Energy Resources Program
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The Energy Resources Program conducts research and assessments to advance the understanding of the Nation’s energy resources. We study processes critical to the formation, accumulation, occurrence and alteration of geologically based energy resources; prepare resource assessments; and evaluate the environmental and socioeconomic effects of energy resource occurrence, production and use.
Our Science
Understanding the national and global availability of resources as well as the environmental impacts of their development is essential for strategic decision making related to the nation’s energy mix.
Learn MoreThe Energy Quarterly
This quarterly newsletter highlights the latest Energy Resources Program research, activities, publications, and information resources available from our website and other sources. Read & Subscribe Today!
Current NewsletterNews
Recent Publications: Energy Quarterly Spring 2021
Featured article in Spring 2021 Edition of the Energy Quarterly Newsletter.
Field Shots - Spring 2021
New to our newsletter: "Field Shots," turning the spotlight on past and present photographs of USGS fieldwork.
Energy Quarterly - Spring 2021
June is the Great Outdoors Month, a time to head outside into nature, like our scientists for their upcoming summer fieldwork. In this issue, we highlight a new assessment, recent publications, and our research in Geologic Carbon Sequestration. New to our newsletter: "Field Shots," highlighting past and present photographs of USGS Energy fieldwork.
Publications
Surface-mining modeling for USGS coal assessments
The value of national coal deposits is determined for the Solid Fuel Energy Resources Assessment and Research Project through economic evaluations using hypothetical mining models. Deposits near the surface are evaluated with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) surface-mining model, which is patterned after the standard mining techniques and...
Pierce, Paul E.
Relating Tmax and hydrogen index to vitrinite and solid bitumen reflectance in hydrous pyrolysis residues: Comparisons to natural thermal indices
Vitrinite reflectance (VRo; %) generally is considered the most reliable technique to determine the thermal maturity of sedimentary rocks. However, it is a time-consuming process to collect reflectance (Ro; %) measurements and is subjective to the interpretation of each trained technician, who must be able to discern between ...
Lohr, Celeste D.; Hackley, Paul C. Insights on the characteristics and sources of gas from an underground coal mine using compositional data analysis
Coal mine gas originates from the gas emission zone (GEZ) of the mine, as well as the longwall face and pillars. Gas emissions are controlled directly at the sources using horizontal or vertical boreholes drilled from surface or from the entries in advance of mining, or it is captured from the fractured and caved zones (gob) using...
Karacan, C. Özgen; Martín-Fernández, Josep Antoni; Ruppert, Leslie F.; Olea, Ricardo