U.S. Geological Survey said this week the Woodford and Barnett shales in the Permian Basin contain recoverable resources of 1.6 billion barrels of crude oil and 28.3 tcf of natural gas. The shales of the Woodford and Barnett occur up to 20,000 feet below the surface at greater depths than other Permian resources. USGS director Ned Mamula said Wednesday, “USGS oil and gas assessments point to resources that industry hasn’t discovered yet… We have assessed there are significant undiscovered resources in the Woodford and Barnett shales in the Permian Basin.”
In its report, USGS added, “Advances in unconventional production – hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling – now make it possible to produce energy resources from previously inaccessible and technically challenging formations such as Woodford and Barnett.”
USGS said since production began in the late 1990s, the Woodford and Barnett shales have produced 26 million barrels of oil – equal to one day’s consumption in the U.S.