Oil and gas amass

Abstract

Current estimates of future reserve growth of existing U.S. oil and gas fields are significantly larger than previous estimates, according to a new assessment by the U.S. Geological Survey. In fact, they may be twice as big as those estimated in a 1989 assessment. USGS Director Gordon Eaton largely attributes the nearly two‐fold difference to “the use of newly available data from the Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration (EIA).” The new study estimates that 110 billion barrels of crude oil are “technically recoverable in the United States.” This includes 20 billion barrels in “proved reserves,” future growth of reserves of 60 billion barrels, undiscovered conventional resources between 23 and 40 barrels, and nearly 2 billion barrels from “unconventional” sources. Meanwhile, the study estimates that about 1,074 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas are recoverable, compared to about half that estimated in the 1989 assessment. The tally includes about 268 Tcf from undiscovered conventional accumulations, potential reserve growth in existing fields of about 322 Tcf, about 318 Tcf in continuous type accumulations in shales, sandstones, and chalks, and about 50 Tcf in coal beds. “This USGS assessment differs significantly from previous assessments because it includes more categories of oil and gas resources, including tight gas sandstones, coal bed gas and fractured shales,” which required the USGS to develop new methods, Eaton explains.