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| Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated a mean of 183 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered natural gas,
a mean of 2,350 million barrels of undiscovered oil, and a mean of 3,160 million barrels of undiscovered natural gas liquids in six provinces for EPCA 2000. |
|
| Introduction |
| The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed an assessment of the potential for undiscovered oil and gas resources
of five of six priority provinces (fig. 1) to meet the requirements of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 2000 (EPCA 2000).
The assessment results for the Paradox Basin Province are from Dolton and Fox (1996). The assessment of each province is based
on the geologic elements of each Total Petroleum System defined in the province, including hydrocarbon source rocks (source-rock
maturation, hydrocarbon generation and migration), reservoir rocks (sequence stratigraphy and petrophysical properties), and hydrocarbon
traps (trap formation and timing). Using this geologic framework, the USGS quantitatively estimated the undiscovered oil and
gas resources within each province (table 1). |
|
| Resource Summary |
| The USGS assessed undiscovered conventional oil and gas and continuous (unconventional) oil and gas. The USGS estimated a mean
of 183 trillion cubic feet of gas (TCFG), a mean of 2,350 million barrels of oil (MMBO), and a mean of 3,160 million barrels of total
natural gas liquids (MMBNGL) in six provinces. About 92 percent (169 TCFG) of the undiscovered gas resource is continuous, and about
8 percent (13 TCFG) is conventional (table 1). Of the 169 TCFG of undiscovered continuous gas at the mean, about 42 TCFG (or 25
percent) is estimated to be coal-bed gas. Volumes of undiscovered continuous gas resources are estimated to be far greater than undiscovered
conventional gas resources in the Southwestern Wyoming, San Juan, Uinta-Piceance, and Powder River Provinces; only the Montana
Thrust Belt Province and the Southwestern Wyoming Province contain significant undiscovered conventional gas resources (table 1).
Of the 2,350 MMB of undiscovered oil at the mean, about 837 MMB (36 percent) is estimated to be undiscovered continuous oil,
and 1,513 MMB (64 percent) is undiscovered conventional oil. About 75 percent (1,131 MMBO) of the undiscovered conventional oil is in
the Powder River Basin Province. |
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Figure 1. Location of six Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 2000 provinces.
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| For Further Information |
Supporting geologic studies of Total Petroleum Systems and Assessment
Units, and reports on the methodology used in the EPCA 2000 province
assessments, are in progress.
Assessment results are available at the USGS Central Energy Team website:
http://energy.cr.usgs.gov/oilgas/noga/ |
| USGS EPCA 2000 Assessment
Team: |
| Christopher J. Schenk (Task Leader; schenk@usgs.gov), Ronald R. Charpentier, Troy A. Cook, Thaddeus S. Dyman, Christopher D.
French, Mitchell E. Henry, Timothy R. Klett, William J. Perry, Richard M. Pollastro, and Christopher J. Potter. |
| Reference Cited |
| Dolton, G.L., and Fox, J.E., 1996, Powder River Basin Province (033), in Gautier, D.L., Dolton, G.L., Takahashi, K.I., and Varnes, K.L., eds.,
1995 National Assessment of Oil and Gas Resources—Results, methodology, and supporting data: U.S. Geological Survey Digital Data Series DDS-30, one CD-ROM, Release 2. |
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