The Gulf Coast Geologic Energy Assessments and Research (GEAR) project also conducts research on the properties and processes relevant to the Gulf Coast Jurassic-Cretaceous-Tertiary composite total petroleum system (TPS). This research aims to improve ongoing and future undiscovered, technically recoverable hydrocarbon resources assessments on the onshore and State waters portion of the Gulf Coast basin. Important research avenues include the nature and distribution of source rocks, reservoirs, traps, and seals as well as how the temporal evolution of the TPS affected petroleum migration and accumulations.
Research efforts on the Gulf Coast GEAR project include a focus on Jurassic and Cretaceous petroleum source intervals and charged reservoirs to support the prioritization of hydrocarbon resources assessments in Mesozoic strata. The project also plans to investigate potential energy resources in the Atlantic Coastal Plain provinces and adjacent offshore areas as they are analogous to the Gulf Coast region.
The Gulf Coast GEAR project is also constructing a subsurface geoscience database that will include type logs across the U.S. Gulf Coast basin and contain geophysical logs, interpreted geologic formation top depths, and paleontological data. This effort is a response to the 2018 review of the USGS Energy Resources Program by the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which indicated that the program should improve its ability to make petroleum resource data publicly available in a timely manner. Data from the subsurface geoscience and source rock databases are vital for the characterization of hydrocarbon plays by the stakeholder as well as for potential geologic carbon sequestration, subsurface energy store, or paleoclimate reconstruction.
Another research goal is to conduct more robust and interdisciplinary source rock studies on organic-rich mudstones, which can be considered the foundations of petroleum systems. Source rock properties vary both vertically within a stratigraphic unit and geographically across a basin or region. These spatial patterns of source rock composition variability influence the development of hydrocarbon assessment unit boundaries. Increased understanding of controls on source rock formation, compositional variability, and thermal maturity trends can inform the development of geologic models used in USGS petroleum resource assessments. This research on organic-rich mudstone source rocks may also provide insights into paleoclimate, carbon cycling, and oceanic conditions to better understand how conditions in the past varied and changed over time.
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Gulf Coast Geologic Energy Assessments
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
United States Gulf Coast Basin Curated Wells and Logs Database
Wireline geophysical logging curves and infrared spectral data for the USGS Gulf Coast #1 West Woodway research wellbore, McLennan County, Texas
Apatite and zircon U/Pb and fission track geochronologic and thermochronologic data along the Fall Line of the southeastern United States
U-Pb ages of detrital zircons in Paleogene strata of the Gulf Coast
USGS Gulf Coast Source Rock Database
Data Release for "Comparability and reproducibility of biomarker ratio values measured by GC-QQQ-MS"
Input forms for 2019 water and proppant assessment of the Eagle Ford Group, Gulf Coast, Texas
Oil-source rock correlation studies in the unconventional Upper Cretaceous Tuscaloosa marine shale petroleum system, Mississippi and Louisiana, USA (2019)
USGS Gulf Coast Petroleum Systems and National and Global Oil and Gas Assessment Projects-Louisiana-Mississippi Salt Basins and Western Gulf Provinces, Upper Cretaceous Tuscaloosa Marine Shale Assessment Unit Boundaries and Assessment Input Data Forms
Geochemistry data for the USGS Gulf Coast #1 West Woodway core - A thermally immature core of the Eagle Ford Group in central Texas
Petroleum geology data from Cenozoic rock samples in the eastern U.S. Gulf Coast collected 2014 to 2016
Mercury injection capillary pressure data in the U.S. Gulf Coast Tuscaloosa Group in Mississippi and Louisiana collected 2015 to 2017
Below are publications associated with this project.
Tuscaloosa Marine Shale, Gulf Coast Basin, Louisiana and Mississippi
Multimineral petrophysics of thermally immature Eagle Ford Group and Cretaceous mudstones, U.S. Geological Survey Gulf Coast 1 research wellbore in central Texas
Quantitative modeling of secondary migration: Understanding the origin of natural gas charge of the Haynesville Formation in the Sabine Uplift area of Louisiana and Texas
Geochemical and mineralogical properties of Boquillas Shale geochemical reference material ShBOQ-1
Multivariate classification of the crude oil petroleum systems in southeast Texas, USA, using conventional and compositional data analysis of biomarkers
Characterization of the unconventional Tuscaloosa marine shale reservoir in southwestern Mississippi, USA: Insights from optical and SEM petrography
Trends in thermal maturity indicators for the organic sulfur-rich Eagle Ford Shale
Detrital zircon age spectra of middle and upper Eocene outcrop belts, U.S. Gulf Coast region
Oil-source rock correlation studies in the unconventional Upper Cretaceous Tuscaloosa marine shale (TMS) petroleum system, Mississippi and Louisiana, USA
Geochemistry of a thermally immature Eagle Ford Group drill core in central Texas
New method for correcting bottomhole temperatures acquired from wireline logging measurements and calibrated for the onshore Gulf of Mexico Basin, U.S.A.
