USGS releases assessment of undiscovered gas resources in SW Wyoming’s Mesaverde Group and Lance Formation

Since exploration began in the area in 1932, the Mesaverde-Lance has produced 16.9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas – as much gas as the U.S. consumes in six months at the current rate of consumption. 

“The U.S. economy and our way of life depend on energy, and USGS oil and gas assessments point to resources that industry hasn’t discovered yet.  In this case, we have assessed there are significant undiscovered resources in the Southwestern Wyoming Geologic Province,” said Ned Mamula, director of the USGS.

This is the fifth oil and gas assessment in the Southwestern Wyoming Geologic Province released in the last two years, following assessments of the Mowry Composite Total Petroleum System, the Niobrara Formation, the Phosphoria Total Petroleum System and the Lewis Shale. 

The Southwestern Wyoming Geologic Province, which covers parts of Wyoming, Colorado, and a strip of northern Utah, is a priority area for the USGS Energy Resources Program because of its potential for undiscovered, technically recoverable natural gas. The five recent USGS assessments estimate a combined total of 49.2 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered, technically recoverable natural gas resources, enough to supply the nation for 18 months. Work will continue on additional formations and resources in the province.

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 oil and gas resources to help meet the nation’s needs.  The work continues today – 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.

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.  For the private sector, USGS assessments of undiscovered energy resources provide context for planning detailed exploration.

The range of assessments produced has changed with the technology available to produce oil. In 1995, the USGS began conducting assessments of unconventional, technically recoverable resources. 

“The shift to horizontal drilling with fracking has revolutionized oil production, and we’ve changed with it,” said Christopher Schenk, USGS geologist.

The USGS Energy Resources Program assesses the potential for undiscovered oil and gas resources in priority geologic provinces in the United States 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 coalbed gas).  

The fact sheet on the Mesaverde-Lance Oil and Gas Assessment is available here.