Publications
Browse recent USGS publications related to energy resources.
Filter Total Items: 2779
Assessment of continuous oil and gas resources in the Bakken Formation of northwest Montana, 2022 Assessment of continuous oil and gas resources in the Bakken Formation of northwest Montana, 2022
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated means of 220 million barrels of continuous oil and 1 trillion cubic feet of continuous gas in the Bakken Formation of northwest Montana.
Authors
Christopher Schenk, Michael Gardner, Tracey J. Mercier, Cheryl Woodall, Phuong A. Le, Andrea Cicero, Ronald M. Drake, Geoffrey Ellis, Thomas Finn, Sarah Gelman, Jane Hearon, Benjamin Johnson, Jenny Lagesse, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Kristen Marra, Kira Timm, Scott Young
Thermal evolution of graptolite and solid bitumen properties at high maturity under natural and artificial conditions Thermal evolution of graptolite and solid bitumen properties at high maturity under natural and artificial conditions
To refine the use of graptolite and solid bitumen as thermal proxies at overmature conditions, we evaluated their evolution via Raman and infrared (IR) spectroscopies, reflectance, and geochemical screening using high-temperature pyrolysis experiments in comparison to naturally matured samples. Naturally matured samples included marine shales from the overmature Upper Ordovician Wufeng...
Authors
Jianyang Song, Paul Hackley, Margaret Sanders, Aaron M. Jubb, Qingyong Luo
Report of the Science Community Workshop on the proposed First Sample Depot for the Mars Sample Return Campaign Report of the Science Community Workshop on the proposed First Sample Depot for the Mars Sample Return Campaign
The Mars 2020/Mars Sample Return (MSR) Sample Depot Science Community Workshop was held on September 28 and 30, 2022, to assess the Scientifically-Return Worthy (SRW) value of the full collection of samples acquired by the rover Perseverance at Jezero Crater, and of a proposed subset of samples to be left as a First Depot at a location within Jezero Crater called Three Forks. The primary...
Authors
Andrew Czaja, Maria-Paz Zorzano Mier, Gerhard Kminek, Michael Meyer, David Beaty, Elliot Sefton-Nash, Brandi Carrier, Fiona Thiessen, Timothy Haltigin, Audrey Bouvier, Nicolas Dauphas, Katherine French, Lydia Hallis, Rachel Harris, Ernst Hauber, Laura Rodriguez, Susanne Schwenzer, Andrew Steele, Kimberly Tait, Michael Thorpe, Tomohiro Usui, Jessica Vanhomwegen, Michael Velbel, Samuel Edwin, Kenneth Farley, Daniel Glavin, Andrea Harrington, Lindsay Hays, Aurore Hutzler, Meenakshi Wadhwa
Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources of the Barents Sea area, 2021 Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources of the Barents Sea area, 2021
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean conventional resources of 7.3 billion barrels of oil and 463.7 trillion cubic feet of gas within the Barents Sea area.
Authors
Christopher Schenk, Tracey J. Mercier, Cheryl Woodall, Geoffrey Ellis, Thomas Finn, Phuong A. Le, Kristen Marra, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Ronald M. Drake
Predicting methane emissions and developing reduction strategies for a Central Appalachian Basin, USA, longwall mine through analysis and modeling of geology and degasification system performance Predicting methane emissions and developing reduction strategies for a Central Appalachian Basin, USA, longwall mine through analysis and modeling of geology and degasification system performance
Coal mine methane is a safety concern in active mines due to explosion risk and an environmental concern due to the greenhouse gas (GHG) properties of methane emissions to the atmosphere. Depending on the mine design and operation, structural and stratigraphic characteristics of the geology, and the properties of coal beds affected by mining, a significant amount of methane can be...
Authors
C. Karacan
Visualization of petroleum exploration maturity for six petroleum provinces outside the United States and Canada Visualization of petroleum exploration maturity for six petroleum provinces outside the United States and Canada
Outside the United States and Canada, most of the world’s supplies of oil and natural gas are recovered from conventional (or discrete) oil and gas accumulations. This type of hydrocarbon accumulation remains a target for exploration. In this report, exploration and discovery data are used to visually assist in describing the exploration maturity of selected petroleum provinces with...
