California Oil, Gas, and Groundwater (COGG) Program Active
The USGS California Water Science Center is working in partnership with state and federal agencies to answer the following questions about oil and gas development and groundwater resources:
- Where are protected groundwater resources?
- How close are oil and gas operations and protected groundwater, and what geologic materials separate them?
- Where is there evidence of fluids from oil and gas sources in protected groundwater? Where does evidence indicate no connections?
- When fluids from oil and gas sources are present in protected groundwater, what pathways or processes are responsible for observed transport?
- Have oil and gas operations as a whole contributed to water-quality changes in groundwater basins?
The program's framework was developed and adopted by the California State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) in July 2015.
The USGS is the technical lead in implementing the State Water Boards' Oil and Gas Regional Groundwater Monitoring Programthrough the COGG program. The program receives funding from the California State Water Resources Control Board, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and USGS cooperative matching funds.
>> Explore the Program
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
Water chemistry data for samples collected at groundwater and surface-water sites near the Lost Hills and Belridge oil fields, November 2016-September 2017, Kern County, California
Data analyzed for the preliminary prioritization of California oil and gas fields for regional groundwater monitoring
Water and petroleum well data used for preliminary regional groundwater salinity mapping near selected oil fields in central and southern California
Water chemistry data for samples collected at groundwater sites near the Fruitvale oil field, September 2016-February 2017, Kern County, California
Historical produced water chemistry data compiled for the Fruitvale Oilfield, Kern County, California
Produced water chemistry for samples from four petroleum wells, southern San Joaquin Valley, California, 2014
Below are publications associated with this project.
Origin of methane and sources of high concentrations in Los Angeles groundwater
Mapping protected groundwater adjacent to oil and gas fields, San Joaquin Valley, California
Preliminary results from exploratory sampling of wells for the California oil, gas, and groundwater program, 2014–15
Data from exploratory sampling of groundwater in selected oil and gas areas of coastal Los Angeles County and Kern and Kings Counties in southern San Joaquin Valley, 2014–15: California oil, gas, and groundwater project
Discharges of produced waters from oil and gas extraction via wastewater treatment plants are sources of disinfection by-products to receiving streams
Remaining recoverable petroleum in giant oil fields of the Los Angeles Basin, southern California
Organic contaminants, trace and major elements, and nutrients in water and sediment sampled in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Ubiquitous tar balls with a California-source signature on the shorelines of Prince William Sound, Alaska
Ubiquitous tar balls with a California-source signature on the shorelines of Prince William Sound, Alaska
Use of geochemical biomarkers in bottom sediment to track oil from a spill, San Francisco Bay, California
The Sunset-Midway oil field, California, Part II, Geochemical relations of the oil, gas, and water
Below are news stories associated with this project.
The USGS is the technical lead in implementing the State Water Boards' Oil and Gas Regional Groundwater Monitoring Program through the COGG program. The program receives funding from the California State Water Resources Control Board, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and USGS cooperative matching funds.
- Overview
The USGS California Water Science Center is working in partnership with state and federal agencies to answer the following questions about oil and gas development and groundwater resources:
- Where are protected groundwater resources?
- How close are oil and gas operations and protected groundwater, and what geologic materials separate them?
- Where is there evidence of fluids from oil and gas sources in protected groundwater? Where does evidence indicate no connections?
- When fluids from oil and gas sources are present in protected groundwater, what pathways or processes are responsible for observed transport?
- Have oil and gas operations as a whole contributed to water-quality changes in groundwater basins?
The program's framework was developed and adopted by the California State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) in July 2015.
The USGS is the technical lead in implementing the State Water Boards' Oil and Gas Regional Groundwater Monitoring Programthrough the COGG program. The program receives funding from the California State Water Resources Control Board, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and USGS cooperative matching funds.
