Publications

Lignite and subbituminous coals were investigated for their ability to support microbial methane production in laboratory incubations. Results show that naturally-occurring microorganisms associated with the coals produced substantial quantities of methane, although the factors influencing this process were variable among different samples tested. Methanogenic microbes in two coals from...

A recent U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) oil and gas assessment of the Powder River Basin , Wyoming and Montana, identified the Upper Cretaceous Mowry Shale and Niobrara Formation as the primary hydrocarbon sources for Cretaceous conventional and unconventional reservoirs. Cumulative Mowry-sourced petroleum production is about 1.2 BBO (billion barrels of oil) and 2.2 TCFG (trillion cubic...

A geologic model was developed to assess undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Kemik-Thomson Play of the Central North Slope, Alaska. In this model, regional erosion during the Early Cretaceous produced an incised valley system on the flanks and crest of the Mikkelsen High and formed the Lower Cretaceous unconformity. Locally derived, coarse-grained siliciclastic and carbonate...

No abstract available.

A series of gold tube hydrous pyrolysis experiments was conducted in order to investigate the effect of thermochemical sulfate reduction (TSR) on gas generation, residual saturated hydrocarbon compositional alteration, and solid pyrobitumen formation. The intensity of TSR significantly depends on the H2O/MgSO4 mole ratio, the smaller the ratio, the stronger the oxidizing conditions...

Sustained crude oil price increases have led to increased investment in and production of Canadian bitumen to supplement North American oil supplies. For new projects, the evaluation of profitability is based on a prediction of the future price path of bitumen and ultimately light/medium crude oil. This article examines the relationship between the bitumen and light crude oil prices in...

Sustained increases in energy prices have focused attention on gas resources in low-permeability shale or in coals that were previously considered economically marginal. Daily well deliverability is often relatively small, although the estimates of the total volumes of recoverable resources in these settings are often large. Planning and development decisions for extraction of such...

Relating pore-space gas hydrate saturation to sonic velocity data is important for remotely estimating gas hydrate concentration in sediment. In the present study, sonic velocities of gas hydrate–bearing sands are modeled using a three-phase Biot-type theory in which sand, gas hydrate, and pore fluid form three homogeneous, interwoven frameworks. This theory is developed using well log

The Lower Bakersfield Arch Assessment Unit (AU) of the Miocene Total Petroleum System (San Joaquin Basin Province) is primarily defined by the distribution of hydrocarbons generated from biosiliceous shale of the Monterey Formation and by the distribution of basinal-facies sandstones of the Stevens sand of Eckis (1940; hereafter referred to as Stevens sand). Traps are principally...

A calibrated numerical model depicts the geometry and three-dimensional (3-D) evolution of petroleum systems through time (4-D) in a 249 x 309 km (155 x 192 mi) area covering all of the San Joaquin Basin Province of California. Model input includes 3-D structural and stratigraphic data for key horizons and maps of unit thickness, lithology, paleobathymetry, heat flow, original total...

The San Joaquin Basin Province is a petroliferous basin filled with predominantly Late Cretaceous to Pliocene-aged sediments, with organic-rich marine rocks of Late Cretaceous, Eocene, and Miocene age providing the source of most of the oil and gas. Previous geochemical studies have focused on the origin of the oil in the province, but the origin of the natural gas has received little...

The Northern Nonassociated Gas Assessment Unit (AU) of the Winters-Domengine Total Petroleum System of the San Joaquin Basin Province consists of all nonassociated gas accumulations in Cretaceous, Eocene, and Miocene sandstones located north of township 15 South in the San Joaquin Valley. The northern San Joaquin Valley forms a northwest-southeast trending asymmetrical trough. It is...