U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Digital Data Series DDS–69–Z

National Assessment of Oil and Gas Project

Map of Assessed Shale Gas in the United States, 2012

MEXICO

UNITED STATES

Gulf of Mexico

ATLANTIC OCEAN

CANADA

Devonian Siltstone and Shale AU

Northwestern

Ohio Shale AU

Foldbelt Marcellus AU

Devonian to Mississippian

New Albany Continuous Gas AU

Greater Newark East Frac-Barrier

Continuous Barnett Shale Gas AU

Extended Continuous Barnett

Shale Gas AU

Midland Basin Woodford/Barnett

Continuous Gas AU

Delaware/Pecos Basins Barnett

Continuous Shale Gas AU

Delaware/Pecos Basins Woodford

Continuous Shale Gas AU

Devonian Antrim Continuous Gas AU

Antrim

Appalachian Devonian

Barnett

Barnett

Caney

Chattanooga

Chattanooga

New Albany

Eagle Ford

Fayetteville

Haynesville Bossier

Niobrara Chalk AU

Niobrara

Pearsall

Woodford

Woodford

Woodford

Marcellus

Marcellus

Caney Shale Gas AU

Woodford Shale Gas AU

Fayetteville Shale Gas–

Western Arkansas Basin Margin AU

Fayetteville Shale Gas–

High Gamma-Ray Depocenter AU

Chattanooga Shale Gas AU

Woodford Shale Gas AU

Thirteen Finger–Atokan Shale AU

Haynesville Sabine Platform Shale Gas AU

Maverick Basin Pearsall Shale Gas AU

Eagle Ford Shale Gas AU

Mid-Bossier Sabine Platform Shale Gas AU

Cane Creek Shale Gas Gothic, Chimney Rock,

Hovenweep Shale Gas

Gothic, Hovenweep

Interior Marcellus AU

Western Margin Marcellus AU

Utica Shale Gas AU

Utica

Detroit

Los Angeles

Chicago

Atlanta

Dallas

New York City

Boston

Houston

Miami

Philadelphia

Denver San Jose

Seattle

Cleveland

Saint Louis

Phoenix San Diego

Kansas City

Portland

Indianapolis

Buffalo

Akron

Milwaukee

Sacramento

Flint

Richmond

Omaha

Oakland

Dayton

Nashville

Minneapolis-Saint Paul

Cincinnati

San Antonio

Tampa

Rochester

Columbus

Birmingham

Toledo

Fort Worth

Tucson

Concord

Louisville Norfolk

Hartford

Orlando

Spokane

Charlotte

Tacoma

Oklahoma City

Eugene

Knoxville

Sarasota

Lansing

Jackson

Jacksonville

Marietta

Austin

Salt Lake City

SpringfieldProvidence

Clearwater

Las Vegas

Trenton

Pensacola

Albuquerque

Augusta

Winston-Salem

Roanoke

Syracuse

Youngstown

Huntsville

Chattanooga Greenville

Fort Wayne

Fort LauderdaleWest Palm Beach

Grand Rapids

Duluth

Vancouver

Covington

Newport News-Hampton

Cocoa Beach

TEXAS

UTAH

MONTANA

NEVADA

CALIFORNIA

IDAHO

ARIZONA

OREGON

IOWA

KANSAS

WYOMING

NEW MEXICO

COLORADO

OHIO

MISSOURI

NEBRASKA

MINNESOTA

ILLINOIS

GEORGIA

FLORIDA

OKLAHOMA

ALABAMA

WISCONSIN

WASHINGTON

SOUTH DAKOTA

MAINE

NORTH DAKOTA

NEW YORK

VIRGINIA

MISSISSIPPI

INDIANA

MICHIGAN

TENNESSEE

KENTUCKY

PENNSYLVANIA

NORTH CAROLINA

SOUTH CAROLINA

WEST VIRGINIA

VERMONT

MASSACHUSETTS

ARKANSAS

LOUISIANA

NEW JERSEY

NEW

HAMPSHIRE

CONNECTICUT

RHODE ISLAND

125°W 120°W 115°W 85°W 80°W 75°W

Brookian Shale Gas AU

Shublik Shale Gas AU

ALASKA

175° 170° 165° 160° 155° 150° 145° 140° 135°

70°

65°

60°

ALASKA

100 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 KILOMETERS

100 0 100 200 300 400 500 MILES

Shublik - 38.41

Brookian - 2.18

ALASKA

Legend

Total Gas (TCFG)

