Research

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are leading an effort to conduct an extended gas hydrate production test in northern Alaska.

The ERP Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) Project is responsible for developing, implementing, and managing a LIMS architecture that expands the LIMS capabilities to support ERP laboratory needs for capturing, tracking, reporting, and managing sample and analysis data generated in ERP laboratories as well as data for samples submitted to external laboratories. The LIMS Project works...

The Geophysical Analysis of Energy Resources Project (also called the Geophysical Analysis Project) meets the need within the USGS and the Energy Resources Program to conduct advanced theoretical and applied research in reflection seismology to improve the delineation and characterization of both conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon resources. The scientists of the project fulfill these...

This task within the Oil and Gas Waters Project focuses on the development of oil and gas resources results in substantial volumes of produced water. Particularly when produced from deep geologic formations, these waters can exhibit elevated salinity in comparison to shallow groundwater at the same location. Knowing the spatial and temporal occurrence of high salinity produced water in groundwater...

Work within this task of the Oil and Gas Waters Project focuses on quantifying the water used during hydrocarbon development and the water produced along with oil and gas.

The members of this project have prepared a number of analyses that constitute the economic components of energy resource assessments. They have also proposed enhancements to geologic assessment data and methods that make results of assessments immediately amenable to economic analysis. In addition, they apply theoretically sound valuation methodologies to assess the commercial value of currently...

Geologic and geochemical processes that impact fuel quality, quantity, and availability can be best understood by utilizing a range of approaches, including, but not limited to isotopic signatures, inorganic and organic analyses, and neutron scattering techniques. Current work focuses on using neutron scattering to understand how fluids are stored and flow through tight continuous reservoirs and...

The Gulf Coast Geologic Energy Assessments and Research (GEAR) project also conducts research on the properties and processes relevant to the Gulf Coast Jurassic-Cretaceous-Tertiary composite total petroleum system (TPS). This research aims to improve ongoing and future undiscovered, technically recoverable hydrocarbon resources assessments on the onshore and State waters portion of the Gulf Coast...

The gas emission zone liberates and accumulates significant amounts of coal mine methane as a by-product of active mining. In most active mines, coal mine methane is controlled by wellbores, called gob gas ventholes. Despite the presence of these wellbores, it is not possible to capture all of the methane generated within the gas emission zone. As a consequence, a large amount of gas migrates into...

In the “Big Data and Data Visualization” task of the Oil and Gas Waters Project, we compile and update the USGS National Produced Waters Geochemical Database and use big data approaches to provide stakeholders with effortless access and modern tools for easier use and interpretation of our data.

In the “Characterization and Reuse of Oil and Gas Waters” task of the Oil and Gas Waters Project, we collect new water samples from conventional and hydraulically fractured unconventional plays in high priority oil and gas basins and use the geochemistry of water produced along with oil and gas (a) as a tool to interpret deep basin fluid flow and to fingerprint brines from specific reservoirs, (b)...

As a national science agency, the USGS is responsible for assessing hazards from earthquakes throughout the United States. The USGS studies induced seismicity across the spectrum of energy issues: carbon sequestration, geothermal energy, and conventional and unconventional oil and gas. In the central and eastern United States, earthquakes induced by fluid injection activities contribute...