Emil D. Attanasi, Ph.D.
Emil Attanasi is a Supervisory Research Economist (Scientist Emeritus) with the USGS Geology, Energy & Minerals (GEM) Science Center in Reston, VA.
Emil Attanasi has been an economist with the U.S. Geological Survey since 1972. His work focuses on the valuation of hydrologic data, development of resource assessment methods for undiscovered oil and gas, assessment of CO2-EOR potential, and the application of economics to oil, gas, and minerals resource assessments.
Professional Experience
United States Geological Survey since 1972
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. University of Missouri, 1972, Economics
M.S. George Mason University, 2003, Statistical Science
B.A. Evangel College, 1969, Mathematics
Affiliations and Memberships*
American Economic Association, 1972 – present
Science and Products
Size-frequency analysis of petroleum accumulations in selected United States plays: potential analogues for frontier areas
Heavy Oil and Natural Bitumen : strategic petroleum resources
Economics of undiscovered oil in Federal Lands on the National Petroleum Reserve, Alaska
Uncertainty and inferred reserve estimates — The 1995 National Assessment
Frontier areas and resource assessment: Case of the 1002 area of the Alaska North Slope
To sell or not sell: Assessments of Bangladesh hydrocarbons
Comparison of two probability distributions used to model sizes of undiscovered oil and gas accumulations: Does the tail wag the assessment?
Some aspects of resource uncertainty and their economic consequences in assessment of the 1002 Area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Forces Shaping Future U.S. Coal Production and Use
Geologic coal assessment: The interface with economics
Inferred oil and gas reserve estimates for the United States
Growth in conventional fields in high-cost areas: A case study
Science and Products
- Data
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 150
Size-frequency analysis of petroleum accumulations in selected United States plays: potential analogues for frontier areas
This report presents the petroleum accumulation size-frequency relationships of selected mature plays assessed in the U.S. Geological Survey's 1995 National Assessment of Oil and Gas Resources. The plays provide assessors with potential analogue models from which to estimate the numbers of undiscovered accumulations in medium and smaller size categories. Each play selected was required to have atAuthorsEmil D. Attanasi, Philip A. FreemanHeavy Oil and Natural Bitumen : strategic petroleum resources
No abstract available.AuthorsRichard F. Meyer, E. D. AttanasiEconomics of undiscovered oil in Federal Lands on the National Petroleum Reserve, Alaska
No abstract available.AuthorsE. D. AttanasiUncertainty and inferred reserve estimates — The 1995 National Assessment
Inferred reserves are expected additions to proved reserves of oil and gas fields discovered as of a certain date. Inferred reserves accounted for 65 percent of the total oil and 34 percent of the total gas assessed in the U.S. Geological Survey's 1995 National Assessment of oil and gas in onshore and State offshore areas. The assessment predicted that over the 80-year period from 1992 through 207AuthorsEmil D. Attanasi, Timothy C. CoburnFrontier areas and resource assessment: Case of the 1002 area of the Alaska North Slope
The U.S. Geological Survey's 1998 assessment of the 1002 Area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge significantly revised previous estimates of the area's petroleum supply potential. The mean (or expected) value of technically recoverable undiscovered oil for the Study Area (Federal 1002 Area, adjacent State waters, and Native Lands) is estimated at 10.4 billion barrels of oil (BBO) and for theAuthorsE. D. Attanasi, John H. SchuenemeyerTo sell or not sell: Assessments of Bangladesh hydrocarbons
A decision by the government of Bangladesh to sell or not sell some of its natural gas reserves to neighboring countries in South Asia will be important in determining the economic future of Bangladesh, a country with an area about equal to Wisconsin.Bangladesh is a country of 150 million people, many of whom live at or below the poverty line. It is situated almost entirely on the great low-lyingAuthorsRobert C. Milici, Peter D. Warwick, Emil D. Attanasi, Craig J. WandreyComparison of two probability distributions used to model sizes of undiscovered oil and gas accumulations: Does the tail wag the assessment?
Undiscovered oil and gas assessments are commonly reported as aggregate estimates of hydrocarbon volumes. Potential commercial value and discovery costs are, however, determined by accumulation size, so engineers, economists, decision makers, and sometimes policy analysts are most interested in projected discovery sizes. The lognormal and Pareto distributions have been used to model exploration taAuthorsE.D. Attanasi, Ronald R. CharpentierSome aspects of resource uncertainty and their economic consequences in assessment of the 1002 Area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Exploration ventures in frontier areas have high risks. Before committing to them, firms prepare regional resource assessments to evaluate the potential payoffs. With no historical basis for directly estimating size distribution of undiscovered accumulations, reservoir attribute probability distributions can be assessed subjectively and used to project undiscovered accumulation sizes. Three questiAuthorsEmil D. Attanasi, John H. SchuenemeyerForces Shaping Future U.S. Coal Production and Use
More than half of the electricity in the United States is generated by coal-fired powerplants. U.S. coal producers sell almost 90 percent of their product for electricity generation, and so, the future of the U.S. coal industry will be determined by the future of coal-fired electricity-generation plants. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is completing a National Coal Resource Assessment (NCRA)AuthorsE. D. Attanasi, Brenda S. PierceGeologic coal assessment: The interface with economics
Geologic resource assessments describe the location, general characteristics, and estimated volumes of resources, whether in situ or technically recoverable. Such compilations are only an initial step in economic resource evaluation. This paper identifies, by examples from the Illinois and Appalachian basins, the salient features of a geologic assessment that assure its usefulness to downstream ecAuthorsE.D. AttanasiInferred oil and gas reserve estimates for the United States
No abstract available.AuthorsE.D. AttanasiGrowth in conventional fields in high-cost areas: A case study
Exploration managers commonly base future drilling decisions on past experience in an area. To do this well, they should consider both discovered and undiscovered resources to characterize total future potential. Discovery-size estimates should be adjusted to account for future field growth; otherwise, the relative efficiency of recent exploration will be undervalued. This study models and projecAuthorsE. D. Attanasi
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government