1

5

10

25

50

75

100

Marcellus–84.2

Other Appalachian

Devonian–3.95

FayettevilleCaney–14.38

Woodford-Chattanooga–12.3

HaynesvilleBossier–65.86

Eagle Ford–50.22

Barnett–26.23 Barnett–17.2 Woodford–15.97

Woodford–15.11

Pearsall–8.82

Antrim–7.48

Thirteen Finger LimestoneAtoka Shale–6.85

Gothic, Chimney Rock,

Hovenweep–6.49

Cane Creek–4.53

New Albany–3.79

Woodford-Barnett–2.82

Niobrara Chalk–0.98

Utica–37.3

Explanation

Shale Gas Assessment Unit—Labeled with red

text in a light red background

Chalk Gas Assessment Unit—Labeled with

yellow text in a gold background

Square-mile cells—Represent gas-producing

wells in shale intervals. Labeled with red

text in white background.

Digital Data Series 69–Z

Plate 1

Mean Shale Gas Resource Estimates (TCFG)

(Undiscovered Technically Recoverable)

TCFG = Trillions of cubic feet of gas

Alaska Albers Equal Area Conic Projection

Central_Meridian: -154.0

Standard_Parallel_1: 55.0

Standard_Parallel_2: 65.0

Latitude_Of_Origin: 50.0

Datum: North American Datum 1983
Map of Assessed Shale Gas 

in the United States, 2012

By U.S. Geological Survey National Assessment of Oil and Gas Resources Team, 

and Laura R.H. Biewick, compiler

U.S. Geological Survey National Assessment of Oil and Gas Project

Digital Data Series 69–Z

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Department of the Interior

KEN SALAZAR, Secretary

U.S. Geological Survey

Suzette M. Kimball, Acting Director

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2013

For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living 

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For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, 

visit http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod

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Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the 

U.S. Government.

Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials 

as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner.

Suggested citation:

U.S. Geological Survey National Assessment of Oil and Gas Resources Team, and Biewick, L.R.H., compiler, 2013, 

Map of assessed shale gas in the United States, 2012: U.S. Geological Survey Digital Data Series 69–Z, 16 p., 1 pl., 

GIS data package, http://pubs.usgs.gov/dds/dds-069/dds-069-z/.
iii

Contents

Abstract...........................................................................................................................................................1

Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................1

Shale Gas Defined .........................................................................................................................................1

Historical Perspective...................................................................................................................................2

Recovery Technologies.................................................................................................................................3

Slide Show of Shale-Gas Production through Time.................................................................................3

Print Map.........................................................................................................................................................3

Web Services .................................................................................................................................................6

Download Maps and Data............................................................................................................................6

Summary..........................................................................................................................................................6

Acknowledgments.........................................................................................................................................6

References Cited............................................................................................................................................6

Selected References Uncited......................................................................................................................9

Plate

1. Map of assessed shale gas in the United States, 2012 ..................................................... link

Figures

1. Example of horizontal wells ........................................................................................................4

2. Map graphic that links to the hardcopy map ...........................................................................5

Table

1. Publications access table—Hyperlinks to USGS shale-gas assessment 

publications and web pages.................................................................................................. link

Conversion Factors

Inch/Pound to SI

Multiply By To obtain

Volume

cubic foot (ft3

) 0.02832 cubic meter (m3) 

SI to Inch/Pound

Multiply By To obtain

Length

millimeter (mm) 0.03937 inch (in.)

