Central Energy Resources Science Center
Central Energy Resources Science Center
Interdisciplinary Research on Energy Systems
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The United States Geological Survey (USGS), Central Energy Resources Science Center (CERSC) addresses national and global energy geoscience issues and conducts interdisciplinary research on energy systems. You can explore the projects that are based here using the 'Science' option to the left.
Location
We are located on the Denver Federal Center in Lakewood, CO. For more information, please call 303-236-1647
Science Topics
We conduct research and assessments to advance the understanding of the Nation's energy resources. To read more about our what we do, visit the Science tab or select from the links below.
News
USGS Estimates Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources in the Austin Chalk Formation of the U.S. Gulf Coast
The Austin Chalk and Tokio and Eutaw Formations of the Gulf Coast Basin contain a mean of 6.9 billion barrels of oil and 41.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas according to a new assessment by the U.S. Geological Survey. In comparison, the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that the United States used 7.5 billion barrels of petroleum products in 2019.
Energy Quarterly - Summer 2020
As summer begins, here are a few highlights in our Energy Quarterly Newsletter. This edition is a quick overview of the Energy Resources Program's assessments, research, data, and publications. We also share highlights from our fellow program in the USGS Energy and Minerals Mission Area, the Mineral Resources Program.
Special Issue Highlights One of the Most Extensive Gas Hydrate Datasets Ever Collected
The USGS and its research partners in India and Japan have reported on one of the most extensive data sets ever collected on the occurrence of natural gas hydrate.
Publications
Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources in the eastern Mediterranean area, 2020
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 879 million barrels of conventional oil and 286.2 trillion cubic feet of conventional gas in the eastern Mediterranean area.
Schenk, Christopher J.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Finn, Thomas M.; Woodall, Cheryl A.; Marra, Kristen R.; Leathers-Miller, Heidi M.; Le, Phuong A.; Drake, Ronald M.
Insights on geochemical, isotopic, and volumetric compositions of produced water from hydraulically fractured Williston Basin oil wells
Tracing produced water origins from wells hydraulically fractured with freshwater-based fluids is sometimes predicated on assumptions that (1) each geological formation contains compositionally unique brine and (2) produced water from recently hydraulically fractured wells resembles fresher meteoric water more so than produced water from older...
Gallegos, Tanya J.; Doolan, Colin A.; Caldwell, Rodney R.; Engle, Mark A; Varonka, Matthew S.; Birdwell, Justin E.; Jolly, Glenn D.; Coplen, Tyler B.; Oliver, Thomas A.
Probabilistic methodology for the assessment of original and recoverable coal resources, illustrated with an application to a coal bed in the Fort Union Formation, Wyoming
Executive SummaryThe U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has been using its Circular 891 for evaluating uncertainty in coal resource assessments for more than 35 years. Calculated cell tonnages are assigned to four qualitative reliability classes depending exclusively on distance to the nearest drill hole. The main appeal of this methodology, simplicity...
Olea, Ricardo A.; Shaffer, Brian N.; Haacke, Jon E.; Luppens, James A.