Oil-stained Sandstones

Mallik drilling site, located on 

the Mackenzie Delta in the 

Northwest Territories, Canada. 

The Mallik Project developed 

the first production test well 

for gas hydrates.

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2006-3128, Ver. 1.0 

October 2006

The U.S. Geological Survey Energy Resources Program

Printed on recycled paper

The USGS Energy Resources Program provides impartial, scientifically robust information to advance the understanding of geologically 

based energy resources, to contribute to plans for a secure energy future, and to facilitate evaluation and responsible use of resources.

The United States uses tremendous amounts of geologic 

energy resources. In 2004 alone, the United States 

consumed more than 7.4 billion barrels of oil, 21.9 

trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 1.1 billion short 

tons of coal. Forecasts indicate the Nation’s need for 

energy resources will continue to grow, raising several 

questions: 

How much domestic and foreign petroleum 

resources are available to meet the growing 

energy demands of the Nation and world? 

•

Does the United States have coal deposits of 

sufficient quantity and quality to meet demand 

over the next century? 

What other geologic energy resources can be 

added to the U.S. energy mix? 

How do the occurrence and use of energy 

resources affect environmental quality and human 

health? 

•

•

•

The Need for Geologic Energy Resources Information

The USGS Energy Resources 

Program Addresses This Need

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 

Energy Resources Program (ERP) 

provides information from impartial, 

comprehensive research investigations 

of geologic energy resources, including: 

petroleum (oil, natural gas, natural gas 

liquids), coal, gas hydrates, geothermal 

resources, oil shale, oil sands, uranium, 

and heavy oil and natural bitumen. This 

information advances the understanding 

of geologic processes and the economic, 

technical, and environmental factors affecting energy resource occurrence, availability, and recoverability. An improved 

understanding facilitates the development 

of sound policies on domestic and foreign 

energy resources, and the responsible 

management of energy resources on 

Federal lands. The ERP has a clearly 

defined role:

Program Mission---

(1) to advance the understanding of 

processes affecting the formation, accumulation, occurrence, and alteration of 

geologically based energy resources; 

(2) to conduct scientifically robust assessments of onshore and state offshore 

U.S. energy resources (pre-development) 

and international energy resources; 

(3) to study environmental and human 

health effects associated with energy resource occurrence, production, and use.

To fulfill this unique role, the ERP 

supports a research portfolio that is responsive to national and regional priorities, including those established through 

legislative directives such as the Energy 

Policy Act of 2005, internal strategic 

planning, and customer surveys and 

needs. Primary consumers of information and products from this research 

portfolio include the U.S. Congress, 

the Department of the Interior land and 

resource management Bureaus, other 

Federal, State and local agencies, nongovernmental organizations, the energy 

industry, academia, foreign organizations 

and the general public.

Gas Hydrates Geothermal

Oil and Natural Gas Resources Coal Resources Other Geologic Energy Resources Environmental & Human Health Effects

Coal Sampling Gas Hydrates Geothermal Pyrite in Coal Sample Pyrite in Coal Sample

Unbiased information from robust scientific studies is needed for sound energy 

policy and resource management decisions addressing these issues. 
National perspective — The USGS studies oil and gas resources in provinces, and integrates these to 

provide a national overview of resource endowment. This figure shows the distribution of oil resources 

throughout the United States. The sizes of the green circles vary according to the estimated amounts of 

mean, undiscovered, technically recoverable oil resources (in billions of barrels of oil; see Legend). The 

blue provinces indicate recently completed studies. 

Oil and Natural Gas Resources

The USGS uses a systematic, peerreviewed approach to evaluate oil and 

natural gas resource endowments in the 

United States and around the world. 

Research investigations culminate in 

geologically based assessments quantifying 

the volume, and likelihood of existence, 

of resources that have not yet been found, 

but if discovered, could be developed with 

currently available technology. These 

undiscovered, technically recoverable 

resources can include conventional as well 

as unconventional (continuous) oil and 

natural gas accumulations, such as coalbed 

methane and gas from low-permeability 

geologic units such as tight gas sands. 

Examples:

The USGS conducts research in its organic geochemistry and seismic interpretation 

laboratories to refine the understanding 

of petroleum generation and occurrence. 

This information is essential to assessments of conventional and unconventional 

petroleum resources. 

•

Energy resource considerations figure 

prominently in Alaskan land management 

decisions and in energy policy development. Current USGS research activities 

in Alaska, through collaboration with 

Federal and State agencies and Native 

corporations, are improving the understanding of oil, natural gas, coal, and gas 

hydrate resources throughout Alaska.

