USGS Releases New Oil and Gas Assessment for Bakken and Three Forks Formations

 

The Bakken and Three Forks Formations contain an estimated mean of 7.4 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil.  The updated assessment for the Bakken and Three Forks represents a twofold increase over what has previously been thought. These two formations are also estimated to contain a mean of 6.7 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered, technically recoverable natural gas and 0.53 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable natural gas liquids, a threefold increase for both resources.

The geological foundation that underpins the assessment was facilitated by data provided by the North Dakota Geological Survey, North Dakota Industrial Commission, Montana Board of Oil and Gas, and multiple industry groups working in this region.  This new information and data allowed USGS to develop a more robust geologic model and understanding of the petroleum system of the Bakken and Three Forks Formations.

USGS Releases New Oil and Gas Assessment for Bakken and Three Forks Formations





The Bakken and Three Forks Formations contain an estimated mean of 7.4 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil.  The updated assessment for the Bakken and Three Forks represents a twofold increase over what has previously been thought. These two formations are also estimated to contain a mean of 6.7 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered, technically recoverable natural gas and 0.53 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable natural gas liquids, a threefold increase for both resources.

The geological foundation that underpins the assessment was facilitated by data provided by the North Dakota Geological Survey, North Dakota Industrial Commission, Montana Board of Oil and Gas, and multiple industry groups working in this region.  This new information and data allowed USGS to develop a more robust geologic model and understanding of the petroleum system of the Bakken and Three Forks Formations. Department of the Interior Press Release (4/30/13) USGS 2013 Assessment Fact Sheet USGS Science Article Bakken FAQs Bakken Media Gallery List of Assessments and Related Links
Bakken Location Map
Map showing the Williston Basin Province and Bakken TPS.
North Dakota Badlands
North Dakota Badlands with Bakken oil pads in the distance.
Bakken drill rig
Bakken drilling and completion work.
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Technical Announcement

New Insight on Gas Hydrates in Gulf of Mexico
Research is Part of a Long-Standing, Interagency Collaboration
Scientists have returned from a 15‑day research expedition in the northern Gulf of Mexico with the best high-resolution seismic data and imagery ever obtained of sediments with high gas hydrate saturations.

The expedition and the data and imagery collected resulted from long-standing cooperation between the U.S. Department of the Interior's U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). This collaboration aims to advance scientific understanding of gas hydrates, an important potential future energy resource.