National and Global Petroleum Assessment

Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources in the 

Bossier Formation, U.S. Gulf Coast, 2016

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2017–3015

April 2017 Printed on recycled paper

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean 

resources of 2.9 billion barrels of conventional oil and 108.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the Upper Jurassic Bossier Formation in 

onshore lands and State waters of the U.S. Gulf Coast region.

Figure 1. Map showing approximate boundaries for the four assessment units 

(AUs) in the Upper Jurassic Bossier Formation. 

Introduction

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessed 

undiscovered, technically recoverable oil, gas, and 

natural gas liquids in the Upper Jurassic Bossier 

Formation and stratigraphically equivalent units 

in the subsurface of the Gulf Coast from south 

Texas to the Florida Panhandle (fig. 1). The Bossier 

Formation is part of the Upper Jurassic–Cretaceous–

Tertiary Composite Total Petroleum System (TPS) 

in onshore lands and State waters of the U.S. Gulf 

Coast region. Strata in each assessment unit (AU) 

within a TPS share similar stratigraphic, structural, 

and petroleum-charge histories.

Geologic Models for Assessment

Mudstones within the Upper Jurassic Smackover, 

Haynesville, and Bossier Formations are sources of 

oil and gas in both conventional (Montgomery 1993a, 

1993b, 2001; Mancini and others, 2006; Goddard and 

others, 2008) and continuous reservoirs (Hammes and 

Frébourg, 2012; Cicero and Steinhoff, 2013) in much of 

the assessment area. Conventional sandstone reservoirs 

in the Bossier Formation were deposited in marginal 

marine and marine shelf, slope, and basin floor depositional settings. Continuous mudstone reservoirs of the 

Bossier Formation are located basinward of Bossier 

Formation and Cotton Valley Group sandstones. 

Assessment Units

Three of the four Bossier Formation AUs were 

quantitatively assessed (fig. 1). Parts of the two conventional AUs overlap the continuous AUs. Table 1 

lists input data used to calculate volumes of undiscovered resources in the three AUs.

The Bossier Western Shelf Sandstone Gas AU is 

defined by faults on the north and west and lithofacies 

extending east into the East Texas Basin (Salvador, 

1991; Klein and Chaivre, 2002; Cicero and Steinhoff, 

2013). Reservoirs transition from fluviodeltaic in the 

west to shelf, slope, and basin floor fans to the east 

(Montgomery, 2001).

The Bossier Eastern Shelf Sandstone Gas and Oil AU is defined by faults 

on the northeast and lithofacies extending southwest to the continental shelfbreak and beyond (Salvador, 1991; Cicero and Steinhoff, 2013). Reservoirs 

transition from fluviodeltaic and paralic in the east to fans on the shelf, slope, 

and basin floor to the southwest (Cicero and Steinhoff, 2013, fig. 12).

The Bossier Shale Continuous Gas AU is defined by mudstones interbedded 

with and basinward of Bossier Formation sandstones and Cotton Valley Group 

sandstones (Salvador, 1991; Hammes and Frébourg, 2012; Cicero and Steinhoff, 

2013). The southern boundary of the mudstone is the continental shelf-break.

The Bossier Formation south of the continental shelf-break is assigned to an 

Upper Jurassic Downdip Continuous Gas AU that was not assessed. This AU is 

an amalgamation of Smackover, Haynesville, and Bossier Formation mudstones.

–100° –98° –96° –94° –92° –90° –88° –86° –84°

27°

29°

31°

33°

Source: U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service

TEXAS

MEXICO

LOUISIANA

OKLAHOMA

FLORIDA

ALABAMA

MISSISSIPPI

ARKANSAS

GEORGIA

WESTERN

GULF

LOUISIANAMISSISSIPPI

SALT BASIN

GULF OF MEXICO 0 100 200 MILES

0 100 200 KILOMETERS

EXPLANATION

Province boundary and identifier

Bossier Shale Continuous Gas AU

Bossier Western Shelf Sandstone Gas AU

Bossier Eastern Shelf Sandstone Gas and Oil AU

Upper Jurassic Downdip Continuous Gas AU

WESTERN

GULF

EAST

TEXAS

BASIN

TX

OK

FL

GA AL AR

LA

MS

GULF OF MEXICO

MEXICO Map area
For More Information

Assessment results are available at the USGS Energy Resources Program website at http://energy.usgs.gov.

Bossier Formation Assessment Team

Stanley T. Paxton, Janet K. Pitman, Scott A. Kinney, Nicholas J. Gianoutsos, Ofori N. Pearson, Katherine J. Whidden, Russell F. Dubiel, 

Christopher J. Schenk, Lauri A. Burke, Timothy R. Klett, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Tracey J. Mercier, Seth S. Haines, Brian A. Varela, Phuong A. Le, 

Thomas M. Finn, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Sarah J. Hawkins, Kristen R. Marra, and Marilyn E. Tennyson

ISSN 2327-6916 (print) ISSN 2327-6932 (online) https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20173015

Undiscovered Resources Summary

The USGS assessed undiscovered, technically recoverable resources for two conventional AUs and one continuous AU in the Bossier 

Formation. The estimated mean totals for oil and gas resources are 2,854 million barrels of oil (MMBO), or 2.9 billion barrels of oil, with 

an F95–F5 range from 1,193 to 5,147 MMBO; 108,587 billion cubic feet of gas (BCFG), or 108.6 trillion cubic feet of gas, with an F95–F5 

range from 37,162 to 223,472 BCFG; and 1,052 million barrels of natural gas liquids (MMBNGL) with an F95–F5 range from 424 to 

2,009 MMBNGL (table 2).

