How much oil and gas are actually in the Bakken Formation?
The USGS estimates that there may be 4.4 to 11.4 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil in the Bakken Formation (with a mean estimate of 7.4 billion barrels). These are estimates of oil that has yet to be found, but if found, could be produced using currently available technology and industry practices. Estimates are based on an assessment of the geologic data.
An additional 6.7 trillion cubic feet of associated/dissolved natural gas and 0.53 billion barrels of natural gas have been estimated. These are mean values for undiscovered volumes.
Approximately 450 million barrels of oil were produced from the Bakken and Three Forks Formations between 2008 and 2013.
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USGS Releases New Oil and Gas Assessment for Bakken and Three Forks Formations
On April 30, 2013, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) released an updated oil and gas resource assessment for the Bakken Formation and a new assessment for the Three Forks Formation in North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana. The assessments found that the formations contain an estimated mean of 7.4 billion barrels (BBO) of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil. The updated...
3 to 4.3 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil assessed in Bakken Formation
USGS Bakken expert to present findings at Energy Expo in Bismarck
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientist Richard Pollastro, lead researcher on a recent study assessing the undiscovered oil resources in the Bakken Formation, will present at the Great Plains Energy Expo in Bismarck on Tuesday, November 11.
3 to 4.3 Billion Barrels of Technically Recoverable Oil Assessed in North Dakota and Montana’s Bakken Formation—25 Times More Than 1995 Estimate—
North Dakota and Montana have an estimated 3.0 to 4.3 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil in an area known as the Bakken Formation.
Bakken Well in North Dakota
Bakken well in North Dakota (Photograph by Joanna Thamke, USGS).
Bakken Drilling
Bakken drilling and completion activities at a well along Interstate-94, 6 miles east of Belfield, North Dakota.
Bakken Drill Rig
A drill rig in the Bakken oil field in Stark County, western North Dakota.
Bakken Drill Rig
A drill rig in the Bakken oil field in Stark County, western North Dakota.
Oil Well being Drilled into the Bakken Formation
Oil well being drilled into the Bakken Formation in North Dakota in 2015.
Bakken Oil Well
Oil-well pads dotting the landscape of typical badland topography. Thousands of new wells are drilled into the Bakken and Three Forks annually, making this one of the most productive plays in the Nation.