Also 1.9 billion barrels of natural gas liquids
The United States Geological Survey has released a new assessment upping its estimate of the volumes of hydrocarbons in the Eagle Ford Group of Texas. The USGS said the formation contains an estimated means of 8.5 billion barrels of oil, 66 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 1.9 billion barrels of natural gas liquids, according to its new assessment .
The USGS said its estimate consists of undiscovered, technically recoverable resources in continuous accumulations.
Continuous oil and gas is that which is dispersed throughout a geologic formation rather than existing as discrete, localized occurrences, such as those in conventional accumulations, according to the USGS. It defines undiscovered resources are those that are estimated to exist based on geologic knowledge and statistical analysis of known resources, while technically recoverable resources are those that can be produced using currently available technology and industry practices. Whether or not it is profitable to produce these resources has not been evaluated.
The USGS said it regularly reassesses potential resources in response to changes in estimated ultimate recovery spurred by new techniques or when new productive horizons are pioneered.
Key target for producers of both oil and natural gas
“This assessment is a bit different than previous ones, because it ranks in the top five of assessments we’ve done of continuous resources for both oil and gas,” said USGS scientist Kate Whidden, lead author for the assessment. “Usually, formations produce primarily oil or gas, but the Eagle Ford is rich in both.”
Assessment units of the Eagle Ford Group within the Gulf Coast Basins.
Eagle Ford extends from Mexico to Louisiana
The Eagle Ford Group stretches from the Texas-Mexico border to the west, across portions of southern and eastern Texas to the Texas-Louisiana border to the east. It is one of the most prolific continuous accumulations in the United States, and is comprised of mudstone with varying amounts of carbonate.