Authors
Emil D. Attanasi, Philip A. Freeman
Exploratory analysis of machine learning techniques in the Nevada geothermal play fairway analysis Exploratory analysis of machine learning techniques in the Nevada geothermal play fairway analysis
Play fairway analysis (PFA) is commonly used to generate geothermal potential maps and guide exploration studies, with a particular focus on locating and characterizing blind geothermal systems. This study evaluates the application of machine learning techniques to PFA in the Great Basin region of Nevada. Following the evaluation of various techniques, we identified two approaches to PFA...
Authors
Connor Smith, James E. Faulds, Stephen Brown, Mark Coolbaugh, Jacob DeAngelo, Jonathan Glen, Erick Burns, Drew Siler, Sven Treitel, Eli Mlawsky, Michael Fehler, Chen Gu, Bridget Ayling
Geologic energy storage Geologic energy storage
Introduction As the United States transitions away from fossil fuels, its economy will rely on more renewable energy. Because current renewable energy sources sometimes produce variable power supplies, it is important to store energy for use when power supply drops below power demand. Battery storage is one method to store power. However, geologic (underground) energy storage may be able...
Authors
Marc L. Buursink, Steven Anderson, Sean T. Brennan, Erick R. Burns, Philip A. Freeman, Joao Gallotti, Celeste D. Lohr, Matthew D. Merrill, Eric A. Morrissey, Michelle Plampin, Peter D. Warwick
Sandstone-hosted uranium deposits of the Colorado Plateau, USA Sandstone-hosted uranium deposits of the Colorado Plateau, USA
More than 4,000 sandstone-hosted uranium occurrences host over 1.2 billion pounds of mined and in situ U3O8 throughout the Colorado Plateau. Most of the resources are in two distinct mineral systems with deposits hosted in the Triassic Chinle and Jurassic Morrison Formations. In the Chinle mineral system, base metal sulfides typically accompany mineralization. The Morrison mineral system...
Authors
Susan Hall, Bradley Van Gosen, Robert Zielinski
Analysis of the United States documented unplugged orphaned oil and gas well dataset Analysis of the United States documented unplugged orphaned oil and gas well dataset
In coordination with the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and in response to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) produced a documented unplugged orphaned oil and gas well dataset (called the DOW dataset hereafter) that contains the location and status of these wells nationwide as of 2022. The DOW dataset includes 117,672 wells across 27 states...
Authors
Matthew Merrill, Claire Grove, Nicholas Gianoutsos, Philip A. Freeman
Mapping ancient sedimentary organic matter molecular structure at nanoscales using optical photothermal infrared spectroscopy Mapping ancient sedimentary organic matter molecular structure at nanoscales using optical photothermal infrared spectroscopy
Elucidating the molecular structure of sedimentary organic matter (SOM) is key to understanding petroleum generation processes, as well as ancient sedimentary environments. SOM structure is primarily controlled by biogenic source material (e.g., marine vs. terrigenous), depositional conditions, and subsurface thermal history. Additional factors, e.g., strain, may also impact the...
Authors
Aaron M. Jubb, Martha Stokes, Ryan McAleer, Paul Hackley, Eoghan Dillion, Jing Qu
Peak Cenozoic warmth enabled deep-sea sand deposition Peak Cenozoic warmth enabled deep-sea sand deposition
The early Eocene (~ 56–48 million years ago) was marked by peak Cenozoic warmth and sea levels, high CO2, and largely ice-free conditions. This time has been described as a period of increased continental erosion and silicate weathering. However, these conclusions are based largely on geochemical investigation of marine mudstones and carbonates or study of intermontane Laramide basin...
Authors
Zachary Burton, Tim McHargue, Christopher Kremer, Richard Bloch, Jared Gooley, Chayawan Jailka, Jake Harrington, Stephan A. Graham