Map of Assessed Shale Gas in the United States, 2012

By U.S. Geological Survey National Assessment of Oil and Gas Resources Team, 

and Laura R.H. Biewick, compiler

Kuuskraa, 2009). The heightened interest in shale gas began 

with the Barnett Shale in North Texas, followed by development of the Fayetteville Shale in Arkansas, the Woodford 

Shale in Oklahoma, the Haynesville/Bossier Formations in 

Louisiana and Texas, the Marcellus Shale in the Appalachian 

Basin, and the Eagle Ford in Texas. Together with the Antrim 

Shale in Michigan and Appalachian Basin Devonian shales, 

these are the most active producing gas shales to date. In 

addition to these, others are being explored or evaluated, and 

some are emerging from exploration to exploitation. Each 

shale-gas basin is different with respect to the geologic setting 

and character of its gas-bearing shales, so each basin has a 

unique set of exploration criteria and operational challenges 

(U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology 

Laboratory, 2009). As for conventional-type plays, an in-depth 

understanding of the geology, petrophysics, and geomechanics 

of a particular shale formation is essential to achieve success 

in exploration and development of shale gas (Durham, 2009a); 

however, conventional methods of production are commonly 

unsuitable for these continuous-type plays.

Shale Gas Defined

Shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock, characterized 

by its grain size (< 1/256 mm) and fissility. It contains clay 

minerals and fine grains of quartz and feldspars, plus organic 

material, but the classification of “shale” still rests on particle 

size rather than mineralogy (Forgotson, 2006).

Cardott (2004) defined gas shales as containing a minimum of 0.5 wt percent total organic carbon (TOC). Gas shales 

may be thermally marginally mature (vitrinite reflectance (Ro

) 

0.4–0.6 percent) to mature (0.6–2.0 percent Ro

) and contain 

biogenic to thermogenic methane. Gas is generated and stored 

in situ in gas shales as both sorbed (on organic matter) and as 

free gas (in fractures and pores), similar to natural gas in coals.

Gas shales are traditionally viewed as both source rocks 

and seals for stratigraphic gas accumulations (Denney, 2009). 

Cole and others (1987) reported that gas shales constitute 

source, as well as reservoir rock and seal, and that hydrocarbon migration distances within the shale are relatively short. 

Conventional reservoirs situated stratigraphically above or 

below the shale also may be concurrently charged with hydrocarbons generated by the same shale source rocks.

Abstract

The U.S. Geological Survey has compiled a map of 

shale-gas assessments in the United States that were completed by 2012 as part of the U.S. Geological Survey National 

Assessment of Oil and Gas Project. Using a geology-based 

assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey quantitatively estimated potential volumes of undiscovered gas 

within shale-gas assessment units. These shale-gas assessment 

units are mapped, and square-mile cells are shown to represent 

proprietary shale-gas wells. The square-mile cells include gasproducing wells from shale intervals.

In some cases, shale-gas formations contain gas in deeper 

parts of a basin and oil at shallower depths (for example, the 

Woodford Shale and the Eagle Ford Shale). Because a discussion of shale oil is beyond the scope of this report, only shalegas assessment units and cells are shown.

The map can be printed as a hardcopy map or downloaded for interactive analysis in a Geographic Information 

System data package using the ArcGIS map document (file 

extension MXD) and published map file (file extension PMF). 

Also available is a publications access table with hyperlinks to 

current U.S. Geological Survey shale-gas assessment publications and web pages. Assessment results and geologic reports 

are available as completed at the U.S. Geological Survey 

Energy Resources Program Web Site, http://energy.usgs.gov/

OilGas/AssessmentsData/NationalOilGasAssessment.aspx.

A historical perspective of shale-gas activity in the United 

States is documented below and presented in a video clip 

included as a PowerPoint slideshow.

Introduction

Shale-gas activity in the United States began with the 

first well dug specifically to produce natural gas in 1821 in 

Devonian shales near the town of Fredonia, New York. A 

primer on U.S. shale-gas production, released in 2009, by the 

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), noted that unconventional 

gas production now accounts for 46 percent of total U.S. gas 

production (U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy 

Technology Laboratory, 2009). In a 5-year time span (2004 

to 2009), U.S. shale-gas production grew from 2 billion cubic 

feet per day (BCFD) to more than 8 BCFD (Stevens and 
2 Map of Assessed Shale Gas in the United States, 2012

A Rocky Mountain region shaly source rock, the 

Cretaceous Niobrara, is rich in organic carbon and contains 

significant carbonate material. The lithology of the formation 

was controlled by many factors during deposition in a major 

marine transgression of the Western Interior Seaway, ranging 

from siliciclastic-rich intervals in the western part of the seaway 

(western Colorado) to chalk and marlstone in eastern Colorado 

(Longman and others, 1998). Considering the Niobrara as a 

fine-grained source rock also places chalks and marlstones in 

the category of shale plays (Hill and others, 2008).

