Justin Birdwell
My USGS research involves a range of energy-related issues, including: assessing undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources in U.S. petroleum systems; evaluating geothermal, critical minerals, and energy storage potential in sedimentary basins; examining environmental impacts of energy development; and researching paleoenvironmental conditions using geochemical methods.
Justin Birdwell is a research engineer and geochemist with the USGS Energy Resources Program’s Gulf Coast Geologic Energy Assessments and Research project. As a Mendenhall Post-doctoral Research Fellow he helped refine previous assessments of Green River oil shale resources, conducted experimental work to evaluate in-situ retorting approaches to oil shave development, and studied the environmental impacts of oil shale utilization. His current work is focused on petroleum resource assessments in Gulf Coast and Rocky Mountain basins, geochemical characterization of source rocks and petroleum using standard and advanced methods, evaluation of non-petroleum resource potential in petroliferous sedimentary basins, and development of geochemical reference materials.
Justin is the current Chair of the Geological Society of America’s Energy Geology Division (2024), past-president of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) Energy Minerals Division (EMD; 2021-2022), an Associate Editor of AAPG Bulletin, Member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Coal Geology, a representative of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists in the AAPG House of Delegates, and three-time technical program chair for the AAPG Rocky Mountain Section annual meeting (2022-2024).
https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=16174195400
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Justin_Birdwell
https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=7xr20ZQAAAAJ
Professional Experience
10/2012-2/2024, Research Environmental Engineer, USGS
11/2011-9/2012, General Research Engineer, USGS
10/2009-10/2011, Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellow/Research Engineer, USGS
1/2008-9/2009, Research Associate, LSU
8/2002-12/2007, Graduate Student/Research & Teaching Assistant, LSU
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, 2007, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Advisor: Louis J. Thibodeaux)
B.S., Chemical Engineering, 2002, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Science and Products
Data on Produced Water Quality and Quantities from Hydraulically Fractured Williston Basin Oil Wells
Atomic Force Microscopy-based Infrared Spectroscopy Data within Immature Eagle Ford Shale at the Nanometer-scale
Reflectance, Raman band separation and Mean multivariant curve resolution (MCR) in organic matter in Boquillas Shale
Results from geochemical and mineralogical characterization of Boquillas Shale geochemical reference material ShBOQ-1
Results of leaching experiments on 12 energy-related shales from the United States
Nanoscale Molecular Composition of Solid Bitumen from the Eagle Ford Group Across a Natural Thermal Maturity Gradient
Geochemistry data for the USGS Gulf Coast #1 West Woodway core - A thermally immature core of the Eagle Ford Group in central Texas
High Microscale Variability in Raman Thermal Maturity Estimates from Shale Organic Matter - Data Release
Mineral Occurrence data for the Eocene Green River Formation in the Piceance and Uinta Basins
Evaluating aromatization of solid bitumen generated in the presence and absence of water: Implications for solid bitumen reflectance as a thermal proxy
Multimineral petrophysics of thermally immature Eagle Ford Group and Cretaceous mudstones, U.S. Geological Survey Gulf Coast 1 research wellbore in central Texas
Compositional evolution of organic matter in Boquillas Shale across a thermal gradient at the single particle level
Geochemical and mineralogical properties of Boquillas Shale geochemical reference material ShBOQ-1
Water–rock interaction and the concentrations of major, trace, and rare earth elements in hydrocarbon-associated produced waters of the United States
Insights on geochemical, isotopic, and volumetric compositions of produced water from hydraulically fractured Williston Basin oil wells
Tracing produced water origins from wells hydraulically fractured with freshwater-based fluids is sometimes predicated on assumptions that (1) each geological formation contains compositionally unique brine and (2) produced water from recently hydraulically fractured wells resembles fresher meteoric water more so than produced water from older wells. These assumptions are not valid in Williston Ba
