USGS increases estimate of undiscovered resources in Bossier formation
Key Highlights
- The USGS assessed undiscovered gas and oil in the Bossier formation along the Gulf Coast.
- The report assesses technical recoverable resources of 343.5 tcf gas and 3 million bbl oil.
Following a new assessment of undiscovered oil and gas in the Bossier formation along the Gulf Coast, the US Geological Survey (USGS) estimates technically recoverable resources to be 343.5 tcf of gas—enough to supply the US for more than 10 years at the current rate of consumption—and 3 million bbl of oil.
Since the last USGS assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Bossier formation, exploration drilling has revealed deep, highly overpressured shale formations, warranting the new assessment.
The organic-rich shales of the Bossier formation are produced from up to 18,000 ft below the surface, at greater depths than other resources in the Gulf Coast. New plays, such as the Bossier Western Shale Gas Assessment Unit, sometimes referred to by industry as Western Haynesville or Waynesville, show that drilling into deeper, higher-pressured reservoirs can result in more resources than previously thought.
Since production began, the Bossier formation has produced 3.8 tcf of gas.
