Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

In-place oil shale resources examined by grade in the major basins of the Green River Formation, Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming

February 8, 2013

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated a total of 4.285 trillion barrels of oil in-place in the oil shale of the three principal basins of the Eocene Green River Formation. Using oil shale cutoffs of potentially viable (15 gallons per ton) and high grade (25 gallons per ton), it is estimated that between 353 billion and 1.146 trillion barrels of the in-place resource have a high potential for development.

Publication Year 2013
Title In-place oil shale resources examined by grade in the major basins of the Green River Formation, Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming
DOI 10.3133/fs20123145
Authors Justin E. Birdwell, Tracey J. Mercier, Ronald C. Johnson, Michael E. Brownfield
Publication Type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Series Title Fact Sheet
Series Number 2012-3145
Index ID fs20123145
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Central Energy Resources Science Center