A review of spatially resolved techniques and applications of organic petrography in shale petroleum systems
Science and Products
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Filter Total Items: 21
Data on Produced Water Quality and Quantities from Hydraulically Fractured Williston Basin Oil Wells
This dataset contains compositional data on 17 produced water samples from hydraulically fractured unconventional oil wells completed in the Middle Bakken and Three Forks Formations. The oil wells are located in five different wellfields across the Williston Basin. Specific gravity, conductivity, temperature, pH and oxidation-reduction potential for each sample was measured in the field. Ions (B,Atomic Force Microscopy-based Infrared Spectroscopy Data within Immature Eagle Ford Shale at the Nanometer-scale
The nanoscale molecular composition of kerogen is a challenging parameter to characterize given the chemical and structural complexity exhibited by this important biopolymer. However, kerogen composition will strongly impact its reactivity and so is a critical parameter to understand petroleum generation processes during kerogen catagenesis. The recent advent of tip-enhanced analytical methods, suReflectance, Raman band separation and Mean multivariant curve resolution (MCR) in organic matter in Boquillas Shale
The molecular composition of petroliferous organic matter and its composition evolution throughout thermal advance are key to understanding and insight into petroleum generation. This information is critical for comprehending hydrocarbon resources in unconventional reservoirs, as source rock organic matter is highly dispersed, in contact with the surrounding mineral matrix, and may be present as mResults from geochemical and mineralogical characterization of Boquillas Shale geochemical reference material ShBOQ-1
This data release accompanies a Fact Sheet on the ShBOQ-1 geochemical reference material (Birdwell and Wilson, 2021). Average and standard deviations reported in the Fact Sheet were calculated using the values compiled here.Results of leaching experiments on 12 energy-related shales from the United States
Inorganic compositions of flowback and co-produced waters from hydrocarbon extraction have been studied directly and through laboratory experiments that seek to replicate subsurface water-rock interaction. Here a broad analysis is made of compositions from the U.S. Geological Survey Produced Waters Database (v2.3) and leachates (water, hydrochloric acid, artificial brine) for 12 energy-resource reNanoscale Molecular Composition of Solid Bitumen from the Eagle Ford Group Across a Natural Thermal Maturity Gradient
Solid bitumen is a petrographically-defined secondary organic matter residue produced during petroleum generation and subsequent oil transformation. The presence of solid bitumen impacts many shale reservoir properties including porosity, permeability, and hydrocarbon generation and storage, amongst others. Furthermore, solid bitumen reflectance is an important parameter for assessing the thermalGeochemistry data for the USGS Gulf Coast #1 West Woodway core - A thermally immature core of the Eagle Ford Group in central Texas
Petroleum source rocks deposited during Cenomanian - Turonian time (late Cretaceous) are major generators of continuous and conventional oil and gas resources in the Gulf of Mexico Basin. The Eagle Ford Shale is a particularly important petroleum system and represents a substantial fraction of total oil and gas production in the United States. Significant lateral and vertical geochemical and minerHigh Microscale Variability in Raman Thermal Maturity Estimates from Shale Organic Matter - Data Release
Here the spatial variation in Raman estimates of thermal maturity within individual organic domains from several shale geologic reference materials originating from the Boquillas, Marcellus, Niobrara, and Woodford Formations are assessed from the respective Raman response. We show that for all four shales the thermal maturity parameters extracted from Raman spectra by iterative peak fitting can vaMineral Occurrence data for the Eocene Green River Formation in the Piceance and Uinta Basins
This legacy database lists occurrences of minerals identified in the Green River Formation in the Uinta and Piceance Basins, Utah and Colorado using X-ray diffraction (XRD). The database was compiled from data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and former U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM). The database includes 1200 samples from 14 cores in the Uinta Basin and 9443 samples from 30 cores in t - Publications