Carbon dioxide sealing capacity of the Tuscaloosa marine shale: Insights from mercury injection capillary pressure analyses
Below are news stories associated with this project.
- Overview
The Gulf Coast Geologic Energy Assessments and Research (GEAR) project also conducts research on the properties and processes relevant to the Gulf Coast Jurassic-Cretaceous-Tertiary composite total petroleum system (TPS). This research aims to improve ongoing and future undiscovered, technically recoverable hydrocarbon resources assessments on the onshore and State waters portion of the Gulf Coast basin. Important research avenues include the nature and distribution of source rocks, reservoirs, traps, and seals as well as how the temporal evolution of the TPS affected petroleum migration and accumulations.
Research efforts on the Gulf Coast GEAR project include a focus on Jurassic and Cretaceous petroleum source intervals and charged reservoirs to support the prioritization of hydrocarbon resources assessments in Mesozoic strata. The project also plans to investigate potential energy resources in the Atlantic Coastal Plain provinces and adjacent offshore areas as they are analogous to the Gulf Coast region.
The Gulf Coast GEAR project is also constructing a subsurface geoscience database that will include type logs across the U.S. Gulf Coast basin and contain geophysical logs, interpreted geologic formation top depths, and paleontological data. This effort is a response to the 2018 review of the USGS Energy Resources Program by the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which indicated that the program should improve its ability to make petroleum resource data publicly available in a timely manner. Data from the subsurface geoscience and source rock databases are vital for the characterization of hydrocarbon plays by the stakeholder as well as for potential geologic carbon sequestration, subsurface energy store, or paleoclimate reconstruction.
Another research goal is to conduct more robust and interdisciplinary source rock studies on organic-rich mudstones, which can be considered the foundations of petroleum systems. Source rock properties vary both vertically within a stratigraphic unit and geographically across a basin or region. These spatial patterns of source rock composition variability influence the development of hydrocarbon assessment unit boundaries. Increased understanding of controls on source rock formation, compositional variability, and thermal maturity trends can inform the development of geologic models used in USGS petroleum resource assessments. This research on organic-rich mudstone source rocks may also provide insights into paleoclimate, carbon cycling, and oceanic conditions to better understand how conditions in the past varied and changed over time.
- Science
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Gulf Coast Geologic Energy Assessments
One of the main goals of the Gulf Coast Geologic Energy Assessments and Research (GEAR) project is to conduct assessments of undiscovered, technically recoverable petroleum resources of the U.S. Gulf Coast region. This goal is in accordance with the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) and is performed in collaboration with the USGS National Oil and Gas Assessment project. These high-quality... - Data
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
Filter Total Items: 15United States Gulf Coast Basin Curated Wells and Logs Database
The United States Gulf Coast Basin Curated Wells and Logs Database (CWLDB) is an online repository with stratigraphic information for petroleum wells in the United States portion of the onshore Gulf of Mexico Basin that provides several of the following attributes: a) deep penetrations (generally, total depth of 10,000 feet or more), b) high quality and diverse geophysical well log suites, c) lithWireline geophysical logging curves and infrared spectral data for the USGS Gulf Coast #1 West Woodway research wellbore, McLennan County, Texas
As part of a broader research program to examine domestic source rock reservoirs, the Gulf Coast Petroleum Systems project of the USGS Energy Resources Program drilled a research borehole into Late Cretaceous mudstones in McLennan County, Texas, including the Cenomanian-Turonian Eagle Ford Group. A comprehensive wireline geophysical logging suite and over 600 ft of continuous core were obtained tApatite and zircon U/Pb and fission track geochronologic and thermochronologic data along the Fall Line of the southeastern United States