 In addition to the variety of lithologies that can be 

interbedded with shale-gas source rocks, some of the shalegas formations generate gas in deeper parts of the basin but 

oil at shallower depths, for example, the Woodford Shale and 

the Eagle Ford Shale. Factors that have spurred the explosive 

growth of shale-gas plays include development of a greater 

geologic understanding, advances in drilling and completion 

techniques, and access to land and infrastructure (Stevens and 

Kuuskraa, 2009).

Historical Perspective

The earliest references to black organic-rich shale units 

were by French explorers and missionaries from 1627–1669, 

who noted occurrences of oil and gas now believed to be 

sourced by Devonian shales in western New York (Roen, 

1993). In 1821, William Hart dug the first well specifically 

to produce natural gas in the United States, in the village of 

Fredonia on the banks of Canadaway Creek in Chautauqua 

County, New York. It was excavated to a depth of 27 feet with 

shovels by hand, and its gas pipeline was hollowed-out logs 

sealed with tar and rags (Hill and others, 2008). The gas was 

used to illuminate the town of Fredonia (Roen, 1993). Gas was 

discovered in Devonian and Mississippian shales in the western Kentucky part of the Illinois Basin in 1863 (Curtis, 2002). 

Drilling commenced in Pennsylvania in the 1850s and was 

extended into Ohio a decade later (Janssens and deWitt, 1976). 

By the 1920s, drilling for shale gas had progressed into West 

Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana (Curtis, 2002), and by 1926, 

the Devonian shale-gas fields of eastern Kentucky and West 

Virginia comprised the largest known natural gas occurrences 

in the world (Roen, 1993).

Anecdotal accounts of gas shows and local consumption 

are also part of the history of settlement in the Northern Great 

Plains during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (Shurr, 2008). Cretaceous shales crop out and (or) are in 

subcrops along the eastern margin of the Williston Basin in 

North and South Dakota. Glacial deposit aquifers above shale 

subcrops commonly had natural gas in sufficient quantities 

for domestic use in a single home to commercial use for small 

municipalities. Much of this gas was recognized as coming from 

Cretaceous shales (Wilson, 1922; as reported in Shurr, 2008).

Following the energy crisis of 1973, the onset of energy 

shortages and the subsequent increase in natural gas prices 

spurred the U.S. Department of Energy to fund a multistate 

cooperative program called the Eastern Gas Shales Project 

(EGSP) that spanned the Appalachian, Illinois, and Michigan 

Basins (Harper, 2008). The EGSP functioned to integrate planning and research of some 40 organizations from 15 states to 

exchange and evaluate information and technology to learn 

about the gas-producing potential of Devonian shale. The 

deeper shales were considered to be much less attractive targets 

and would remain so until gas prices increased and technology 

advanced enough to make drilling and completion competitive 

with more conventional targets (Harper, 2008).

The Federal Tax Section 29 nonconventional fuels production tax credit in the 1980s helped develop and boost the 

economics of marginally productive organic-rich gas shales 

(Stevens and Kuuskraa, 2009). This early initiative spurred 

development of new technologies. The credit applied to gas produced from formations classified as “tight” from wells drilled 

after December 31, 1979, but before January 1, 1993, and the 

gas being sold before January 1, 2003. Prior to 1994, the Ohio 

Shale (Appalachian Basin) produced the majority of U.S. shale 

gas, until the drilling boom in the Michigan Basin elevated the 

Antrim Shale to the top position (Curtis, 2002). The Antrim 

Shale was the most active U.S. natural gas play in the early to 

mid-1990s (Hill and others, 2008). Tax Section 29 expired in 

1993; however, the state of Texas continued the tight reservoir 

severance tax relief, and the Barnett Shale qualifies for this tax 

relief, thus maintaining interest in the play (M. A. Denham, 

2004, personal commun.; as reported in Martineau, 2007). Commercial gas production was established from the Mississippian 

Barnett Shale in the Fort Worth Basin in the early 1980s, but did 

not expand until the late 1990s; it is now one of the most active 

natural gas plays in the United States (Hill and others, 2008).

