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Assessment of continuous oil resources in the Wolfcamp shale of the Midland Basin, Permian Basin Province, Texas, 2016

Open-File Report 2017-1013
By:
https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20171013

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Abstract

The U.S. Geological Survey completed a geology-based assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable continuous petroleum resources in the Wolfcamp shale in the Midland Basin part of the Permian Basin Province of west Texas. This is the first U.S. Geological Survey evaluation of continuous resources in the Wolfcamp shale in the Midland Basin. Since the 1980s, the Wolfcamp shale in the Midland Basin has been part of the “Wolfberry” play. This play has traditionally been developed using vertical wells that are completed and stimulated in multiple productive stratigraphic intervals that include the Wolfcamp shale and overlying Spraberry Formation. Since the shift to horizontal wells targeting the organic-rich shale of the Wolfcamp, more than 3,000 horizontal wells have been drilled and completed in the Midland Basin Wolfcamp section. The U.S. Geological Survey assessed technically recoverable mean resources of 20 billion barrels of oil and 16 trillion cubic feet of associated gas in the Wolfcamp shale in the Midland Basin.

Suggested Citation

Gaswirth, S.B., 2017, Assessment of continuous oil resources in the Wolfcamp shale of the Midland Basin, Permian Basin Province, Texas, 2016: U.S. Geological Survey Open File-Report 2017–1013, 14 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20171013.

ISSN: 2331-1258 (online)

Study Area

Table of Contents

  • Assessment of the Wolfcamp Shale
  • Wolfcamp Production
  • Wolfcamp by the Numbers
  • Conventional versus Continuous Resources
  • USGS Assessment Methodology For Continuous-Type Accumulations
  • Stratigraphy and Assessment Units
  • Wolfcamp Shale Assessment Units
  • Wolfcamp Shale Mean Assessment Results Per Assessment Unit
  • Midland Basin Wolfcamp Shale Assessment Summary
  • Wolfcamp Shale of the Midland Basin: Largest Continuous Oil Accumulation Assessed by the USGS
  • References
Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Assessment of continuous oil resources in the Wolfcamp shale of the Midland Basin, Permian Basin Province, Texas, 2016
Series title Open-File Report
Series number 2017-1013
DOI 10.3133/ofr20171013
Year Published 2017
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Publisher location Reston, VA
Contributing office(s) Central Energy Resources Science Center
Description 14 p.
Country United States
State Texas
Other Geospatial Midland Basin, Permian Basin Province
Online Only (Y/N) Y
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
Additional publication details