Publications
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Experimental study on the impact of thermal maturity on shale microstructures using hydrous pyrolysis
Hydrous pyrolysis was applied to four low-maturity aliquots from the Utica, Excello, Monterey, and Niobrara Shale Formations in North America to create artificial maturation sequences, which could be used to study the impact of maturation on geochemical and microstructural properties. Modified Rock-Eval pyrolysis, reflectance, organic petrology, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) w
Authors
Kouqi Liu, M. Ostadhassan, Paul C. Hackley, T. Gentzis, J. Zou, Y. Yuan, H. Carvajal-Ortiz, R. Rezaee, B. Bubach
Growth drivers of Bakken oil well productivity
This paper identifies the drivers of the phenomenal growth in productivity in hydraulically fractured horizontal oil wells producing from the middle member of the Bakken Formation in North Dakota. The data show a strong underlying spatial component and somewhat weaker temporal component. Drivers of the spatial component are favorable reservoir conditions. The temporal component of well productiv
Authors
Emil D. Attanasi, Philip A. Freeman
Nanoscale molecular fractionation of organic matter within unconventional petroleum source beds
Fractionation of petroleum during migration through sedimentary rock matrices has been observed across lengths of meters to kilometers. Selective adsorption of specific chemical moieties at mineral surfaces and/or the phase behavior of petroleum during pressure changes typically are invoked to explain this behavior. Such phenomena are of interest as they impact both the quality and recoverability
Authors
Aaron M. Jubb, Paul C. Hackley, Javin J. Hatcherian, Jing Qu, Timothy O Nesheim
Rare earth elements in coal and coal fly ash
The rare earth elements (REEs) are a group of 17 elements sharing similar chemical properties. They include yttrium (Y, atomic number 39), scandium (Sc, atomic number 21), and the 15 elements of the lanthanide series, atomic numbers 57 (lanthanum, La) to 71 (lutetium, Lu). Because promethium (Pm, atomic number 61) does not occur in the Earth’s crust and scandium typically has different geological
Authors
Clint Scott, Allan Kolker
Assessment of undiscovered gas hydrate resources in the North Slope of Alaska, 2018
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of about 54 trillion cubic feet of gas resources within gas hydrates in the North Slope of Alaska.
Authors
Timothy S. Collett, Kristen A. Lewis, Margarita V. Zyrianova, Seth S. Haines, Christopher J. Schenk, Tracey J. Mercier, Michael E. Brownfield, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Kristen R. Marra, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Janet K. Pitman, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Cheryl A. Woodall, David W. Houseknecht
Mechanisms of methane hydrate formation in geological systems
Natural gas hydrates are ice-like mixtures of gas (mostly methane) and water that are widely found in sediments along the world’s continental margins and within and beneath permafrost in a near-surface depth interval where the pressure is sufficiently high and temperature sufficiently low for gas hydrate to be stable. Beneath this interval, gas hydrate is not stable and free gas may be present. Th
Authors
Kehua You, Peter B. Flemings, Alberto Malinverno, Timothy Collett, Kristopher Darnell
Petrology and geochemistry of migrated hydrocarbons associated with the Albert Formation oil shale in New Brunswick, Canada
Samples of the Carboniferous oil shale of the Albert Formation in New Brunswick, Canada, were examined using reflected white and fluorescence light microscopy, Rock-Eval pyrolysis, and ICP-MS (for elements). The presence of fractured filled solid bitumen in contact with, and within the Albert Formation oil shale, particularly in fractures at the right angle to the bedding of oil shale indicated th
Authors
F. Goodarzi, T. Gentzis, C. Özgen Karacan, H. Sanei, P.K. Pederson
Hydrous heating experiments at 130°C yield insights into the occurrence of hydrogen sulfide and light alkanes in natural gas reservoirs
Improved understanding of the origin of produced volatiles from conventional reservoirs and unconventional source rocks is critical for petroleum exploration and production. A series of hydrous heating experiments using two immature Type II siliciclastic source rocks, Pennsylvanian Turner Mine shale (TMS) and Devonian New Albany Shale (NAS), at 130 °C over one to two years were conducted to assess
Authors
M.A. Alrowaie, Aaron M. Jubb, A. Schimmelmann, M. Mastalerz, L.M. Pratt
A Methodology to Assess the National and Regional Impacts of U.S. Wind Energy Development on Birds and Bats
This scientific investigations report describes an effort by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) that used research, monitoring data, and modeling to develop a methodology to assess both the current and future population-level consequences of wind energy development on species of birds and bats that are present in the United States during any part of their life cycle. The methodology is currently ap
Authors
James E. Diffendorfer, J.A. Beston, Matthew D. Merrill, Jessica C. Stanton, M.D. Corum, S.R. Loss, W.E. Thogmartin, D.H. Johnson, R.A. Erickson, K.W. Heist
Assessment of continuous oil resources in the Eastern Great Basin Province of Nevada, Utah, and Idaho, 2018
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) quantitatively assessed the potential for undiscovered, technically recoverable continuous oil and gas resources in the Eastern Great Basin Province (Anna and others, 2007) of Nevada, Utah, and Idaho (fig. 1). The assessment focused on the area of the province between the Roberts Mountains and Sevier thrust systems (Peterson, 1994). The major petroleum source rock
Authors
Christopher J. Schenk, Tracey J. Mercier, Cheryl A. Woodall, Thomas M. Finn, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Kristen R. Marra, Phuong A. Le, Michael E. Brownfield, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Ronald M. Drake, Scott A. Kinney
Improving pressure-limited CO2 storage capacity in saline formations by means of brine extraction
The carbon dioxide (CO2) storage capacity of saline formations may be constrained by reservoir pressure limitations. Brine extraction could be necessary to increase the CO2 storage capacity of a given formation, manage the extent of the underground CO2 plume and induced pressure front, and control the migration direction. To estimate the additional CO2 storage capacity of a saline formation that c
Authors
Hossein Jahediesfanjani, Steven T. Anderson, Peter D. Warwick
Hydrocarbons in upland groundwater, Marcellus Shale Region, Northeastern Pennsylvania and Southern New York, USA
Water samples from 50 domestic wells located <1 km (proximal) and >1 km (distal) from shale-gas wells in upland areas of the Marcellus Shale region were analyzed for chemical, isotopic, and groundwater-age tracers. Uplands were targeted because natural mixing with brine and hydrocarbons from deep formations is less common in those areas compared to valleys. CH4-isotope, predrill CH4-concentration,
Authors
Peter B. McMahon, Bruce D. Lindsey, Matthew D. Conlon, Andrew G. Hunt, Kenneth Belitz, Bryant Jurgens, Brian A. Varela
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Energy Resources Program, National Water Quality Program, California Water Science Center, Central Energy Resources Science Center, Colorado Water Science Center, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, New England Water Science Center, Pennsylvania Water Science Center