This data release contains apatite and zircon U/Pb and fission track data for six samples collected along the Fall Line of the southeastern United States, from Virginia to the Georgia-South Carolina border. The data resolve phases of rapid exhumational cooling in the Permo-Triassic, additional cooling in the Jurassic-Early Cretaceous and slower cooling since the middle of the Cretaceous. The dataU-Pb ages of detrital zircons in Paleogene strata of the Gulf Coast
This data release contains 60 detrital zircon age spectra, based on U and Pb isotope ratio measurements for 9399 single grains. The samples are from Paleogene strata of the U.S. Gulf Coast. Of the 9399 single grain measurements, we recommend that 8640 yield ages that are suitable for construction of detrital zircon age spectra. Comments tagged to individual grains explain the reasoning for exclusiUSGS Gulf Coast Source Rock Database
The USGS Gulf Coast Source Rock Database (GCSRD) is an online repository for all publicly available source rock data (outcrop and subsurface) from the states of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas. "Source rock data" are defined in this context as data that include any of the following measured or calculated parameters: - Total organic carbon (TOC) - VaData Release for "Comparability and reproducibility of biomarker ratio values measured by GC-QQQ-MS"
This data release includes biomarker ratio values calculated from measurements made at the USGS for the reference oil NSO-1 that were reported in a journal article entitled Comparability and reproducibility of biomarker ratio values measured by GC-QQQ-MS (French et al., 2020). French, K.L., Leider, A., and Hallmann, C., 2020, Comparability and reproducibility of biomarker ratio values measuredInput forms for 2019 water and proppant assessment of the Eagle Ford Group, Gulf Coast, Texas
The input form provides a record of the complete input values required for the quantitative assessment of water and proppant associated with oil and gas production for the continuous oil and gas resource in a geologically defined Assessment Unit. The same input form template is used for all such assessments. Each USGS water and proppant assessment builds from a USGS petroleum assessment that proviOil-source rock correlation studies in the unconventional Upper Cretaceous Tuscaloosa marine shale petroleum system, Mississippi and Louisiana, USA (2019)
The U.S. Geological Survey assessed undiscovered unconventional hydrocarbon resources reservoired in the Upper Cretaceous Tuscaloosa marine shale (TMS) of southern Mississippi and adjacent Louisiana in 2018. As part of the assessment, oil- source rock correlations were examined in the study area where operators produce light (38-45 degrees API), sweet oil from horizontal, hydraulically-fractured wUSGS Gulf Coast Petroleum Systems and National and Global Oil and Gas Assessment Projects-Louisiana-Mississippi Salt Basins and Western Gulf Provinces, Upper Cretaceous Tuscaloosa Marine Shale Assessment Unit Boundaries and Assessment Input Data Forms
This data release contains the boundaries of assessment units and input data for the assessment of undiscovered gas hydrate resources on the north slope of Alaska. The Assessment Unit is the fundamental unit used in the National Assessment Project for the assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources. The Assessment Unit is defined within the context of the higher-level Total Petroleum System.Geochemistry data for the USGS Gulf Coast #1 West Woodway core - A thermally immature core of the Eagle Ford Group in central Texas
Petroleum source rocks deposited during Cenomanian - Turonian time (late Cretaceous) are major generators of continuous and conventional oil and gas resources in the Gulf of Mexico Basin. The Eagle Ford Shale is a particularly important petroleum system and represents a substantial fraction of total oil and gas production in the United States. Significant lateral and vertical geochemical and minerPetroleum geology data from Cenozoic rock samples in the eastern U.S. Gulf Coast collected 2014 to 2016
The U.S. Geological Survey assessed undiscovered petroleum resources in the downdip Paleogene formations of the U.S. Gulf Coast in 2018. During the assessment new data and information were collected to evaluate thermal maturity, source rock character, and unconventional reservoir rock prospectivity for the Cenozoic-aged section in south Louisiana. Samples were analyzed using multiple analytical apMercury injection capillary pressure data in the U.S. Gulf Coast Tuscaloosa Group in Mississippi and Louisiana collected 2015 to 2017
This data release contains mercury injection capillary pressure (MICP), pseudo-wetting saturation, and carbon dioxide (CO2) column height data for subsurface Tuscaloosa Group samples from Mississippi and Louisiana. - Publications
Below are publications associated with this project.
