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.
Learn more: Williston Basin Oil and Gas Assessments
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Characterization and origin of brines from the Bakken-Three Forks petroleum system in the Williston Basin, USA
Brine (also referred to as ‘produced water’) samples were collected from 28 wells producing oil from the Late Devonian-Early Mississippian Bakken and Three Forks Formations in the Williston Basin of eastern Montana and western North Dakota. The samples were analyzed for major ions, trace metals, stable isotopes, and strontium isotopes. The brines...
Peterman, Zell; Thamke, Joanna N.; Futa, Kiyoto; Oliver, Thomas A.
Assessment of water and proppant quantities associated with petroleum production from the Bakken and Three Forks Formations, Williston Basin Province, Montana and North Dakota, 2016
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has completed an assessment of water and proppant requirements and water production associated with the possible future production of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Three Forks and Bakken Formations (Late Devonian to Early Mississippian) of the Williston Basin Province in Montana and North Dakota. This...
Haines, Seth S.; Varela, Brian A.; Hawkins, Sarah J.; Gianoutsos, Nicholas J.; Thamke, Joanna N.; Engle, Mark A.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Marra, Kristen R.; Kinney, Scott A.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Martinez, Cericia D.
Assessment of undiscovered oil resources in the Bakken and Three Forks Formations, Williston Basin Province, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota, 2013
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered volumes of 7.4 billion barrels of oil, 6.7 trillion cubic feet of associated/dissolved natural gas, and 0.53 billion barrels of natural gas liquids in the Bakken and Three Forks Formations in the Williston Basin Province of Montana, North Dakota,...
Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Marra, Kristen R.; Cook, Troy A.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Gautier, Donald L.; Higley, Debra K.; Klett, Timothy R.; Lewan, Michael D.; Lillis, Paul G.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Whidden, Katherine J.
Assessment of Undiscovered Technically Recoverable Oil and Gas Resources of the Bakken Formation, Williston Basin, Montana and North Dakota, 2008
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has completed an assessment of the undiscovered oil and associated gas resources of the Upper Devonian to Lower Mississippian Bakken Formation in the U.S. portion of the Williston Basin of Montana and North Dakota and within the Williston Basin Province. The assessment is based on geologic elements of a total...
Pollastro, R.M.; Roberts, L.N.R.; Cook, T.A.; Lewan, M.D.
Assessment of Undiscovered Oil Resources in the Devonian-Mississippian Bakken Formation, Williston Basin Province, Montana and North Dakota, 2008
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered volumes of 3.65 billion barrels of oil, 1.85 trillion cubic feet of associated/dissolved natural gas, and 148 million barrels of natural gas liquids in the Bakken Formation of the Williston Basin Province, Montana and North Dakota.
Pollastro, Richard M.; Cook, Troy A.; Roberts, Laura N.R.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Lewan, Michael D.; Anna, Lawrence O.; Gaswirth, Stephanie B.; Lillis, Paul G.; Klett, Timothy R.; Charpentier, Ronal R.
Diagenesis and fracture development in the Bakken Formation, Williston Basin; implications for reservoir quality in the middle member
The middle member of the Bakken Formation is an attractive petroleum exploration target in the deeper part of the Williston Basin because it is favorably positioned with respect to source and seal units. Progressive rates of burial and minor uplift and erosion of this member led to a stable thermal regime and, consequently, minor variations in...
Pitman, Janet K.; Price, Leigh C.; LeFever, Julie A. A resource evaluation of the Bakken Formation (Upper Devonian and Lower Mississippian) continuous oil accumulation, Williston Basin, North Dakota and Montana
The Upper Devonian and Lower Mississippian Bakken Formation in the United States portion of the Williston Basin is both the source and the reservoir for a continuous oil accumulation - in effect a single very large field - underlying approximately 17,800 mi2 (46,100 km2) of North Dakota and Montana. Within this area, the Bakken Formation...
Schmoker, J.W.
Developing an oil generation model for resource assessment of the Bakken Formation, U.S. portion of the Williston Basin
No abstract available.
Krystinik, K. B.; Charpentier, Ronald R.
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.