{"id":537,"date":"2026-08-03T16:39:06","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T16:39:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/?p=537"},"modified":"2026-08-03T16:39:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T16:39:06","slug":"usgs-releases-assessment-of-undiscovered-oil-and-gas-resources-in-woodford-and-barnett-shales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/?p=537","title":{"rendered":"USGS releases assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in Woodford and Barnett shales"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n


\n<\/span><\/p>\n

USGS releases assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in Woodford and Barnett shales
\n<\/h2>\n

\n
\n
28.3 trillion cubic feet of gas, 1.6 billion barrels of oil estimated in New Mexico, Texas <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/h3>\n
\n
Read the factsheet on undiscovered oil and gas in the Woodford Shale and Barnet\u2026<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n By Communications and Publishing<\/a>
\n <\/span>
\n
\n January 14, 2026
\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

RESTON, Va.\u00a0<\/strong>\u2014 The U.S. Geological Survey released its assessment of undiscovered gas and oil in the Woodford and Barnett shales in the Permian Basin, assessing that there are technically recoverable resources of 28.3 trillion cubic feet of gas \u2013 enough to supply the United States for 10 months at the current rate of consumption — and 1.6 billion barrels of oil, or 10 weeks\u2019 supply for the nation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Since production began in the late 1990s, the Woodford and Barnett shales have produced 26 million barrels of oil, equal to one day\u2019s U.S. consumption.\u00a0 The Permian Basin has long been one of the most abundant sources of U.S. energy.\u00a0The organic-rich shales of the Woodford and Barnett occur up to 20,000 feet below the surface, at greater depths than other resources in the Permian. Advances in unconventional production \u2013 hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling \u2013 now make it possible to produce energy resources from previously inaccessible and technically challenging formations, such as the Woodford and Barnett.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe U.S. economy and our way of life depend on energy, and USGS oil and gas assessments point to resources that industry hasn\u2019t discovered yet.\u00a0 In this case, we have assessed there are significant undiscovered resources in the Woodford and Barnett shales in the Permian Basin,\u201d said Ned Mamula, director of the USGS.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

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. \u00a0The embargo led to a mandate for the USGS to use geologic science and data to assess undiscovered oil and gas resources to help meet the nation\u2019s needs.\u00a0 The work continues today \u2013 identifying new resources for domestic production as well as international resources that affect market conditions — an important part of the USGS mission to provide actionable insight to U.S. leaders, other Federal agencies, industry and the public.<\/p>\n

USGS energy resource assessments provide information to policy makers on resource potential in areas of the U.S. and the world. For land-management agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management, the results of an energy resources assessment feed into land-use and resource management plans.\u00a0 For the private sector, USGS assessments of undiscovered energy resources provide context for planning detailed exploration.<\/p>\n

The range of assessments produced by the USGS has changed with the technology available to produce oil.\u00a0 In 1995, the USGS began conducting assessments of unconventional, technically recoverable resources.\u00a0 \u201cThe shift to horizontal drilling with fracking has revolutionized oil production, and we\u2019ve changed with it,\u201d said Christopher Schenk, USGS geologist<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\n
\n Media<\/span><\/p>\n
\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Sources\/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

View of the Franklin Mountains in El Paso, Texas, looking north to the Organ Mountains of New Mexico. \u00a0The area sits atop the Woodford Shale, which can be seen as dark gray material on the left. \u00a0Photo by Andrea Cicero\/USGS.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\n Media<\/span><\/p>\n
\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Sources\/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Geologists on a West Texas Geological Society site visit to the Woodford Shale, visible on the trail and to its right (although it extends from the surface to 20,000 feet below). \u00a0Photo by Andrea Cicero\/USGS.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n
\n Media<\/span><\/p>\n
\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Sources\/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n
\n Media<\/span><\/p>\n
\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Sources\/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

The USGS Energy Resources Program assesses the potential for undiscovered oil and gas resources in priority geologic provinces in the\u00a0United States<\/a> and\u00a0around the world<\/a>. 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 coalbed gas).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The fact sheet on the Woodford and Barnett Shales Oil and Gas Assessment is available\u00a0HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

# # #<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n

Source: National News Release<\/a><\/p>\n

Source: National News Release<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RESTON, Va. \u2014 The U.S. Geological Survey released its assessment of undiscovered gas and oil in the Woodford and Barnett shales in the Permian Basin, assessing that there are technically recoverable resources of 28.3 trillion cubic feet of gas \u2013 enough to supply the United States for 10 months at the current rate of consumption –…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":241,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science-u-s-geological-survey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=537"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":727,"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537\/revisions\/727"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thirstier.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}