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Browse recent USGS publications related to energy resources. 

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The Coles Hill uranium deposit, Virginia, USA: Geology, geochemistry, geochronology, and genetic model The Coles Hill uranium deposit, Virginia, USA: Geology, geochemistry, geochronology, and genetic model

The Coles Hill uranium deposit with an indicated resource of about 130 million lbs. of U3O8 is the largest unmined uranium deposit in the United States. The deposit is hosted in the Taconian (approximately 480 – 450 Ma) Martinsville igneous complex, which consists of the Ordovician Leatherwood Granite (granodiorite) and Silurian Rich Acres Formation (diorite). The host rock was...
Authors
Susan M. Hall, J.S. Beard, Christopher J. Potter, R.J. Bodnar, Leonid A. Neymark, James B. Paces, Craig A. Johnson, G.N. Breit, Robert A. Zielinski, G. J. Aylor

Lessons learned from 20 y of monitoring suburban development with distributed stormwater management in Clarksburg, Maryland, USA Lessons learned from 20 y of monitoring suburban development with distributed stormwater management in Clarksburg, Maryland, USA

Urban development is a well-known stressor for stream ecosystems, presenting a challenge to managers tasked with mitigating its effects. For the past 20 y, streamflow, water quality, geomorphology, and benthic communities were monitored in 5 watersheds in Montgomery County, Maryland, USA. This study presents a synthesis of multiple studies of monitoring efforts in the study area and new...
Authors
Kristina G. Hopkins, Sean Woznicki, Brianna Williams, Charles C. Stillwell, Eric Naibert, Marina J. Metes, Daniel K. Jones, Dianna M. Hogan, Natalie Celeste Hall, Rosemary M. Fanelli, Aditi S. Bhaskar

Gas hydrate saturation estimates, gas hydrate occurrence, and reservoir characteristics based on well log data from the hydrate-01 stratigraphic test well, Alaska North Slope Gas hydrate saturation estimates, gas hydrate occurrence, and reservoir characteristics based on well log data from the hydrate-01 stratigraphic test well, Alaska North Slope

The Hydrate-01 Stratigraphic Test Well was drilled at the Kuparuk 7-11-12 site on the Alaska North Slope in December 2018. Sonic log data provide compressional (P) and shear (S) slowness from which we determine gas hydrate saturation (Sgh) estimates using effective medium theory. The sonic Sgh estimates compare favorably with Sgh estimated from resistivity and nuclear magnetic resonance...
Authors
Seth S. Haines, Timothy Collett, Jun Yoneda, Naoyuki Shimoda, Ray Boswell, Norihiro Okinaka

New insights into the occurrence and implications of mobile water in gas hydrate systems New insights into the occurrence and implications of mobile water in gas hydrate systems

Gas hydrate production technologies commonly feature reservoir depressurization. Depressurization occurs when a pressure gradient is established in a well, drawing mobile water from the reservoir and reducing reservoir pressure. As such, the occurrence of mobile water is a necessary condition for effective gas production from gas hydrate reservoirs using common borehole-based methods...
Authors
Ray Boswell, Koji Yamamoto, Machiko Tamaki, Timothy S. Collett, George Moridis, Evgeniy Myshakin

Permeability measurement and prediction with nuclear magnetic resonance analysis of gas hydrate-bearing sediments recovered from Alaska North Slope 2018 Hydrate-01 Stratigraphic Test Well Permeability measurement and prediction with nuclear magnetic resonance analysis of gas hydrate-bearing sediments recovered from Alaska North Slope 2018 Hydrate-01 Stratigraphic Test Well

Permeability of porous media, such as oil and gas reservoirs, is the crucial material parameter for predicting their hydraulic behavior. A nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analyzer is widely used as a powerful tool to predict permeability of various media. NMR T2 (transverse or spin–spin) relaxation time distribution, which is related to pore size distribution, gives the information to...
Authors
Jun Yoneda, Kiyofumi Suzuki, Yusuke Jin, Satoshi Ohtsuki, Timothy S. Collett, Ray Boswell, Yuki Maehara, Norihiro Okinaka

Molecular mechanisms of solid bitumen and vitrinite reflectance suppression explored using hydrous pyrolysis of artificial source rock Molecular mechanisms of solid bitumen and vitrinite reflectance suppression explored using hydrous pyrolysis of artificial source rock

The most commonly used parameter for thermal maturity calibration in basin modelling is mean random vitrinite reflectance (Ro). However, Ro suppression has been noted in samples containing a high proportion of liptinite macerals. This phenomenon has been demonstrated empirically using hydrous pyrolysis of artificial source rock containing various proportions of thermally immature Wyodak...
Authors
Margaret M. Sanders, Aaron M. Jubb, Paul C. Hackley, Kenneth E. Peters

In situ enhancement and isotopic labeling of biogenic coalbed methane In situ enhancement and isotopic labeling of biogenic coalbed methane

Subsurface microbial (biogenic) methane production is an important part of the global carbon cycle that has resulted in natural gas accumulations in many coal beds worldwide. Laboratory studies suggest that complex carbon-containing nutrients (e.g., yeast or algae extract) can stimulate methane production, yet the effectiveness of these nutrients within coal beds is unknown. Here, we use...
Authors
Elliott P. Barnhart, Leslie F. Ruppert, Randy Heibert, Heidi J. Smith, Hannah Schweitzer, Arthur Clark, Edwin Weeks, William H. Orem, Matthew S. Varonka, George A. Platt, Jenna L. Shelton, Katherine J Davis, Robert Hyatt, Jennifer C. McIntosh, Kilian Ashley, Shuhei Ono, Anna M. Martini, Keith Hackley, Robin Gerlach, Lee Spangler, Adrienne Phillips, Mark Barry, Alfred B. Cunningham, Matthew W. Fields

National assessment of carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery and associated carbon dioxide retention resources — Results National assessment of carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery and associated carbon dioxide retention resources — Results

In 2020, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed a probabilistic assessment of the volume of technically recoverable oil resources available if current carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) technologies were applied to amenable oil reservoirs underlying the onshore and State waters areas of the conterminous United States. The assessment also includes estimates of the mass of...
Authors
Peter D. Warwick, Emil D. Attanasi, Madalyn S. Blondes, Sean T. Brennan, Marc L. Buursink, Steven M. Cahan, Colin A. Doolan, Philip A. Freeman, C. Ozgen Karacan, Celeste D. Lohr, Matthew D. Merrill, Ricardo A. Olea, Jenna L. Shelton, Ernie R. Slucher, Brian A. Varela

National assessment of carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery and associated carbon dioxide retention resources — Summary National assessment of carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery and associated carbon dioxide retention resources — Summary

Introduction In 2020, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed a probabilistic assessment of the volume of technically recoverable oil resources that might be produced by using current carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) technologies in amenable conventional oil reservoirs underlying the onshore and State waters areas of the conterminous United States. The assessment also...
Authors
Peter D. Warwick, Emil D. Attanasi, Madalyn S. Blondes, Sean T. Brennan, Marc L. Buursink, Steven M. Cahan, Colin A. Doolan, Philip A. Freeman, C. Ozgen Karacan, Celeste D. Lohr, Matthew D. Merrill, Ricardo A. Olea, Jenna L. Shelton, Ernie R. Slucher, Brian A. Varela
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