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Browse recent USGS publications related to energy resources. 

Filter Total Items: 2827

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Mississippian Sunbury shale and Devonian–Mississippian Chattanooga shale in the Appalachian Basin Province, 2016 Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Mississippian Sunbury shale and Devonian–Mississippian Chattanooga shale in the Appalachian Basin Province, 2016

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable continuous resources that total 464 million barrels of oil and 4.08 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Lower Mississippian Sunbury Shale and Middle Devonian–Lower Mississippian Chattanooga Shale of the Appalachian Basin Province.
Authors
Debra K. Higley, William A. Rouse, Catherine B. Enomoto, Michael H. Trippi, Timothy R. Klett, Tracey J. Mercier, Michael E. Brownfield, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Ronald M. Drake, Thomas M. Finn, Nicholas J. Gianoutsos, Ofori N. Pearson, Colin A. Doolan, Phuong A. Le, Christopher J. Schenk

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Lusitanian Basin Province, Portugal, 2016 Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Lusitanian Basin Province, Portugal, 2016

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey assessed mean undiscovered, technically recoverable resources of 121 million barrels of oil and 212 billion cubic feet of gas in the Lusitanian Basin Province, Portugal.
Authors
Christopher J. Schenk, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Timothy R. Klett, Thomas M. Finn, Tracey J. Mercier, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Kristen R. Marra, Phuong A. Le, Sarah J. Hawkins, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Stanley T. Paxton

Cretaceous–Cenozoic burial and exhumation history of the Chukchi shelf, offshore Arctic Alaska Cretaceous–Cenozoic burial and exhumation history of the Chukchi shelf, offshore Arctic Alaska

Apatite fission track (AFT) and vitrinite reflectance data from five exploration wells and three seafloor cores illuminate the thermal history of the underexplored United States Chukchi shelf. On the northeastern shelf, Triassic strata in the Chevron 1 Diamond well record apatite annealing followed by cooling, possibly during the Triassic to Middle Jurassic, which is a thermal history...
Authors
William H. Craddock, David W. Houseknecht

Environmental drivers of differences in microbial community structure in crude oil reservoirs across a methanogenic gradient Environmental drivers of differences in microbial community structure in crude oil reservoirs across a methanogenic gradient

Stimulating in situ microbial communities in oil reservoirs to produce natural gas is a potentially viable strategy for recovering additional fossil fuel resources following traditional recovery operations. Little is known about what geochemical parameters drive microbial population dynamics in biodegraded, methanogenic oil reservoirs. We investigated if microbial community structure was
Authors
Jenna L. Shelton, Denise M. Akob, Jennifer C. McIntosh, Noah Fierer, John R. Spear, Peter D. Warwick, John E. McCray

Evaluation of gas production potential from gas hydrate deposits in National Petroleum Reserve Alaska using numerical simulations Evaluation of gas production potential from gas hydrate deposits in National Petroleum Reserve Alaska using numerical simulations

An evaluation of the gas production potential of Sunlight Peak gas hydrate accumulation in the eastern portion of the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska (NPRA) of Alaska North Slope (ANS) is conducted using numerical simulations, as part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) gas hydrate Life Cycle Assessment program. A field scale reservoir model for Sunlight Peak is developed using...
Authors
Manish S. Nandanwar, Brian J. Anderson, Taiwo Ajayi, Timothy S. Collett, Margarita V. Zyrianova

Age, distribution and style of deformation in Alaska north of 60°N: Implications for assembly of Alaska Age, distribution and style of deformation in Alaska north of 60°N: Implications for assembly of Alaska

The structural architecture of Alaska is the product of a complex history of deformation along both the Cordilleran and Arctic margins of North America involving oceanic plates, subduction zones and strike-slip faults and with continental elements of Laurentia, Baltica, and Siberia. We use geological constraints to assign regions of deformation to 14 time intervals and to map their...
Authors
Thomas E. Moore, Stephen E. Box

Chemical and isotopic changes in Williston Basin brines during long-term oil production: An example from the Poplar dome, Montana Chemical and isotopic changes in Williston Basin brines during long-term oil production: An example from the Poplar dome, Montana

Brine samples were collected from 30 conventional oil wells producing mostly from the Charles Formation of the Madison Group in the East and Northwest Poplar oil fields on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Montana. Dissolved concentrations of major ions, trace metals, Sr isotopes, and stable isotopes (oxygen and hydrogen) were analyzed to compare with a brine contaminant that affected...
Authors
Zell E. Peterman, Joanna N. Thamke

