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Assessment of continuous oil resources in the Wolfcamp shale of the Midland Basin, Permian Basin Province, Texas, 2016

March 6, 2017

The U.S. Geological Survey completed a geology-based assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable continuous petroleum resources in the Wolfcamp shale in the Midland Basin part of the Permian Basin Province of west Texas. This is the first U.S. Geological Survey evaluation of continuous resources in the Wolfcamp shale in the Midland Basin. Since the 1980s, the Wolfcamp shale in the Midland Basin has been part of the “Wolfberry” play. This play has traditionally been developed using vertical wells that are completed and stimulated in multiple productive stratigraphic intervals that include the Wolfcamp shale and overlying Spraberry Formation. Since the shift to horizontal wells targeting the organic-rich shale of the Wolfcamp, more than 3,000 horizontal wells have been drilled and completed in the Midland Basin Wolfcamp section. The U.S. Geological Survey assessed technically recoverable mean resources of 20 billion barrels of oil and 16 trillion cubic feet of associated gas in the Wolfcamp shale in the Midland Basin.

Publication Year 2017
Title Assessment of continuous oil resources in the Wolfcamp shale of the Midland Basin, Permian Basin Province, Texas, 2016
DOI 10.3133/ofr20171013
Authors Stephanie B. Gaswirth
Publication Type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Series Title Open-File Report
Series Number 2017-1013
Index ID ofr20171013
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Central Energy Resources Science Center