Filter Total Items: 82
Evaluating aromatization of solid bitumen generated in the presence and absence of water: Implications for solid bitumen reflectance as a thermal proxy
Geological models for petroleum generation suggest thermal conversion of oil-prone sedimentary organic matter in the presence of water promotes increased liquid saturate yield, whereas absence of water causes formation of an aromatic, cross-linked solid bitumen residue. To test the influence of hydrogen from water, organic-rich (22 wt% total organic carbon, TOC) mudrock samples from the Eocene lacAuthorsPaul C. Hackley, Aaron M. Jubb, Patrick L. Smith, Ryan J. McAleer, Brett J. Valentine, Javin J. Hatcherian, Palma J. Botterell, Justin E. BirdwellMultimineral petrophysics of thermally immature Eagle Ford Group and Cretaceous mudstones, U.S. Geological Survey Gulf Coast 1 research wellbore in central Texas
Traditional petrophysical methods to evaluate organic richness and mineralogy using gamma-ray and resistivity log responses are not diagnostic in source rocks. We have developed a deterministic, nonproprietary method to quantify formation variability in total organic carbon (TOC) and three key mudrock mineralogical components of nonhydrocarbon-bearing source rock strata of the Eagle Ford Group byAuthorsLauri A. Burke, Justin E. Birdwell, Stanley T. PaxtonCompositional evolution of organic matter in Boquillas Shale across a thermal gradient at the single particle level
The molecular composition of petroliferous organic matter and its compositional evolution throughout thermal maturation provides insight for understanding petroleum generation. This information is critical for understanding hydrocarbon resources in unconventional reservoirs, as source rock organic matter is highly dispersed, in contact with the surrounding mineral matrix, and may occur as multipleAuthorsJustin E. Birdwell, Aaron M. Jubb, Paul C. Hackley, Javin J. HatcherianGeochemical and mineralogical properties of Boquillas Shale geochemical reference material ShBOQ-1
The ShBOQ-1 geochemical reference material is relevant to studies of the organic geochemistry and mineralogy of petroleum source rocks containing high concentrations of carbonate minerals and organic sulfur-rich, oil-prone marine organic matter. ShBOQ-1 is geochemically and mineralogically similar to the lower part of the Upper Cretaceous Eagle Ford Shale.AuthorsJustin E. Birdwell, Stephen A. WilsonWater–rock interaction and the concentrations of major, trace, and rare earth elements in hydrocarbon-associated produced waters of the United States
Studies of co-produced waters from hydrocarbon extraction across multiple energy-producing basins have generally focused on major ions or a few select tracers, and studies that examine trace elements and involve laboratory experiments have generally been basin specific. Here, new perspective is sought through a broad analysis of concentration data for 26 elements from three hydrocarbon well typesAuthorsCarleton R. Bern, Justin E. Birdwell, Aaron M. JubbInsights on geochemical, isotopic, and volumetric compositions of produced water from hydraulically fractured Williston Basin oil wells
Tracing produced water origins from wells hydraulically fractured with freshwater-based fluids is sometimes predicated on assumptions that (1) each geological formation contains compositionally unique brine and (2) produced water from recently hydraulically fractured wells resembles fresher meteoric water more so than produced water from older wells. These assumptions are not valid in Williston Ba
AuthorsTanya J. Gallegos, Colin A. Doolan, Rodney R. Caldwell, Mark A Engle, Matthew S. Varonka, Justin E. Birdwell, Glenn D. Jolly, Tyler B. Coplen, Thomas A. OliverByA review of spatially resolved techniques and applications of organic petrography in shale petroleum systems
This review examines new techniques and applications of organic petrography in source-rock reservoir petroleum systems that have occurred along with development of the global ‘shale revolution’ in energy resources. The review is limited to techniques and instrumentation that provide spatially resolved information, typically at or below microscales, for dispersed organic matter occurring in situ inAuthorsPaul C. Hackley, Aaron M. Jubb, Ryan J. McAleer, Brett J. Valentine, Justin E. Birdwell