Bedrock morphology and structure, upper Santa Cruz Basin, south-central Arizona, with transient electromagnetic survey data Bedrock morphology and structure, upper Santa Cruz Basin, south-central Arizona, with transient electromagnetic survey data

The upper Santa Cruz Basin is an important groundwater basin containing the regional aquifer for the city of Nogales, Arizona. This report provides data and interpretations of data aimed at better understanding the bedrock morphology and structure of the upper Santa Cruz Basin study area which encompasses the Rio Rico and Nogales 1:24,000-scale U.S. Geological Survey quadrangles. Data...
Authors
Mark W. Bultman, William R. Page

Probing the volcanic-plutonic connection and the genesis of crystal-rich rhyolite in a deeply dissected supervolcano in the Nevada Great Basin: Source of the late Eocene Caetano Tuff Probing the volcanic-plutonic connection and the genesis of crystal-rich rhyolite in a deeply dissected supervolcano in the Nevada Great Basin: Source of the late Eocene Caetano Tuff

Late Cenozoic faulting and large-magnitude extension in the Great Basin of the western USA has created locally deep windows into the upper crust, permitting direct study of volcanic and plutonic rocks within individual calderas. The Caetano caldera in north–central Nevada, formed during the mid-Tertiary ignimbrite flare-up, offers one of the best exposed and most complete records of...
Authors
Kathryn E. Watts, David A. John, Joseph P. Colgan, Christopher D. Henry, Ilya N. Bindeman, Axel K. Schmitt

Larval aquatic insect responses to cadmium and zinc in experimental streams Larval aquatic insect responses to cadmium and zinc in experimental streams

To evaluate the risks of metal mixture effects to natural stream communities under ecologically relevant conditions, the authors conducted 30-d tests with benthic macroinvertebrates exposed to cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn) in experimental streams. The simultaneous exposures were with Cd and Zn singly and with Cd+Zn mixtures at environmentally relevant ratios. The tests produced...
Authors
Christopher A. Mebane, Travis S. Schmidt, Laurie S. Balistrieri

Geology and mineral resources of the North-Central Idaho Sagebrush Focal Area: Chapter C in Mineral resources of the Sagebrush Focal Areas of Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming Geology and mineral resources of the North-Central Idaho Sagebrush Focal Area: Chapter C in Mineral resources of the Sagebrush Focal Areas of Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming

Summary The U.S. Department of the Interior has proposed to withdraw approximately 10 million acres of Federal lands from mineral entry (subject to valid existing rights) from 12 million acres of lands defined as Sagebrush Focal Areas (SFAs) in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming (for further discussion on the lands involved see Scientific Investigations Report 2016–5089–A)...
Authors
Karen Lund, Lukas Zürcher, Albert H. Hofstra, Bradley S. Van Gosen, Mary Ellen Benson, Stephen E. Box, Eric D. Anderson, Donald I. Bleiwas, Jacob DeAngelo, Ronald M. Drake, Gregory L. Fernette, Stuart A. Giles, Jonathan M. G. Glen, Jon E. Haacke, John D. Horton, David A. John, Gilpin R. Robinson, Barnaby W. Rockwell, Carma A. San Juan, Brian N. Shaffer, Steven M. Smith, Colin F. Williams

Geology and mineral resources of the Sheldon-Hart Mountain National Wildlife Refuge Complex (Oregon and Nevada), the Southeastern Oregon and North-Central Nevada, and the Southern Idaho and Northern Nevada (and Utah) Sagebrush Focal Areas: Chapter B in Geology and mineral resources of the Sheldon-Hart Mountain National Wildlife Refuge Complex (Oregon and Nevada), the Southeastern Oregon and North-Central Nevada, and the Southern Idaho and Northern Nevada (and Utah) Sagebrush Focal Areas: Chapter B in

Summary The U.S. Department of the Interior has proposed to withdraw approximately 10 million acres of Federal lands from mineral entry (subject to valid existing rights) from 12 million acres of lands defined as Sagebrush Focal Areas (SFAs) in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming (for further discussion on the lands involved see Scientific Investigations Report 2016–5089–A)...
Authors
Peter G. Vikre, Mary Ellen Benson, Donald I. Bleiwas, Joseph P. Colgan, Pamela M. Cossette, Jacob DeAngelo, Connie L. Dicken, Ronald M. Drake, Edward A. du Bray, Gregory L. Fernette, Jonathan M. G. Glen, Jon E. Haacke, Susan M. Hall, Albert H. Hofstra, David A. John, Stephen Ludington, Mark J. Mihalasky, James J. Rytuba, Brian N. Shaffer, Lisa L. Stillings, John C. Wallis, Colin F. Williams, Douglas B. Yager, Lukas Zürcher
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