>> Explore the Program
- Data
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
Filter Total Items: 30Water chemistry data for samples collected at groundwater and surface-water sites near the Lost Hills and Belridge oil fields, November 2016-September 2017, Kern County, California
An investigation was done by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the California State Water Resources Control Board's Program of Regional Groundwater Monitoring of Water Quality in Areas of Oil and Gas Production, to assess the effects of oil and gas production activities on nearby groundwater resources. During November 2016 September 2017, 30 samples were collected at groundwater wellData analyzed for the preliminary prioritization of California oil and gas fields for regional groundwater monitoring
There are 487 onshore oil and gas fields in California encompassing 3,392 square miles of aggregated area. The California State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) initiated a Regional Monitoring Program (RMP) in July 2015, intended to determine where and to what degree groundwater quality may be at potential risk to contamination related to oil and gas development activities includiWater and petroleum well data used for preliminary regional groundwater salinity mapping near selected oil fields in central and southern California
This digital data set contains total dissolved solids (either reported or calculated from specific conductance in lieu of reported total dissolved solids data), well construction, and well identifying information for 1,131 petroleum wells and 3,546 water wells used to map salinity in and around 31 southern and central California oil fields. The data set also includes ancillary data in the form ofWater chemistry data for samples collected at groundwater sites near the Fruitvale oil field, September 2016-February 2017, Kern County, California
As part of the California State Water Resources Control Board's Regional Groundwater Monitoring Program of Water Quality in Areas of Oil and Gas Production, during September 2016-February 2017, the U.S. Geological Survey collected and analyzed groundwater and associated quality-control (QC) samples from 14 water-production wells located within a three mile buffer zone of and in the Fruitvale Oil fHistorical produced water chemistry data compiled for the Fruitvale Oilfield, Kern County, California
This dataset contains geochemical and other information for 204 samples of produced water from the Fruitvale petroleum field. Produced water is water coexisting with oil and gas. The historical produced water chemistry data was compiled from preexisting datasets and scanned images into a numerical dataset to characterize produced water chemical characteristics. Each sample is identified by its APIProduced water chemistry for samples from four petroleum wells, southern San Joaquin Valley, California, 2014
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the California State Water Resources Control Board collected produced water samples from four petroleum wells in the southern San Joaquin Valley on November 5, 2014. This digital dataset contains the site information, analyzing laboratories and methods, and water chemistry and quality control results for these samples. Water chemistry results i - Publications
Below are publications associated with this project.
Filter Total Items: 35Origin of methane and sources of high concentrations in Los Angeles groundwater
In 2014, samples from 37 monitoring wells at 17 locations, within or near oil fields, and one site >5 km from oil fields, in the Los Angeles Basin, California, were analyzed for dissolved hydrocarbon gas isotopes and abundances. The wells sample a variety of depths of an aquifer system composed of unconsolidated and semiconsolidated sediments under various conditions of confinement. ConcentrationsAuthorsJustin T. Kulongoski, Peter B. McMahon, Michael Land, Michael Wright, Theodore Johnson, Matthew K. LandonMapping protected groundwater adjacent to oil and gas fields, San Joaquin Valley, California
Airborne electromagnetic (AEM) surveys are a major component of a regional study of groundwater quality adjacent to oil and gas fields in the San Joaquin Valley of California, USA. AEM resistivity models are being used to delineate groundwater salinity in an effort to locate groundwater adjacent to oil and gas fields that could have future beneficial use. AEM models are also being used to improveAuthorsLyndsay B. Ball, Janice M. Gillespie, Burke Minsley, Tracy Davis, Matthew K. LandonPreliminary results from exploratory sampling of wells for the California oil, gas, and groundwater program, 2014–15
Introduction In 2014 and 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) sampled water wells in the Los Angeles Basin and southern San Joaquin Valley, California, and oil wells in the San Joaquin Valley for analysis of multiple chemical, isotopic, and groundwater-age tracers. The purpose of this reconnaissance sampling was to evaluate the utility of tracers for assessing the effects of oil and gas productAuthorsPeter B. McMahon, Justin T. Kulongoski, Michael T. Wright, Michael T. Land, Matthew K. Landon, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, Avner Vengosh, George R. AikenData from exploratory sampling of groundwater in selected oil and gas areas of coastal Los Angeles County and Kern and Kings Counties in southern San Joaquin Valley, 2014–15: California oil, gas, and groundwater project
