OKLAHOMA

TEXAS

ARKANSAS

ALABAMA

LOUISIANA

MISSISSIPPI

TENNESSEE

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

��

�����

������

������

�������

�������

�������

���������

����������

����������

����������

�����������

�����������

�������������

���� ���� ���� ����

����

����

� ��� �����

�����������

����������������������������������������

�����������������������������������

������������������������������������

�����������������������������������

�������������������������������

��������

������ ��������

�������

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

USGS Fact Sheet FS-047-03

May 2003 Printed on recycled paper

Printed on recycled paper

2002 Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of 

the Jurassic-Cretaceous Cotton Valley Group,

Jurassic Smackover Interior Salt Basins Total Petroleum 

System, in the Louisiana-Mississippi Salt Basins Province of 

the Northern Gulf Coast Region

Introduction

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed an 

assessment of the undiscovered oil and gas potential of the JurassicCretaceous Cotton Valley Group in the Louisiana-Mississippi Salt 

Basins Province of the northern Gulf Coast Region (fig. 1) as part of 

a national oil and gas assessment effort. For assessment purposes, 

the East Texas Basin Province was included with the LouisianaMississippi Salt Basins Province. The assessment of the petroleum 

potential of the Cotton Valley Group was based on the general 

geologic elements used to define a total petroleum system (TPS), 

which include hydrocarbon source rocks (source rock maturation, 

hydrocarbon generation and migration), reservoir rocks (sequence 

stratigraphy and petrophysical properties), and hydrocarbon traps 

(trap formation and timing). Using this geologic framework, the 

USGS defined four assessment units (AU) that are included in one 

TPS, the Jurassic Smackover Interior Salt Basins TPS: Cotton Valley 

Blanket Sandstone Gas AU, Cotton Valley Massive Sandstone Gas 

AU, Cotton Valley Updip Oil and Gas AU, and Cotton Valley Hypothetical Updip Oil AU.

Resource Summary

The USGS assessed undiscovered conventional oil and gas for 

each of the AUs, resulting in estimated means of 605.03 billion cubic 

feet of non-associated gas and associated gas in oil fields, 29.81 

million barrels of oil, and 19.00 million barrels of natural gas liquids 

in the Jurassic Smackover Interior Salt Basins TPS (table 1). All of 

the undiscovered gas is conventional. The Cotton Valley Massive 

Sandstone Gas AU contains 547.25 billion cubic feet of gas, representing about 90 percent of the total mean undiscovered gas resource 

(605.03 billion cubic feet) for the Cotton Valley Group in the province. The Bossier Shale TPS of the lower Cotton Valley Group was 

not quantitatively assessed for this study. 

Using a geology-based 

assessment methodology, 

the U.S. Geological Survey 

estimated means of 605.03 

billion cubic feet of 

undiscovered natural 

gas, 29.81 million barrels 

of undiscovered oil, and 

19.00 million barrels of 

undiscovered natural gas 

liquids in the Cotton Valley 

Group in the LouisianaMississippi Salt Basins 

Province of the northern 

Gulf Coast Region. 

Figure 1. Map of Louisiana-Mississippi 

Salt Basins Province 5049 and East Texas 

Basin Province 5048 of the Gulf Coast region 

showing geographic distribution of the 

Cotton Valley Group assessment units in the 

Jurassic Smackover Interior Salt Basins 

Total Petroleum System.
����������������������������

������������ ��� ����� ��� ������

���� ����� ��� ��� �� ���� ��� ��� �� ���� ��� ��� �� ����

��� ��� ���� ����� ����� ����� ���� ����� ����� ����� ���� ���� ���� ����

��� ��� ������ ������ �������� ������ ���� ����� ����� �����

����� ���� ���� ����� ����� ����� ������ ������ �������� ������ ���� ����� ����� �����

��� ��� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ����

��� ��� ���� ����� ����� ����� ���� ���� ���� ����

����� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ����� ����� ����� ���� ���� ���� ����

��� ��� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ����

��� ��� ������ ������ �������� ������ ���� ����� ����� �����

����� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ������ ������ �������� ������ ���� ����� ����� �����

��� ��� ���� ����� ����� ����� ���� ����� ����� ����� ���� ���� ���� ����

��� ��� ���� ����� ����� ����� ���� ���� ���� ����

����� ���� ���� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ����� ���� ���� ���� ����

��� ��� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ����

��� ��� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ����

����� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ���� ����

����

����

���������������������������������������������������

����

���������������������������������������������������

�����������������������������������������������

����

����������������������������������������������������

����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

������

��� ������ ��� ��������

������

For Further Information

Geologic studies of total petroleum systems and assessment units and reports on the methodology used in the 

Cotton Valley Group assessment in the Louisiana-Mississippi 

Salt Basins Province of the northern Gulf Coast Region are 

available at the USGS Central Energy Team website:

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

Table 1. Cotton Valley Group assessment results for the Jurassic Smackover Interior Salt Basins Total Petroleum System.

[MMBO, million barrels of oil. BCFG, billion cubic feet of gas. MMBNGL, million barrels of natural gas liquids. MAS, minimum accumulation size assessed (MMBO or BCFG). Prob., probability 

(including both geologic and accessibility probabilities) of at least one accumulation equal to or greater than the MAS or, for continuous-type resources, at least one additional cell equal to or 

greater than the minimum estimated ultimate recovery. Accum., accumulation. Results shown are fully risked estimates. For gas accumulations, all liquids are included as NGL (natural gas 

liquids). 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]

Cotton Valley Group Assessment Team

T.S. Dyman (Task Leader: dyman@usgs.gov), S.M. 

Condon, R.R. Charpentier, T.A. Cook, M.D. Lewan, R.M. 

Pollastro, C.J. Schenk, and J.W. Schmoker.