Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Publications

Browse recent USGS publications related to energy resources. 

Filter Total Items: 2827

Petroleum prospectivity of the Canada Basin, Arctic Ocean Petroleum prospectivity of the Canada Basin, Arctic Ocean

Reconnaissance seismic reflection data indicate that Canada Basin is a >700,000 sq. km. remnant of the Amerasia Basin of the Arctic Ocean that lies south of the Alpha-Mendeleev Large Igneous Province, which was constructed across the northern part of the Amerasia Basin between about 127 and 89–83.5 Ma. Canada Basin was filled by Early Jurassic to Holocene detritus from the Beaufort...
Authors
Arthur Grantz, Patrick E. Hart

Definition of Greater Gulf Basin Lower Cretaceous and Upper Cretaceous lower Cenomanian Shale Gas Assessment Unit, United States Gulf of Mexico basin onshore and state waters Definition of Greater Gulf Basin Lower Cretaceous and Upper Cretaceous lower Cenomanian Shale Gas Assessment Unit, United States Gulf of Mexico basin onshore and state waters

An assessment unit (AU) for undiscovered continuous “shale” gas in Lower Cretaceous (Aptian and Albian) and basal Upper Cretaceous (lower Cenomanian) rocks in the USA onshore Gulf of Mexico coastal plain recently was defined by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The AU is part of the Upper Jurassic-Cretaceous-Tertiary Composite Total Petroleum System (TPS) of the Gulf of Mexico Basin...
Authors
Kristin O. Dennen, Paul C. Hackley

Kinetics of uncatalyzed thermochemical sulfate reduction by sulfur-free paraffin Kinetics of uncatalyzed thermochemical sulfate reduction by sulfur-free paraffin

To determine kinetic parameters of sulfate reduction by hydrocarbons (HC) without the initial presence of low valence sulfur, we carried out a series of isothermal gold-tube hydrous-pyrolysis experiments at 320, 340, and 360 °C under a constant confined pressure of 24.1 MPa. The reactants used consisted of saturated HC (sulfur-free) and CaSO4 in an aqueous solution buffered to three...
Authors
Tongwei Zhang, Geoffrey S. Ellis, Qisheng Ma, Alon Amrani, Yongchun Tang

Geology and sequence stratigraphy of undiscovered oil and gas resources in conventional and continuous petroleum systems in the Upper Cretaceous Eagle Ford Group and related strata, U.S. Gulf Coast Region Geology and sequence stratigraphy of undiscovered oil and gas resources in conventional and continuous petroleum systems in the Upper Cretaceous Eagle Ford Group and related strata, U.S. Gulf Coast Region

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently assessed the technically recoverable undiscovered oil and gas onshore and in State waters of the Gulf Coast region of the United States. The USGS defined three assessment units (AUs) with potential undiscovered conventional and continuous oil and gas resources in Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian to Turonian) strata of the Eagle Ford Group and...
Authors
Russell F. Dubiel, Ofori N. Pearson, Janet K. Pitman, Krystal M. Pearson, Scott A. Kinney

Geostatistical modeling of the gas emission zone and its in-place gas content for Pittsburgh-seam mines using sequential Gaussian simulation Geostatistical modeling of the gas emission zone and its in-place gas content for Pittsburgh-seam mines using sequential Gaussian simulation

Determination of the size of the gas emission zone, the locations of gas sources within, and especially the amount of gas retained in those zones is one of the most important steps for designing a successful methane control strategy and an efficient ventilation system in longwall coal mining. The formation of the gas emission zone and the potential amount of gas-in-place (GIP) that might...
Authors
Cevat O. Karacan, Ricardo A. Olea, G. Goodman

Empirical methods for detecting regional trends and other spatial expressions in antrim shale gas productivity, with implications for improving resource projections using local nonparametric estimation techniques Empirical methods for detecting regional trends and other spatial expressions in antrim shale gas productivity, with implications for improving resource projections using local nonparametric estimation techniques

The primary objectives of this research were to (1) investigate empirical methods for establishing regional trends in unconventional gas resources as exhibited by historical production data and (2) determine whether or not incorporating additional knowledge of a regional trend in a suite of previously established local nonparametric resource prediction algorithms influences assessment...
Authors
Timothy C. Coburn, Philip A. Freeman, Emil D. Attanasi

Correlation of early Paleogene global diversity patterns of large benthic foraminifera with Paleocene-Eocene hyperthermal events Correlation of early Paleogene global diversity patterns of large benthic foraminifera with Paleocene-Eocene hyperthermal events

Large benthic foraminifera (LBF) were major contributors to many Paleogene carbonate platforms around the world. These photosymbiotic foraminifera lived in warm, oligotrophic, shallow waters within the photic zone. Such Paleogene families as the nummulitids, alveolinids, and orthophragminids rose to prominence in the late Paleocene, thrived in the early and middle Eocene, and declined in...
Authors
Katherine J. Whidden, Robert J. Jones

Tectonic setting of Cretaceous basins on the NE Tibetan Plateau: Insights from the Jungong basin Tectonic setting of Cretaceous basins on the NE Tibetan Plateau: Insights from the Jungong basin

Quantifying the Cenozoic growth of high topography in the Indo‐Asian collision zone remains challenging, due in part to significant shortening that occurred within Eurasia before collision. A growing body of evidence suggests that regions far removed from the suture zone experienced deformation before and during the early phases of Himalayan orogenesis. In the present‐day north‐eastern...
Authors
William Craddock, E. Kirby, Z. Dewen, L. Jianhui

Advances in carbonate exploration and reservoir analysis Advances in carbonate exploration and reservoir analysis

The development of innovative techniques and concepts, and the emergence of new plays in carbonate rocks are creating a resurgence of oil and gas discoveries worldwide. The maturity of a basin and the application of exploration concepts have a fundamental influence on exploration strategies. Exploration success often occurs in underexplored basins by applying existing established...
Authors
J. Garland, J. Neilson, S.E. Laubach, Katherine J. Whidden

Using cluster analysis to organize and explore regional GPS velocities Using cluster analysis to organize and explore regional GPS velocities

Cluster analysis offers a simple visual exploratory tool for the initial investigation of regional Global Positioning System (GPS) velocity observations, which are providing increasingly precise mappings of actively deforming continental lithosphere. The deformation fields from dense regional GPS networks can often be concisely described in terms of relatively coherent blocks bounded by...
Authors
Robert W. Simpson, Wayne Thatcher, James C. Savage

Introduction Introduction

The Energy Minerals Division (EMD) of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) is a membership-based, technical interest group having the primary goal of advancing the science of geology, especially as it relates to exploration, discovery, and production of unconventional energy resources. Current research on unconventional energy resources is rapidly changing and...
Authors
Peter D. Warwick
Was this page helpful?