Exploration, drilling, and production of shale-gas plays 

such as the Barnett, Fayetteville, and Haynesville have 

changed the unconventional gas industry. Two technologies 

that enhanced shale-gas development are horizontal drilling 

and hydraulic fracturing (Denney, 2009), which are discussed 

in the following section. In addition, more is understood about 

the Barnett Shale after the drilling of more than 3,000 vertical 

wells and an increasing number of horizontal wells (Martineau, 

2007). Development of the Fayetteville began in the early 2000s 

as gas companies that had success developing the Barnett Shale 

of the Fort Worth Basin identified parallels between it and the 

Mississippian-aged Fayetteville Shale in terms of age and geologic character (U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy 

Technology Laboratory, 2009).

The modern era of Marcellus Shale production in the 

Appalachian Basin began in 2004 when Range Resources 

completed the Renz Unit no.1 well in Washington County, 

Pennsylvania, using large Barnett style slick-water fracturing 

(Wrightstone, 2009). Since 2005, the expansion of Marcellus 

Shale development has continued in Pennsylvania and the 

Appalachian Basin (Arthur and others, 2008). In 2007, after 

several years of drilling and testing, the Haynesville shale 

made headlines as a potentially significant gas resource 

(U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology 

Laboratory, 2009). However, it was not until early 2008 that 
Print Map 3

operators realized that the Haynesville/Bossier Formation 

might be as commercially attractive as the other shale-gas plays 

(Railroad Commission of Texas, 2010b).

Hill and others (2008) pointed out that, whereas oil production spread rapidly from east to west across the United States, 

shale-gas production was much slower to develop. Focused 

efforts have now begun in the Rocky Mountain region; however, recent drilling experience in areas such as the Cretaceous 

shales of the Rocky Mountain region shows that the Barnett 

play concept does not translate into success in other geologic 

situations. The recipe for success is more complicated, in part 

because of a lack of understanding of the geologic processes 

involved (Hill and others, 2008).

Recovery Technologies

 The low natural permeability of shale has been the limiting factor in the exploitation of shale gas (Denney, 2009), but 

the advent of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has 

facilitated the expansion of modern shale-gas development.

Although the first horizontal well was drilled in Texas 

in 1929, it was not until the 1980s that the technology was 

improved enough to become a standard industry practice. The 

technology involves drilling a vertical hole to several hundred feet above the target reservoir, then directing the drill bit 

through an arc until it is drilling essentially horizontally (Harper, 

2008), as shown in figure 1. The advantages of horizontal wells 

(for example, see Harper, 2008) include (1) increases in the 

amount of reservoir penetrated from possibly a few tens of feet 

to over 5,000 feet, (2) increases in the number of vertical or subvertical fractures intersected, and (3) it can be used to develop 

hydrocarbon resources beneath sensitive areas such as wetlands 

and cities where a drilling rig cannot be set up. A systematic 

approach to well construction, data collection, and pre-fracture 

diagnostics is an essential component in the quest for the most 

effective hydraulic-fracture stimulation and the best chance to 

achieve commercial gas production (Bybee, 2009). Mineralogy low in ductile clays and high in brittle quartz, feldspar, and 

carbonate components helps promote fracturing effectiveness 

(Stevens and Kuuskraa, 2009).

The design process for a hydraulic-fracture treatment starts 

with pre-stimulation reservoir evaluation, which involves collecting field data and gaining an understanding of the character 

of the reservoir and of the dynamics of existing stress relations. 

Collected data include porosity, permeability, and lithology of 

the producing formation; fluid-saturation data; natural-fracture 

character; and current stress regimes that identify the maximum 

and least principal horizontal stresses (Denney, 2009). The 

operator creates effective permeability by fracturing the shale in 

a manner that connects with natural fractures. Natural fractures help propagate hydraulic fractures as planes of weakness. 

