Gas Shale Age Province USGS National Oil and Gas 

Assessment Website

Antrim Shale Late Devonian Michigan Basin

Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of 

the U.S. Portion of the Michigan Basin, 2004 (Swezey 

and others, 2005)

Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources Underlying the U.S. 

Portions of the Great Lakes, 2005 (Coleman and others, 

2006)

Michigan Basin

Appalachian Devonian 

shales

Middle Devonian to 

Mississippian Appalachian Basin

Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of 

the Appalachian Basin Province, 2002 (Milici and others, 

2003)

Assessment of Appalachian Basin Oil and Gas 

Resources: Devonian Shale-Middle and Upper Paleozoic 

Total Petroleum System (Milici and Swezey, 2006)

Appalachian Basin

Bend Arch–Fort Worth 

Basin

Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of 

the Bend Arch-Fort Worth Basin Province of NorthCentral Texas and Southwestern Oklahoma, 2003 

(Pollastro and others, 2004b)

Total Petroleum System Assessment of Undiscovered 

Resources in the Giant Barnett Shale Continuous 

(unconventional) Gas Accumulation, Fort Worth Basin, 

Texas (Pollastro, R.M., 2007)

Bend Arch-Fort 

Worth Basin

Permian Basin

Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of 

the Permian Basin Province of West Texas and 

Southeast New Mexico, 2007 (Schenk and others, 2008)

Permian Basin

Brookian Shale Cretaceous Northern Alaska

Assessment of Potential Oil and Gas Resources in 

Source Rocks of the Alaska North Slope, 2012 

(Houseknecht and others, 2012).

Alaska North Slope

Cane Creek Shale Pennsylvanian Paradox Basin

Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources in 

the Paradox Basin Province, Utah, Colorado, New 

Mexico, and Arizona, 2011 (Whidden and others, 2012)

Paradox Basin

Caney Shale Mississippian

Chattanooga Shale Late Devonian, Early 

Mississippian

Eagle Ford Shale Cretaceous Gulf Coast Mesozoic

Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources in 

Jurassic and Cretaceous Strata of the Gulf Coast, 2010 

(Dubiel and others, 2011)

Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources in 

Conventional and Continuous Petroleum Systems in the 

Upper Cretaceous Eagle Ford Group, U.S. Gulf Coast 

Region, 2011 (Dubiel and others, 2012)

Gulf Coast Basins

Fayetteville Shale Mississippian Arkoma Basin

Assessment of Undiscovered Natural Gas Resources of 

the Arkoma Basin Province and Geologically Related 

Areas (Houseknecht and others, 2010)

Arkoma Basin

 informal Gothic, 

Hovenweep and Chimney 

Rock shales

Pennsylvanian Paradox Basin

Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources in 

the Paradox Basin Province, Utah, Colorado, New 

Mexico, and Arizona, 2011 (Whidden and others, 2012)

Paradox Basin

Haynesville shale (also 

known informally as the 

Haynesville/Bossier)

Late Jurassic Gulf Coast Mesozoic

Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources in 

Jurassic and Cretaceous Strata of the Gulf Coast, 2010 

(Dubiel and others, 2011)

Gulf Coast Basins

Marcellus Shale Middle Devonian Appalachian Basin

Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of 

the Devonian Marcellus Shale of the Appalachian Basin 

Province, 2011 (Coleman and others, 2011)

U.S. Geological Survey Information Relevant to the U.S. 

Geological Survey Assessment of the Middle Devonian 

Marcellus Shale of the Appalachian Basin Province, 

2011 (USGS Marcellus Shale Assessment Team, 2011)

Appalachian Basin

New Albany Shale Late Devonian, Early 

Mississippian Illinois Basin Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of 

the Illinois Basin, 2007 ( Swezey and others, 2007)

Illinois Basin

Niobrara Chalk (Marl, Shale) Late Cretaceous Denver Basin

2002 USGS Assessment of Oil and Gas Resource 

Potential of the Denver Basin Province of Colorado, 

Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming (Higley 

and others, 2003)

Petroleum Systems and Assessment of Undiscovered Oil 

and Gas in the Denver Basin Province, Colorado, Kansas, 

Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming—USGS 

Province 39 (Higley, 2007)

Denver Basin

Pearsall Shale Early Cretaceous Gulf Coast Mesozoic

Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources in 

Jurassic and Cretaceous Strata of the Gulf Coast, 2010 

(Dubiel and others, 2011)

Gulf Coast Basins

Shublik Shale Triassic Northern Alaska

Assessment of Potential Oil and Gas Resources in 

Source Rocks of the Alaska North Slope, 2012 

(Houseknecht and others, 2012).

Alaska North Slope

Thirteen Finger LimestoneAtoka Shale Pennsylvanian Anadarko Basin

Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of 

the Anadarko Basin Province of Oklahoma, Kansas, 

Texas, and Colorado, 2010 (Higley and others, 2011)

Undiscovered Petroleum Resources for the Woodford 

Shale and Thirteen Finger Limestone–Atoka Shale 

Assessment Units, Anadarko Basin (Higley, 2011)

Anadarko Basin

Utica Shale Late Ordovician Appalachian Basin

Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of 

the Ordovician Utica Shale of the Appalachian Basin 

Province, 2012 (Kirschbaum and others, 2012)

Assessment of Appalachian Basin Oil and Gas 

Resources: Utica-Lower Paleozoic Total Petroleum 

System (Ryder, 2008)

Appalachian Basin

Arkoma Basin

Assessment of Undiscovered Natural Gas Resources of 

the Arkoma Basin Province and Geologically Related 

Areas (Houseknecht and others, 2010)

Arkoma Basin

Anadarko Basin

Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of 

the Anadarko Basin Province of Oklahoma, Kansas, 

Texas, and Colorado, 2010 (Higley and others, 2011)

Undiscovered Petroleum Resources for the Woodford 

Shale and Thirteen Finger Limestone–Atoka Shale 

Assessment Units, Anadarko Basin (Higley, 2011)

Anadarko Basin

Permian Basin

Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of 

the Permian Basin Province of West Texas and 

Southeast New Mexico, 2007 (Schenk and others, 2008)

Permian Basin

Woodford Shale

Mississippian

Late Devonian-Early 

Mississippian

Arkoma Basin

Assessment of Undiscovered Natural Gas Resources of 

the Arkoma Basin Province and Geologically Related 

Areas (Houseknecht and others, 2010)

Arkoma Basin

Table 1. Publications access table – Hyperlinks to USGS shale gas assessment publications and web pages

USGS National Oil and Gas Assessment Publications

Barnett Shale 

U.S. Department of the Interior Digital Data Series 69-Z

U.S. Geological Survey