Exploratory sampling of groundwater in coastal Los Angeles County and Kern and Kings Counties of the southern San Joaquin Valley was done by the U.S. Geological Survey from September 2014 through January 2015 as part of the California State Water Resources Control Board’s Water Quality in Areas of Oil and Gas Production Regional Groundwater Monitoring Program. The Regional Groundwater Monitoring PAuthorsDavid B. Dillon, Tracy A. Davis, Matthew K. Landon, Michael T. Land, Michael T. Wright, Justin T. KulongoskiDischarges of produced waters from oil and gas extraction via wastewater treatment plants are sources of disinfection by-products to receiving streams
Fluids co-produced with oil and gas production (produced waters) are often brines that contain elevated concentrations of bromide. Bromide is an important precursor of several toxic disinfection by-products (DBPs) and the treatment of produced water may lead to more brominated DBPs. To determine if wastewater treatment plants that accept produced waters discharge greater amounts of brominated DBPsAuthorsMichelle Hladik, Michael J. Focazio, Mark EngleRemaining recoverable petroleum in giant oil fields of the Los Angeles Basin, southern California
Using a probabilistic geology-based methodology, a team of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists recently assessed the remaining recoverable oil in 10 oil fields of the Los Angeles Basin in southern California. The results of the assessment suggest that between 1.4 and 5.6 billion barrels of additional oil could be recovered from those fields with existing technology.AuthorsDonald L. Gautier, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Troy A. Cook, Ronald R. Charpentier, Timothy R. KlettOrganic contaminants, trace and major elements, and nutrients in water and sediment sampled in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Beach water and sediment samples were collected along the Gulf of Mexico coast to assess differences in contaminant concentrations before and after landfall of Macondo-1 well oil released into the Gulf of Mexico from the sinking of the British Petroleum Corporation's Deepwater Horizon drilling platform. Samples were collected at 70 coastal sites on the Gulf of Mexico between May 7 and July 7, 2010AuthorsLisa H. Nowell, Amy S. Ludtke, David K. Mueller, Jonathon C. ScottUbiquitous tar balls with a California-source signature on the shorelines of Prince William Sound, Alaska
Although the shorelines of Prince William Sound still bear traces of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, most of the flattened tar balls that can be found today on these shorelines are not residues of Exxon Valdez oil. Instead, the carbon-isotopic and hydrocarbonbiomarker signatures of 61 tar ball samples, collected from shorelines throughout the northern and western parts of the sound, are all remarAuthorsKeith A. Kvenvolden, Frances D. Hostettler, P. R. Carlson, John B. Rapp, C. N. Threlkeld, Augusta WardenUbiquitous tar balls with a California-source signature on the shorelines of Prince William Sound, Alaska
Although the shorelines of Prince William Sound still bear traces of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, most of the flattened tar balls that can be found today on these shorelines are not residues of Exxon Valdez oil. Instead, the carbon-isotopic and hydrocarbon-biomarker signatures of 61 tar ball samples, collected from shorelines throughout the northern and western parts of the sound, are all remaAuthorsK. A. Kvenvolden, F. D. Hostettler, P. R. Carlson, J. B. Rapp, C. N. Threlkeld, A. WardenUse of geochemical biomarkers in bottom sediment to track oil from a spill, San Francisco Bay, California
In April 1988, approximately 1500 m3 of a San Joaquin Valley crude oil were accidentally released from a Shell Oil Co. refinery near Martinez, Californa. The oil flowed into Carquinez Strait and Suisun Bay in northern San Francisco Bay Sediment and oil samples were collected within a week and analysed for geochemical marker compounds in order to track the molecular signature of the oil spill in thAuthorsF. D. Hostettler, J. B. Rapp, K. A. KvenvoldenThe Sunset-Midway oil field, California, Part II, Geochemical relations of the oil, gas, and water
No abstract available.AuthorsG.S. Rogers - News
Below are news stories associated with this project.
- Partners
The USGS is the technical lead in implementing the State Water Boards' Oil and Gas Regional Groundwater Monitoring Program through the COGG program. The program receives funding from the California State Water Resources Control Board, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and USGS cooperative matching funds.