Large-scale natural fractures and faults are detrimental—they 

can limit effective horizontal lateral lengths, absorb hydraulic 

fracture energy, and serve as conduits for water (Kuuskraa and 

Stevens, 2009). Fractures must be away from faults, and need 

barriers to stay in-zone.

It was not until development of the Barnett Shale play in 

the 1990s that a technique suitable for fracturing shales was 

developed. This technique, called a “slick-water frac” consists 

of sand and large volumes of freshwater that have been treated 

with a friction reducer such as a gel. Slick-water fracs maximize the length of the fractures horizontally while minimizing 

the vertical fracture height, resulting in greater gas mobility and more efficient recovery of a larger volume of the gas 

(Harper, 2008).

Slide Show of Shale-Gas Production 

through Time

For a historical perspective of shale-gas production activity 

in the United States, this report includes a slide show of shalegas production in 10-year increments from the early 1900s to 

2012. Digital data were used from the more than 3 million wells 

in IHS Energy, Inc.’s PI/Dwights PLUS Well Data (IHS Energy, 

2012). In some areas, the IHS data tend not to be complete, particularly in areas where current commercial activity is high. IHS 

data were supplemented with State and other wells databases 

for the Fayetteville (Arkansas), Haynesville (Louisiana), Caney 

(Oklahoma) and Woodford (Oklahoma) shales.

Because of the proprietary nature of many of these databases, exact drill-hole locations cannot be shown. Therefore, 

the mapped area was divided into a grid of square-mile cells 

and the well production status was aggregated. The cells were 

then converted to polygons attributed to indicate the shale-gas 

formation. No proprietary data are displayed or included in the 

cell maps. All map figures use imagery from ArcGIS Online, 

the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the 

U.S Geological Survey (USGS). The slideshow is available on 

the CD-ROM and the website (http://pubs.usgs.gov/dds/dds-069/

dds-069-z/). Press the escape key (ESC) to end the slideshow, or 

navigate the vertical scroll bar to view a particular time frame.

Print Map

The shale-gas map is available both as a static 

Portable Document Format (PDF) file, and as an interactive map that is contained on CD-ROM and is accessible at 

http://pubs.usgs.gov/dds/dds-069/dds-069-z/. Software used to 

create this digital map product includes: Environmental Systems 

Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI) ArcGIS 9.3, Python, Adobe 

Photoshop CS5.1, Illustrator CS5.1, and Acrobat 7.0.

To open the hardcopy map, click on the map graphic 

shown in figure 2. This action opens the static map in Adobe 

Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF). Adobe Acrobat 

Reader software must be installed to view the PDF map and is 

available for download at http://get.adobe.com/reader/.

The hardcopy map is designed to be plotted at a sheet 

size of 36” wide by 26” high. A printed map can be ordered 

from USGS Maps on Demand at http://store.usgs.gov/.
4 Map of Assessed Shale Gas in the United States, 2012

Figure 1. Example of horizontal wells (Reproduced courtesy of EnergyFromShale.org., © the American Petroleum Institute. Used 

with permission).
Figure 2. Map graphic that links to the hardcopy map. 

Ap

Woodford Shale

Chattanooga Shale

Ohio Shale

Antrim Shale

Chattanooga Shale

New Albany Shale

Antrim Shale

Caney Shale

Pearsall Shale Bossier Shale

Barnett Shale Barnett Shale

Woodford Shale

Fayetteville Shale

Haynesville Shale

Eagle Ford Shale

Gothic, Hovenweep Shale Niobrara Chalk

Digital Data Series 69–Z

0 

100

MEXICO

UNITED STATES

Gulf of Mexico

PACIFIC OCEAN

CANADA

0 2

100 

ALASKA

80

80°

100°

120° 100°

50° 40° 30° 20° 

Shaded relief from U.S. Geolog

Bathymetry from ET

NESDIS 

Standard Para

N

EXPLANATION

Square-mile cells—Represent gas- producing wells in shale intervals.  Labeled with red text in white  background.
6 Map of Assessed Shale Gas in the United States, 2012

Web Services

This report includes an interactive map application as a 

visual analysis tool and to deliver data to the public. To access 

the shale-gas web service, visit the USGS National Assessment 

of Oil and Gas Resources website at http://energy.usgs.gov/

OilGas/AssessmentsData/NationalOilGasAssessment.aspx.

