Philip Freeman is an Operations Research Analyst with the USGS Geology, Energy & Minerals (GEM) Science Center in Reston, VA.
Philip obtained his B.S. in Engineering at Cornell University in 1986. He is an Operations Research Analyst at the Eastern Energy Resources Science Center in Reston, Virginia. His experience in resource assessment work spans oil and gas, coal, reserve growth, and carbon dioxide storage resources. He has worked on teams tasked to develop probabilistic resource assessment methodologies. His contributions to economic analysis includes developing business development models, constructing geographic analysis and estimating annual production functions. He has experience combining large datasets of well, reservoir and field data for physical characterization of rock and/or fluid properties and using GIS for analysis or presentation.
Professional Experience
1999 to present: Operations Research Analyst, U.S. Geological Survey, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center, Reston, VA
1997 to 1999: Cartographic Technician, U.S. Geological Survey, Eastern Energy Resources Team, Reston, VA
Education and Certifications
B.S. Engineering. Operations Research and Industrial Engineering, Cornell University, 1986
Science and Products
National assessment of carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery and associated carbon dioxide retention resources — Results
National assessment of carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery and associated carbon dioxide retention resources — Summary
Decision analysis and CO2–Enhanced oil recovery development strategies
Machine learning can assign geologic basin to produced water samples using major ion geochemistry
Comparison of machine learning approaches used to identify the drivers of Bakken oil well productivity
Well predictive performance of play-wide and Subarea Random Forest models for Bakken productivity
Methodology for estimating the prospective CO2 storage resource of residual oil zones at the national and regional scale
A probabilistic assessment methodology for carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery and associated carbon dioxide retention
Growth drivers of Bakken oil well productivity
Statistics of petroleum exploration in the world outside the United States and Canada through 2015
Carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery and residual oil zone studies at the U.S. Geological Survey
Federal lands greenhouse emissions and sequestration in the United States—Estimates for 2005–14
Economics of Energy Transitions
Economics, Energy Resources, and Future Energy Supply
Economics of Global Marginal Hydrocarbon and Non-traditional Resources
Economics of U.S. Oil and Gas Resources
Compilation of Geospatial Data (GIS) for the Mineral Industries and Related Infrastructure of Select Countries in Southwest Asia
National assessment of carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery and associated carbon dioxide retention resources - data release
Compilation of Geospatial Data (GIS) for the Mineral Industries and Related Infrastructure of Africa
Input Files and Code for: Machine learning can accurately assign geologic basin to produced water samples using major geochemical parameters
Federal Lands Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sequestration in the United States: Estimates 2005-14 - Data Release
Science and Products
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 60
National assessment of carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery and associated carbon dioxide retention resources — Results
In 2020, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed a probabilistic assessment of the volume of technically recoverable oil resources available if current carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) technologies were applied to amenable oil reservoirs underlying the onshore and State waters areas of the conterminous United States. The assessment also includes estimates of the mass of CO2 thatNational assessment of carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery and associated carbon dioxide retention resources — Summary
IntroductionIn 2020, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed a probabilistic assessment of the volume of technically recoverable oil resources that might be produced by using current carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) technologies in amenable conventional oil reservoirs underlying the onshore and State waters areas of the conterminous United States. The assessment also includes estDecision analysis and CO2–Enhanced oil recovery development strategies
This paper analyzes the relationship between actual reservoir conditions and predicted measures of performance of carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (CO2–EOR) programs. It then shows how CO2–EOR operators might maximize the value of their projects by approaching implementation using a “flexible selective” pattern development strategy, where the CO2–EOR program patterns are selectively developedMachine learning can assign geologic basin to produced water samples using major ion geochemistry
Understanding the geochemistry of waters produced during petroleum extraction is essential to informing the best treatment and reuse options, which can potentially be optimized for a given geologic basin. Here, we used the US Geological Survey’s National Produced Waters Geochemical Database (PWGD) to determine if major ion chemistry could be used to classify accurately a produced water sample to aComparison of machine learning approaches used to identify the drivers of Bakken oil well productivity
Geologists and petroleum engineers have struggled to identify the mechanisms that drive productivity in horizontal hydraulically fractured oil wells. The machine learning algorithms of Random Forest (RF), gradient boosting trees (GBT) and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) were applied to a dataset containing 7311 horizontal hydraulically fractured wells drilled into the middle member of the BakkWell predictive performance of play-wide and Subarea Random Forest models for Bakken productivity
In recent years, geologists and petroleum engineers have struggled to clearly identify the mechanisms that drive productivity in horizontal, hydraulically-fractured oil wells producing from the middle member of the Bakken formation. This paper fills a gap in the literature by showing how this play’s heterogeneity affects factors that drive well productivity. It is important because understanding tMethodology for estimating the prospective CO2 storage resource of residual oil zones at the national and regional scale
