end use combustion, based on recent conditions in the United States. We show that displacement of existing coal-fired electricity and heating oil furnaces yield the largest reductions in emissions. The impact of compressed natural gas replacing petroleum-based vehicles is highly uncertain, with the sign of impact depending on multiple assumptions. Export of liquefied natural gas for electricity yields a moderate amount of emissions reductions. We further show how uncertainties in upstream emission rates for natural gas and in the global warming potential of methane influence the net greenhouse gas impacts. Our presentation will make the case that how natural gas is deployed is crucial to determining how it will impact climate.

Abundance and Utility: For Military Operations, Liquid Fuels Remain a Solid Choice over Natural Gas

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-08-01

and combat support vehicles, ships, and aircraft, the adoption of natural gas —whether as compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquefied natural gas (LNG...dangers to U.S. forces and vehicles. Natural gas has different flammability properties than traditional liquid fuels, and as CNG tanks are under high...tacticaldefensemedia.com16 | DoD Power & Energy Fall 2014 For Military Operations, Liquid Fuels Remain a Solid Choice over Natural Gas By Bret

76 FR 35202 - Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc.; Notice of Application

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-16

... Natural Gas Company, Inc.; Notice of Application On June 3, 2011, Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc... section 7(f) of the Natural Gas Act (NGA), as amended, and section 157 of the Commission's Regulations.... Questions regarding this application should be directed to Michelle R. Mendoza, Piedmont Natural Gas Company...

76 FR 12721 - Northern Natural Gas Company; Notice of Application

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-08

... Natural Gas Company; Notice of Application Take notice that on February 18, 2011, Northern Natural Gas... application pursuant to section 7(b) of the Natural Gas Act (NGA) and Part 157 of the Commission's regulations..., Northern Natural Gas Company, P.O. Box 3330, Omaha, Nebraska 68103-0330, or by calling (402) 398-7103...

18 CFR 284.3 - Jurisdiction under the Natural Gas Act.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... Natural Gas Act. 284.3 Section 284.3 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION, DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY OTHER REGULATIONS UNDER THE NATURAL GAS POLICY ACT OF 1978 AND RELATED AUTHORITIES CERTAIN SALES AND TRANSPORTATION OF NATURAL GAS UNDER THE NATURAL GAS POLICY ACT OF 1978 AND...

Alternative Fuels Data Center: Natural Gas Fueling Stations

Science.gov Websites

Natural Gas Fueling Stations to someone by E-mail Share Alternative Fuels Data Center: Natural Gas Fueling Stations on Facebook Tweet about Alternative Fuels Data Center: Natural Gas Fueling Stations on Twitter Bookmark Alternative Fuels Data Center: Natural Gas Fueling Stations on Google Bookmark

JEDI Natural Gas Model | Jobs and Economic Development Impact Models | NREL

Science.gov Websites

Natural Gas Model JEDI Natural Gas Model The Jobs and Economic Development Impacts (JEDI) Natural Gas model allows users to estimate economic development impacts from natural gas power generation -specific data should be used to obtain the best estimate of economic development impacts. This model has

18 CFR 284.3 - Jurisdiction under the Natural Gas Act.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... Natural Gas Act. 284.3 Section 284.3 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION, DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY OTHER REGULATIONS UNDER THE NATURAL GAS POLICY ACT OF 1978 AND RELATED AUTHORITIES CERTAIN SALES AND TRANSPORTATION OF NATURAL GAS UNDER THE NATURAL GAS POLICY ACT OF 1978 AND...

40 CFR 60.631 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... this subpart. Field gas means feedstock gas entering the natural gas processing plant. In light liquid... field gas before the extraction step in the process. Natural gas liquids means the hydrocarbons, such as... (gas plant) means any processing site engaged in the extraction of natural gas liquids from field gas...

40 CFR 60.631 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... this subpart. Field gas means feedstock gas entering the natural gas processing plant. In light liquid... field gas before the extraction step in the process. Natural gas liquids means the hydrocarbons, such as... (gas plant) means any processing site engaged in the extraction of natural gas liquids from field gas...

18 CFR 2.78 - Utilization and conservation of natural resources-natural gas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... conservation of natural resources-natural gas. 2.78 Section 2.78 Conservation of Power and Water Resources... INTERPRETATIONS Statements of General Policy and Interpretations Under the Natural Gas Act § 2.78 Utilization and conservation of natural resources—natural gas. (a)(1) The national interests in the development and utilization...

The experiment of the elemental mercury was removed from natural gas by 4A molecular sieve

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Cong; Chen, Yanhao

2018-04-01

Most of the world's natural gas fields contain elemental mercury and mercury compounds, and the amount of mercury in natural gas is generally 1μg/m3 200μg/m3. This paper analyzes the mercury removal principle of chemical adsorption process, the characteristics and application of mercury removal gent and the factors that affect the efficiency of mercury removal. The mercury in the natural gas is adsorbed by the mercury-silver reaction of the 4 molecular sieve after the manned treatment. The limits for mercury content for natural gas for different uses and different treatment processes are also different. From the environmental protection, safety and other factors, it is recommended that the mercury content of natural gas in the pipeline is less than 28μg / m3, and the mercury content of the raw material gas in the equipment such as natural gas liquefaction and natural gas condensate recovery is less than 0.01μg/m3. This paper mainly analyzes the existence of mercury in natural gas, and the experimental research process of using 4A molecular sieve to absorb mercury in natural gas.

ISO New England Dual Fuel Capabilities to Limit Natural Gas and Electricity Interdependencies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Adder, Justin M.

Since 2000, natural gas has seen tremendous growth as a fuel source for electricity generation in the United States (U.S.) with annual installations exceeding 20 GW in all but four years. It also accounts for an increasingly significant share of the nation’s electricity generation, growing from around 15 percent in the early part of the 2000s to between 26 and 29 percent in the last three years. (1) Increasing reliance on natural gas has led to concerns that an extreme weather event – which may cause curtailments in gas delivery – or a natural gas infrastructure failure could lead tomore » local or regional electric reliability issues. (2) These concerns stem from differences in delivery methods of natural gas to electric generating units (EGUs) contrasted with the fuel delivery and storage methods for traditional baseload power systems (i.e. coal and nuclear units).1 (3) Although it seems that there is an abundance of natural gas in a post-shale gas world, infrastructure limitations and differences in electric and natural gas markets persist that differentiate natural gas-fired generators from traditional baseload power generators. Such concerns can be partially mitigated by modifying natural gas EGUs for operation on secondary fuels and installing on-site fuel storage for the secondary fuel, thus ensuring continuity of operation in the case of a gas delivery problem.2 This report examines technical, regulatory, and market issues associated with operating power plants primarily fueled with natural gas, on a secondary fuel, such as fuel oil or liquefied natural gas (LNG). In addition, a regional case study was completed to identify the current and near-term potential for dual fuel operation in New England, along with a market impact analysis of potential cost savings during an extreme weather event. The New England Independent System Operator (ISO-NE) was selected as the study area based on a preponderance of natural gas-fired generators contributing to the regional generating capacity mix (nearly 50 percent natural gas), limited natural gas supply infrastructure, and the potential for natural gas delivery disruptions due to cold weather events, exacerbated by the lack of bulk natural gas storage in the region.« less