Download Maps and Data

The Map of Assessed Shale Gas is available as a 

Geographic Information System (GIS) map and data package 

(both MXD and PMF formats) that is contained on CD-ROM 

or can be downloaded at the USGS website for this report 

(http://pubs.usgs.gov/dds/dds-069/dds-069-z/). The GIS allows 

one to visualize, question, analyze, and understand the shalegas data in ways that reveal relations, patterns, and trends more 

effectively than with the static PDF map. The publishing process 

uses the ArcMap project (MXD) and creates a special file called 

a published map file (PMF). ArcGIS Publisher (ESRI, 2008a) is 

the extension used to create the PMF from the MXD; it packages 

the required data with the PMF file for easy distribution. PMFs 

can be viewed, explored, or printed using any ArcGIS (ESRI, 

2000) desktop product, including ArcMap and the free ArcReader 

(ESRI, 2008b) application. Users can download and install the 

free ArcReader software from ESRI. To access the MXD requires 

ArcGIS 9.3.1 or later software (ESRI, 2000).

All data are stored in file-based geodatabase (ESRI, 2012) 

format (ShaleGasAUs2012.gdb, ShaleGasCells2012.gdb and 

BaseLayers.gdb) and shapefile format using the World Geodetic 

System (WGS) 1984 projection, which is a standard projection for distributing geospatial data. The polygons represent 

shale-gas assessment units (AU) that have been defined by the 

USGS, and square-mile cells are shown to represent proprietary 

shale-gas wells.

An AU is a mappable part of a petroleum system in 

which discovered and undiscovered accumulations constitute 

a single, relatively homogeneous population that share similar geologic characteristics. Many of the AUs overlap one 

another; these layers can be mapped together or individually 

using GIS. An important aspect of this map product is that its 

use does not require extensive GIS expertise or highly specialized equipment. The Metadata folder contains documentation in XML, html and text format. For the ArcGIS.com web 

services (formerly ArcGIS Online; ESRI, 2010), data descriptions, sources, and credits are stored as layer properties. With 

the ESRI World_Street_Map service, detailed data, such as 

railroads and airports, appear as the user zooms in at larger 

scales. Base reference layers included from “The National Atlas 

of the United States of America” (USDOI, 2008) are county 

boundaries, streams, and water bodies. A layer that represents 

geology of the conterminous United States (Shruben and others, 

1994) is included for reference, and a generalized USGS North 

American color shaded relief raster is included as well.

Summary

The USGS map of the principal shale-gas assessment 

units in the United States portrays the occurrence of this 

important resource in many regions of the country. Although 

the complexities of the geologic parameters that bear on the 

success of a shale-gas play in a given basin or setting may not 

yet be fully understood, critical knowledge is accumulating as 

drilling progresses and as advances are being made in engineering and completion technologies. Recent and substantial 

improvements in both areas have caused shale-gas plays once 

believed to have limited economic viability to be reevaluated. 

Estimates of the shale-gas resource, especially the portion that 

is technically recoverable, are likely to change over time as 

understanding of the resource characteristics increases with 

further advances in recovery methods.

Acknowledgments

This report is a compilation of work by many USGS 

geologists who defined and assessed shale-gas and chalk-gas 

assessment units. Thanks are extended to numerous geologists 

and GIS data specialists who provided critical insights and 

data download sites. The manuscript was technically reviewed 

by Christopher J. Schenk, Lawrence O. Anna, and William R. 

Keefer. I thank them for their thoughtful evaluations and suggested revisions. Thanks also go to the National Assessment 

of Oil and Gas GIS staff, led by Christopher P. Anderson, 

ADC Management Services, for producing the assessment unit 

boundaries as GIS layers.

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USGS National Assessment of Oil and Gas Resources Team, and Biewick, Laura R.H. —Map of Assessed Shale Gas in the United States, 2012—Digital Data Series DDS–69–Z