Residual oil zones (ROZs) are increasingly gaining interest as potential reservoirs for carbon dioxide (CO2) storage. Here, we present a national- and regional-scale methodology for estimating prospective CO2 storage resources in residual oil zones. This methodology uses a volumetric equation that accounts for CO2 storage as a free phase in pore space and as a dissolved phase in oil and does not aA probabilistic assessment methodology for carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery and associated carbon dioxide retention
The U.S. Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 authorized the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to conduct a national assessment of the potential volume of hydrocarbons recoverable by injection of carbon dioxide (CO2) into known oil reservoirs with historical production. The implementation of CO2 enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) techniques could increase the U.S. recoverable hydrocarbon resourceGrowth drivers of Bakken oil well productivity
This paper identifies the drivers of the phenomenal growth in productivity in hydraulically fractured horizontal oil wells producing from the middle member of the Bakken Formation in North Dakota. The data show a strong underlying spatial component and somewhat weaker temporal component. Drivers of the spatial component are favorable reservoir conditions. The temporal component of well productivStatistics of petroleum exploration in the world outside the United States and Canada through 2015
The world’s future oil and gas supplies depend on existing reserves and the additions to those reserves that may result, in part, from ongoing exploration and new discoveries. This Circular summarizes available oil and gas exploration data for the world outside the United States and Canada (the study area) through 2015. It updates U.S. Geological Survey Circulars 981, 1096, and 1288 (by D.H. Root,Carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery and residual oil zone studies at the U.S. Geological Survey
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is preparing a national resource assessment of the potential hydrocarbons recoverable after injection of carbon dioxide (CO2) into conventional oil reservoirs in the United States. The implementation of CO2-enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) techniques can increase hydrocarbon production, and lead to incidental retention of CO2 in reservoir pore space allowing long-tFederal lands greenhouse emissions and sequestration in the United States—Estimates for 2005–14
In January 2016, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior tasked the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) with producing a publicly available and annually updated database of estimated greenhouse gas emissions associated with the extraction and use (predominantly some form of combustion) of fossil fuels from Federal lands. In response, the USGS has produced estimates of the greenhouse gas emi - Science
Economics of Energy Transitions
This task conducts research to characterize or evaluate the economics of developing technologies or markets in geologic resources. Such research can analyze the relative risks, costs, and benefits from the utilization and not just the extraction of underground resource. Economic analysis builds upon the geologic resource assessment work by other tasks in the Utilization of Carbon and other Energy...Economics, Energy Resources, and Future Energy Supply
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...Economics of Global Marginal Hydrocarbon and Non-traditional Resources
During the last decade many producing countries have reassigned conventional oil and gas development rights to their national oil companies (NOCs). In fact the 13 largest energy companies, when measured by oil and gas reserves, are controlled by sovereign governments. The result is that the NOC’s will control a significant share of future oil and gas production. The international oil companies...Economics of U.S. Oil and Gas Resources
The U.S. Geological Survey prepares geologic assessments of undiscovered and undeveloped (identified) oil and gas resources (see National Oil and Gas Assessment website). In addition to our USGS oil and gas geologic assessments, economic research gives policymakers and analysts in the private sector additional information by scaling economic variables. Economic attributes must include the costs of... - Data
Compilation of Geospatial Data (GIS) for the Mineral Industries and Related Infrastructure of Select Countries in Southwest Asia
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has compiled a geodatabase containing mineral-related geospatial data for 10 countries of interest in Southwest Asia (area of study): Afghanistan, Cambodia, Laos, India, Indonesia, Iran, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, and Thailand. The data can be used in analyses of the extractive fuel and nonfuel mineral industries and related economic and physical infrastructureNational assessment of carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery and associated carbon dioxide retention resources - data release
In 2020, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed a probabilistic assessment of the volume of technically recoverable oil resources available if current carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery (CO2-EOR) technologies were applied in amenable oil reservoirs underlying the onshore and State waters area of the conterminous United States. The assessment also includes estimates of the magnitude of CO2 sCompilation of Geospatial Data (GIS) for the Mineral Industries and Related Infrastructure of Africa
This geodatabase reflects the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) ongoing commitment to its mission of understanding the nature and distribution of global mineral commodity supply chains by updating and publishing the georeferenced locations of mineral commodity production and processing facilities, mineral exploration and development sites, and mineral commodity exporting ports in Africa. The geodataInput Files and Code for: Machine learning can accurately assign geologic basin to produced water samples using major geochemical parameters
As more hydrocarbon production from hydraulic fracturing and other methods produce large volumes of water, innovative methods must be explored for treatment and reuse of these waters. However, understanding the general water chemistry of these fluids is essential to providing the best treatment options optimized for each producing area. Machine learning algorithms can often be applied to datasetsFederal Lands Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sequestration in the United States: Estimates 2005-14 - Data Release
This dataset includes ten years of emissions and sequestration estimates (2005-2014) in two separate tables, 1) the combustion and extraction of fossil fuels on Federal lands and 2) processes from the ecosystems on those Federal lands. The fossil fuel related estimates include the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O), and the ecosystems estimates include on