Skip Links

Open-File Report 2006-1154

About USGS /  Science Topics /  Maps, Products & Publications /  Education / Publication: FAQ

Environmental aspects of produced-water salt releases in onshore and coastal petroleum-producing areas of the conterminous U.S. – a bibliography

By James K. Otton

thumbnail of figure 1 and link to reportDownload Publication
Open-File Report
PDF (1 MB)

Environmental effects associated with the production of oil and gas have been reported since the first oil wells were drilled in the Appalachian Basin in Pennsylvania and Kentucky in the early to mid-1800s. The most significant of these effects are the degradation of soils, ground water, surface water, and ecosystems they support by releases of suspended and dissolved hydrocarbons and co-produced saline water. This bibliography cites papers that describe the effects of produced-water salt releases from oil and gas production operations, techniques for detecting these effects, remediation of soils and ground water, and geochemical data relevant to understanding natural ground waters in producing areas.

This bibliography includes studies from across the oil- and natural-gas-producing areas of the conterminous United States that were published in the last 80 yrs.

Version 1.0

Posted September 2006

Part or all of this report is presented in Portable Document Format (PDF); the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader or similar software is required to view it. Download the latest version of Acrobat Reader, free of charge or go to access.adobe.com for free tools that allow visually impaired users to read PDF files.

USA.gov logo  Take Pride in America button