The USGS provides National Oil and Gas 

Assessment research and is participating 

in a Federal agency consortium to conduct 

an inventory, authorized in the Energy 

Policy and Conservation Act Amendments 

of 2000, of oil and natural gas resources 

beneath Federal lands. This inventory 

provides a tool for public land management agencies, principally the Bureau of 

Land Management (BLM) and the USDA 

Forest Service, to use in constructing domestic land management policies.

The USGS conducts geologic studies in 

a world energy context to provide an understanding of the quantity, quality, and 

distribution of conventional petroleum 

resources on a global scale. 

•

•

•

Drill core rock samples used in a USGS 

investigation of geology and energy 

resources in the Gulf Coast Region 

(Texas). These samples are an example of the framework that underpins 

USGS research efforts. These efforts 

produce information that can be used 

to address key energy resource issues 

facing the Nation.

Geologist conducting field studies in Alaska.

0.82

0.06

0.05

1.56

0.99

3.38

2.76 2.89

0.02

0.02

0.10

0.35

0.07

0.03

0.40

0.10

0.11 0.27

 0.20

0.55

0.06 0.02

1.55

0.08 0.02

0.12

0.03

0.39

0.39

0.02

0.07

0.03

0.13

0.14

0.03

0.01

0.17

0.97

Total Mean Oil Resources

Legend

Total Mean Oil–BBO

(Billion Barrels of Oil)

Vintage by

 Province

< 0.1

0.1 - 0.5

0.5 - 2.0

> 2.0

1995

2001–2005 Mean Total: 47 BBO

0.03

0.05

0.26

0.01

0.04 0.04

10.56 3.98 10.36

Western Gulf

Basin

Permian Basin

Eastern

Great

Basin

East Texas / Louisiana / NPRA ANWR Mississippi Salt Basins

Cook Inlet

Basin

Ventura

Basin

Los Angeles

Basin

0.98

Michigan Basin

(Undiscovered Technically Recoverable Resources)

Updated 11/05

 (Billions of Barrels of Oil)

Williston

Basin

Powder

River

Basin

0.01

0.24

0.05

0.21

0.49

1.06
The mix of energy resources used to generate electric power in the United States has changed over time. More than half of the electric power presently generated is derived from coal. The prominence of coal in the U.S. energy mix underscores the need for robust coal resource endowment and 

coal quality studies. (Data from the Energy Information Administration.)

Petroleum 

3.0%

Natural Gas 

16.3%

Nuclear 

20.8%

Conventional 

Hydroelectric

7.0%

Other

1.5%

U.S. Electric Power Generation by Fuel Type - Years 1975 and 2004

1975 2004

Coal

51.5%

Petroleum 

15.1%

Natural Gas 

15.6%

Nuclear 

9.0%

Conventional 

Hydroelectric

15.6%

Other

0.2%

Coal

44.5%

Specimen of Green River oil shale from 

the Mahogany zone in the Piceance 

Creek Basin, Colorado. This specimen 

is on display at the museum of the 

Geological Survey of Japan.

Coal Resources

Presently, more than half of the electric 

power generated in the United States uses 

coal as a fuel source. In response to the 

increasing demand for coal and for cleaner 

electric power generation, USGS research 

efforts yield information on coal quality 

parameters and modern, digital assessments 

of the quantity, quality, location, and accessibility of the Nation’s coal resources. 

Examples:

The USGS National Coal Resource 

Assessment (NCRA) evaluates U.S. 

coal resources and delivers information 

–stratigraphic, geologic, and geochemical– from this effort in databases available 

to the public through the National Coal 

Resources Data System http://energy.

er.usgs.gov/coalres.htm.

USGS scientists working on the NCRA 

project have recently completed a methodology revision that has been vetted 

through external peer review – review 

available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/

of/2005/1076/. Previous NCRA studies 

evaluated the total amount of coal resources in the ground. This revision enables 

future NCRA studies to provide specific 

information on the portion of the total 

coal resources that are technically and 

economically feasible to recover. These 

technically and economically recoverable 

coal resources constitute the coal reserve 

base, or, the coal that is most likely to be 

mined in the near future. 

•

•

USGS scientists are conducting research 

investigations of geologic processes affecting the occurrence and distribution of 

elements that are important from a coal 

quality perspective including chlorine, 

mercury, and sulfur. To support these investigations, the USGS maintains a stateof-the-art laboratory facility to conduct 

chemical analyses of coal samples. These 

analytical results support robust coal quality studies, and provide the basis for ongoing cradle-to-grave studies of coal use.

Other Geologic Energy Resources

The forecast increase in future energy 

demand will likely generate interest in all 

energy resources to augment and diversify 

the Nation’s energy mix. The USGS investigates geologic processes affecting the quality and distribution of other energy resources 

such as geothermal energy, and other fuels 

such as gas hydrates, uranium, oil shale, oil 

sands (tar sands), and heavy oil and natural 

bitumen. USGS studies of gas hydrates, 

geothermal resources, and oil shale support 

national priorities established in the Energy 

Policy Act of 2005. 

