Publications
Filter Total Items: 852
Cathodoluminescence differentiates sedimentary organic matter types
High-resolution scanning electron microscopy (SEM) visualization of sedimentary organic matter is widely utilized in the geosciences for evaluating microscale rock properties relevant to depositional environment, diagenesis, and the processes of fluid generation, transport, and storage. However, despite thousands of studies which have incorporated SEM methods, the inability of SEM to differentiate
Authors
Paul C. Hackley, Ryan J. McAleer, Aaron M. Jubb, Brett J. Valentine, Justin E. Birdwell
Characterization of the structural–stratigraphic and reservoir controls on the occurrence of gas hydrates in the Eileen Gas Hydrate Trend, Alaska North Slope
One of the most studied permafrost-associated gas hydrate accumulations in Arctic Alaska is the Eileen Gas Hydrate Trend. This study provides a detailed re-examination of the Eileen Gas Hydrate Trend with a focus on the gas hydrate accumulation in the western part of the Prudhoe Bay Unit. This integrated analysis of downhole well log data and published geophysical data has provided new insight on
Authors
Margarita Zyrianova, Timothy Collett, Ray Boswell
How quickly do oil and gas wells “Water Out”? Quantifying and contrasting water production trends
Water production from petroleum (oil and natural gas) wells is a topic of increasing environmental and economic importance, yet quantification efforts have been limited to date, and patterns between and within petroleum plays are largely unscrutinized. Additionally, classification of reservoirs as “unconventional” (also known as “continuous”) carries scientific and regulatory importance, but in so
Authors
Seth S. Haines, Brian A. Varela, Marilyn Tennyson, Nicholas J. Gianoutsos
Examining water and proppant demand, and produced water production, associated with petroleum resource development in the Eagle Ford Group, Texas
More than 20,000 horizontal wells have been drilled and hydraulically fractured in the Eagle Ford Group since the discovery well in 2008, but a considerable amount of undiscovered petroleum remains. Recently, drilled wells have been hydraulically fractured with an average of nearly 13 million gallons of water and 16 million lb of sand, yielding a million or more gallons of produced water. To infor
Authors
Nicholas J. Gianoutsos, Seth S. Haines, Brian A. Varela, Katherine J. Whidden
Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources in presalt reservoirs of the West-Central Coastal Province of Africa, 2022
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean conventional resources of 12.1 billion barrels of oil and 50 trillion cubic feet of gas in presalt reservoirs within the West-Central Coastal Province of Africa.
Authors
Christopher J. Schenk, Tracey J. Mercier, Cheryl A. Woodall, Phuong A. Le, Andrea D. Cicero, Ronald M. Drake, Geoffrey S. Ellis, Thomas M. Finn, Michael H. Gardner, Sarah E. Gelman, Jane S. Hearon, Benjamin G. Johnson, Jenny H. Lagesse, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Kristen R. Marra, Kira K. Timm, Scott S. Young
Assessment of undiscovered continuous oil and gas resources in Upper Cretaceous marine shales of the Raton Basin-Sierra Grande Uplift Province, Colorado and New Mexico, 2022
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated means of 1.04 billion barrels of oil, 3.9 trillion cubic feet of gas, and 11 million barrels of natural gas liquids in Upper Cretaceous marine shales in the Raton Basin-Sierra Grande Uplift Province in Colorado and New Mexico.
Authors
Thomas M. Finn, Christopher J. Schenk, Tracey J. Mercier, Cheryl A. Woodall, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Phuong A. Le, Andrea D. Cicero, Geoffrey S. Ellis, Michael H. Gardner, Sarah E. Gelman, Jane S. Hearon, Benjamin G. Johnson, Scott A. Kinney, Jenny H. Lagesse, Kira K. Timm, Scott S. Young
Assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable conventional oil and gas resources in the Upper Jurassic Smackover Formation, U.S. Gulf Coast, 2022
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 143 million barrels of oil and 1,084 billion cubic feet of natural gas in conventional accumulations for the Upper Jurassic Smackover Formation in the onshore U.S. Gulf Coast region.
Authors
Justin E. Birdwell, Katherine J. Whidden, Stanley T. Paxton, Scott A. Kinney, Rand D. Gardner, Janet K. Pitman, Katherine L. French, Tracey J. Mercier, Cheryl A. Woodall, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Christopher J. Schenk
Geologic sources and well integrity impact methane emissions from orphaned and abandoned oil and gas wells
The 160-year history of oil and gas drilling in the United States has left a legacy of unplugged orphaned and abandoned wells, some of which are leaking methane and other hazardous chemicals into the environment. The locations of around 120,000 documented orphaned wells are currently known with the number of undocumented orphaned wells possibly ranging towards a million. The bulk of methane emissi
Authors
Nicholas J. Gianoutsos, Karl B. Haase, Justin E. Birdwell
Comparison of δ13C analyses of individual foraminifer (Orbulina universa) shells by secondary ion mass spectrometry and gas source mass spectrometry
Rationale: The use of secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) to perform micrometer-scale in situ carbon isotope (δ13C) analyses of shells of marine microfossils called planktic foraminifers holds promise to explore calcification and ecological processes. The potential of this technique, however, cannot be realized without comparison to traditional whole-shell δ13C values measured by gas source mas
Authors
Jody Brae Wycech, Daniel Clay Kelly, Reinhard Kozdon, Akizumi Ishida, Kouki Kitajima, Howard J. Spero, John W. Valley
Evaluation of breeding distribution and chronology of North American scoters
North America's scoter species are poorly monitored relative to other waterfowl. Black Melanitta americana, surf M. perspicillata, and white-winged M. deglandi scoter abundance and trend estimates are thus uncertain in many parts of these species' ranges. The most extensive source of waterfowl abundance and distribution data in North America is the Waterfowl breeding population and habitat survey
Authors
Kristin Bianchini, Scott G. Gilliland, Alicia Berlin, Timothy D. Bowman, W. Sean Boyd, Susan E. W. De La Cruz, Daniel Esler, Joseph R. Evenson, Paul L. Flint, Christine Lepage, Scott R. McWilliams, Dustin E. Meattey, Jason E. Osenkowski, Matthew Perry, Jean-François Poulin, Eric T. Reed, Christian Roy, Jean-Pierre L. Savard, Lucas Savoy, Jason L Schamber, Caleb S. Spiegel, John Takekawa, David H. Ward, Mark L. Mallory
Machine learning application to assess occurrence and saturations of methane hydrate in marine deposits offshore India
Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) were used to assess methane hydrate occurrence and saturation in marine sediments offshore India. The ANN analysis classifies the gas hydrate occurrence into three types: methane hydrate in pore space, methane hydrate in fractures, or no methane hydrate. Further, predicted saturation characterizes the volume of gas hydrate with respect to the available void volume.
Authors
Leebyn Chong, Timothy Collett, C. Gabriel Creason, Yongkoo Seol, E.M. Myshakin
Intramolecular carbon isotope geochemistry of butane isomers from laboratory maturation and Monte-Carlo simulations of kerogen types I, II, and III
Position-specific (PS) carbon isotope compositions of light hydrocarbons such as propane and butane isomers (n-butane and i-butane) can provide a wealth of information on the history of natural gases in the subsurface reservoirs and other environments. For PS carbon isotope analysis of butane isomers, we have established a GC-pyrolysis-GC-isotope ratio mass spectrometry method with demonstrated ac
Authors
Xiaoqiang Li, Hao Xie, Justin E. Birdwell, Gregory McGovern, Juske Horita