Filter Total Items: 61Tuscaloosa Marine Shale, Gulf Coast Basin, Louisiana and Mississippi
No abstract available.AuthorsCeleste D. LohrMultimineral petrophysics of thermally immature Eagle Ford Group and Cretaceous mudstones, U.S. Geological Survey Gulf Coast 1 research wellbore in central Texas
Traditional petrophysical methods to evaluate organic richness and mineralogy using gamma-ray and resistivity log responses are not diagnostic in source rocks. We have developed a deterministic, nonproprietary method to quantify formation variability in total organic carbon (TOC) and three key mudrock mineralogical components of nonhydrocarbon-bearing source rock strata of the Eagle Ford Group byAuthorsLauri A. Burke, Justin E. Birdwell, Stanley T. PaxtonQuantitative modeling of secondary migration: Understanding the origin of natural gas charge of the Haynesville Formation in the Sabine Uplift area of Louisiana and Texas
The Upper Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) mudstones of the Haynesville Formation in the Sabine Uplift, Louisiana and Texas, are widely considered to be a self-sourced natural gas reservoir; however, additional sources of gas may have charged the mudstones in the Louisiana portion of the uplift. Secondary migration of hydrocarbons into the Sabine Uplift from downdip, gas-generating Jurassic source rocks inAuthorsLauri A. BurkeGeochemical and mineralogical properties of Boquillas Shale geochemical reference material ShBOQ-1
The ShBOQ-1 geochemical reference material is relevant to studies of the organic geochemistry and mineralogy of petroleum source rocks containing high concentrations of carbonate minerals and organic sulfur-rich, oil-prone marine organic matter. ShBOQ-1 is geochemically and mineralogically similar to the lower part of the Upper Cretaceous Eagle Ford Shale.AuthorsJustin E. Birdwell, Stephen A. WilsonMultivariate classification of the crude oil petroleum systems in southeast Texas, USA, using conventional and compositional data analysis of biomarkers
Chemically, petroleum is an extraordinarily complex mixture of different types of hydrocarbons that are now possible to isolate and identify because of advances in geochemistry. Here, we use biomarkers and carbon isotopes to establish genetic differences and similarities among oil samples. Conventional approaches for evaluating biomarker and carbon isotope relative abundances include statistical tAuthorsRicardo A. Olea, J. A Martin-Fernandez, William H. CraddockCharacterization of the unconventional Tuscaloosa marine shale reservoir in southwestern Mississippi, USA: Insights from optical and SEM petrography
This study presents new optical petrography and electron microscopy data, interpreted in the context of previously published petrophysical, geochemical, and mineralogical data, to further characterize the Tuscaloosa marine shale (TMS) as an unconventional reservoir in southwestern Mississippi. The basal high resistivity zone has a higher proportion of Type II sedimentary organic matter than the ovAuthorsCeleste D. Lohr, Brett J. Valentine, Paul C. Hackley, Frank T. DulongTrends in thermal maturity indicators for the organic sulfur-rich Eagle Ford Shale
Thermal maturity is critical to evaluate petroleum systems and to interpret biomarker results for paleoenvironmental and geobiology studies. Many thermal maturity indices were developed for marine source rocks containing type II kerogen, but their behavior in organic sulfur-rich source rocks requires more investigation. Here, we present geochemical analyses of whole and extracted rock, isolated keAuthorsKatherine L. French, Justin E. Birdwell, Michael LewanDetrital zircon age spectra of middle and upper Eocene outcrop belts, U.S. Gulf Coast region
Recently reported detrital zircon (DZ) data help to associate the Paleogene strata of the Gulf of Mexico region to various provenance areas. By far, recent work has emphasised upper Paleocene-lower Eocene and upper Oligocene strata that were deposited during the two episodes of the highest sediment supply in the Paleogene. The data reveal a dynamic drainage history, including (1) initial routing oAuthorsWilliam H. Craddock, James L. Coleman Jr., Andrew R.C. Kylander-ClarkOil-source rock correlation studies in the unconventional Upper Cretaceous Tuscaloosa marine shale (TMS) petroleum system, Mississippi and Louisiana, USA
The U.S. Geological Survey assessed undiscovered unconventional hydrocarbon resources reservoired in the Upper Cretaceous Tuscaloosa marine shale (TMS) of southern Mississippi and adjacent Louisiana in 2018. As part of the assessment, oil-source rock correlations were examined in the TMS play area where operators produce light (38–45° API), sweet oil from horizontal, hydraulically-fractured wellsAuthorsPaul C. Hackley, Kristin Opferkuch Dennen, Daniel Garza, Celeste Lohr, Brett Valentine, Javin J. Hatcherian, Catherine B. Enomoto, Frank T. DulongGeochemistry of a thermally immature Eagle Ford Group drill core in central Texas
The Upper Cretaceous Eagle Ford Group displays significant lateral and vertical geochemical variability. Much of the work on the Eagle Ford Group has been focused southwest of the San Marcos arch. To more fully characterize the Eagle Ford across the entire region, a thermally immature drill core was acquired north of the San Marcos arch that recovered the Pepper Shale and the Eagle Ford Group. MolAuthorsKatherine L. French, Justin E. Birdwell, Katherine J. WhiddenNew method for correcting bottomhole temperatures acquired from wireline logging measurements and calibrated for the onshore Gulf of Mexico Basin, U.S.A.
Bottomhole temperature (BHT) measurements offer a useful way to characterize the subsurface thermal regime as long as they are corrected to represent in situ reservoir temperatures. BHT correction methods calibrated for the domestic onshore Gulf of Mexico basin were established in this study. These corrections are empirically derived and based on newly compiled databases of BHT wireline measuremenAuthorsLauri A. Burke, Ofori N. Pearson, Scott A. KinneyCarbon dioxide sealing capacity of the Tuscaloosa marine shale: Insights from mercury injection capillary pressure analyses
No abstract available.AuthorsCeleste D. Lohr, Paul C. Hackley - News
Below are news stories associated with this project.