References Cited

Cicero, A.D., and Steinhoff, Ingo, 2013, Sequence stratigraphy and depositional environments of the Haynesville and Bossier shales, east Texas 

and north Louisiana, chap. 3 of Hammes, Ursula, and Gale, Julia, eds., 

Geology of the Haynesville gas shale in east Texas and west Louisiana, 

U.S.A.: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Memoir 105, 

p. 25–46.

Goddard, D.A., Mancini, E.A., Horn, M.R., and Talukdar, S.C., 2008, Hydrocarbon generating potential—Jurassic Cotton Valley—Bossier Group, 

north Louisiana Salt Basin: Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies 

Transactions, v. 58, p. 305–325. 

Hammes, Ursula, and Frébourg, Gregory, 2012, Haynesville and Bossier 

mudrocks—A facies and sequence stratigraphic investigation, east Texas 

and Louisiana, USA: Marine and Petroleum Geology, v. 31, no. 1, p. 8–26.

Klein, G.D., and Chaivre, K.R., 2002, Sequence and seismic stratigraphy of 

the Bossier Formation (Tithonian), western east Texas Basin: Gulf Coast 

Association of Geological Societies Transactions, v. 52, p. 551–561.

Mancini, E.A., Peng, Li, Goddard, D.A., and Zimmerman, R.K., 2006, 

Petroleum source rocks of the onshore interior salt basins, north central and 

northeastern Gulf of Mexico: Gulf Coast Association of Geologic Societies 

Transactions, v. 55, p. 486–504.

Montgomery, Scott, 1993a, Cotton Valley lime of east Texas—New pinnacle 

reef play in the Late Jurassic: Petroleum Frontiers, v. 10, no. 2, 55 p.

Montgomery, Scott, 1993b, Haynesville of southern Alabama—A new 

Jurassic play in the eastern Gulf: Petroleum Frontiers, v. 10, no. 1, 65 p.

Montgomery, Scott, 2001, East Texas Basin Bossier gas play: Petroleum 

Frontiers, v. 17, no. 2, 64 p.

Salvador, Amos, 1991, Triassic-Jurassic, in Salvador, Amos, ed., The Gulf 

of Mexico Basin, part of The geology of North America: Boulder, Colo., 

The Geological Society of America, v. J, p. 131–180.

Table 1. Key assessment input data for three assessment units (AUs) in the

Bossier Formation of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and 

Texas. 

[The Upper Jurassic Downdip Continuous Gas AU was not quantitatively assessed in 

this study. AU, assessment unit; %, percent; EUR, estimated ultimate recovery per well; 

MMBO, million barrels of oil; BCFG, billion cubic feet of gas. The average EUR input is 

the minimum, median, maximum, and calculated mean. Shading indicates not applicable]

Assessment input data

Bossier Western Shelf Sandstone Gas AU

Minimum Median Maximum Calculated 

mean

Number of oil fields

Number of gas fields 1 80 300 87.4

Sizes of oil fields (MMBO)

Sizes of gas fields (BCFG) 3 6 4,000 38.1

AU probability 1.0

Assessment input data

Bossier Eastern Shelf Sandstone Gas and Oil AU

Minimum Median Maximum Calculated 

mean

Number of oil fields 1 200 500 208.7

Number of gas fields 1 400 1,000 417.3

Sizes of oil fields (MMBO) 0.5 1.5 1,600 13.6

Sizes of gas fields (BCFG) 3 18 10,000 118.1

AU probability 1.0

Assessment input data Calculated Minimum Mode Maximum mean

Bossier Shale Continuous Gas AU

Potential production area of AU (acres) 20,000 5,612,000 25,921,000 10,517,667

Average drainage area of wells (acres) 60 100 180 113

Success ratio (%) 10 50 90 50

Average EUR (BCFG) 0.5 1.0 3.0 1.109

AU probability 1.0

Table 2. Assessment results for three assessment units (AUs) in the Bossier Formation of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, 

and Texas.

[MMBO, million barrels of oil; BCFG, billion cubic feet of gas; NGL, natural gas liquids; MMBNGL, million barrels of natural gas liquids. Results shown are fully risked 

estimates. For gas accumulations, all liquids are included in the NGL (natural gas liquids) category. F95 represents a 95-percent chance of at least the amount tabulated; 

other fractiles are defined similarly. Fractiles are additive under the assumption of perfect positive correlation. Shading indicates not applicable]

Total petroleum system and

assessment units (AUs)

AU

probability

Accumulation 

type

Total undiscovered resources

Oil (MMBO) Gas (BCFG) NGL (MMBNGL)

F95 F50 F5 Mean F95 F50 F5 Mean F95 F50 F5 Mean

Upper Jurassic–Cretaceous–Tertiary Composite Total Petroleum System

Bossier Western Shelf Sandstone Gas AU 1.0 Gas 895 2,844 7,452 3,342 6 21 61 26

Bossier Eastern Shelf Sandstone Gas

 and Oil AU 1.0 Oil 1,193 2,670 5,147 2,854 1,609 3,660 7,435 3,990 165 375 763 409

Gas 25,248 46,986 81,196 49,331 228 437 778 461

Total conventional resources 1,193 2,670 5,147 2,854 27,752 53,490 96,083 56,663 399 833 1,602 896

Bossier Shale Continuous Gas AU 1.0 Gas 9,410 42,124 127,389 51,924 25 120 407 156

Upper Jurassic Downdip Continuous Gas AU Gas Not quantitatively assessed

Total continuous resources 9,410 42,124 127,389 51,924 25 120 407 156

Total undiscovered resources 1,193 2,670 5,147 2,854 37,162 95,614 223,472 108,587 424 953 2,009 1,052