Examples:

USGS oil shale research currently focuses 

on the Green River oil shale deposits 

of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. The 

USGS is undertaking efforts to make oil 

shale research and information products 

more accessible to the general public via 

the internet, including digital shale-oil 

•

•

Steam plume from a geothermal well at Coso 

geothermal area, south-central California.
USGS scientists collect samples from a water 

well in central Europe to investigate a possible 

connection among drinking water, coal, and 

deleterious human health effects in the region.

For more information, please contact:

Brenda Pierce, Program Coordinator

Energy Resources Program

U.S. Geological Survey, MS 915A

Reston, VA 20192

Telephone: (703) 648-6470

Email: bpierce@usgs.gov

James L. Coleman, Chief Scientist 

Eastern Energy Resources Team 

Reston, VA 

Email: jlcoleman@usgs.gov

Ed Johnson, Acting Chief Scientist 

Central Energy Resources Team

Denver, CO

Email: ejohnson@usgs.gov

Ken Bird, Program Representative

Western Earth Surface Processes Team

Menlo Park, CA

Email: kbird@usgs.gov

Or visit the websites at:

http://energy.usgs.gov

http://www.usgs.gov

analyses, stratigraphic 

and lithologic information, geologic maps, 

geophysical logs, and 

bibliographic references 

on oil shale geology.

Gas hydrates represent an 

immense energy resource 

underlying large portions 

of the world’s marine 

continental shelves and 

Arctic continental areas. 

The USGS participates 

in several international 

consortia of research, industry, and academic institutions—most recently 

in India. Previously, 

the Mallik Research 

Consortium drilled three 

test wells in Canada’s 

Mackenzie Delta, and the 

results, demonstrating the 

producibility of this energy resource, were published in 2005. 

The USGS also has ongoing cooperative research efforts with the BLM, 

Minerals Management Service, State of 

Alaska, Department of Energy, industry, and Native Alaskan corporations 

to further the understanding of gas 

hydrate endowment and recoverability 

from Alaska’s North Slope.

The USGS is studying geothermal energy resources in the western United 

States. The objectives are to produce 

a detailed estimate of electric power 

generation potential, and evaluate the 

major technological challenges and 

environmental effects of increased use 

of geothermal resources. 

•

•

1) A molecular model depicts the cage-like structure of gas hydrate, 

showing the association between water (red and white) and methane 

(green and gray). 2) This drill core sample shows that gas hydrates 

in nature appear as white, ice-like, crystalline solids. 3) These solids 

can be decomposed to release methane, which can be burned to 

provide a source of energy.

CH4 + H2O

1

2

3

Environmental and Human 

Health Effects

Energy resource commodities such 

as coal, oil, and natural gas contain 

toxic substances that, if mobilized, may 

adversely affect human health and the 

environment. The USGS is conducting 

research to address the linkages among 

geology, energy resources, and human 

health. This information will enable 

land managers and environmental and 

medical officials to better assess human 

health and ecosystem effects, develop 

cost-effective remedies, and establish 

appropriate policies and regulations. 

Examples:

USGS scientists are investigating the 

legacy effects of historical oil and gas 

development operations, and the environmental and human health impacts 

of coal extraction, coal combustion, 

and coalbed methane production. 

Information from these efforts is used 

to address a suite of issues including 

coal combustion by-products, mine 

drainage and produced water disposal. 

The USGS has research partnerships 

with U.S. and international health 

organizations to study areas with documented health issues, including several 

Balkan countries in central Europe. 

These efforts are addressing how the 

occurrence of energy resources may 

•

•

give rise to adverse health effects, and 

what measures can be taken to mitigate 

exposure. The information gained 

from these collaborations is being applied in the United States, where USGS 

scientists are investigating rural areas 

for possible connections among coal, 

drinking water supplies, and rates of 

disease. 

Digital Data and Websites

http://energy.usgs.gov

All recent USGS ERP products are 

available to the general public in digital 

format, including:

National Oil and Gas Assessments

http://energy.cr.usgs.gov/oilgas/noga/

World Energy Project 

http://certmapper.cr.usgs.gov/rooms/we/

 index.jsp

Organic Geochemistry Database (over 

65,000 records of analyses of crude 

oil, natural gas and rock samples from 

locations worldwide) 

http://energy.cr.usgs.gov/prov/og/

USGS Produced Waters Database 

(contains locations and major ion compositions of waters pumped to the surface during oil and gas production)

http://energy.cr.usgs.gov/prov/prodwat/

National Petroleum Reserve, Alaska 

Legacy Data Archive (contains seismic 

and well log data)

http://nerslweb.cr.usgs.gov/

•

•

•

•

•