Utah is sixth in undiscovered oil, sixth in natural gas, says USGS report

Utah has untapped oil and natural gas reserves that rank sixth-highest in the nation, according to a new report released by the U.S. Geological Survey.

The study of undiscovered oil and gas resources in formations under the federally managed public lands estimates that there are technically recoverable resources of 771.3 million barrels of oil and 14.4 trillion cubic feet of gas in Utah — the amount of both commodities ranking No. 6 in the U.S.

The onshore public lands of the United States included in the report are those administered by the departments of Agriculture (Forest Service); Defense; Energy; Interior, which includes the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service; and the Tennessee Valley Authority.

For the nation’s public lands, the report estimates a total of 29.4 billion barrels of oil and 391.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The undiscovered oil and gas resource estimates are both significant increases from USGS estimates in 1998. These increases are due not to any change in the subsurface but to the revolution in energy production since the previous USGS estimates, when the USGS estimated 7.86 billion barrels of oil and 201.1 trillion cubic feet of gas. Those estimates focused on conventional oil and gas accumulations and did not include all unconventional resources such as shale oil, tight oil and tight gas (oil and gas trapped in impermeable rock) and coal-bed gas, which are routinely produced using fracking and are now part of USGS oil and gas assessments.

The USGS Energy Resources Program assesses the potential for undiscovered oil and gas resources in priority geologic provinces in the U.S. and around the world. Two methodologies are used by the USGS: one for assessing conventional oil and gas resources, and one for assessing unconventional (continuous) oil and gas resources (such as shale gas and coal-bed gas).

“USGS assessments of undiscovered resources are science-based estimates of what may be discovered in the future,” said Ryker. “They are different from — and complementary to — industry production numbers, which focus on known or discovered resources. USGS research focuses on areas of uncertainty.”

USGS oil and gas assessments began 50 years ago following an oil embargo against the U.S. that signaled a need to understand the occurrence, distribution and potential volumes of undiscovered resources. The embargo led to a mandate for the USGS to use geologic science and data to assess undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources to help meet the nation’s needs.