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Oil and Gas Resources

	Petroleum geologists study very thin slices of reservoir rocks under a microscope to analyze the character of rock porosity and permeability. This thin section shows a conventional sandstone reservoir that has been injected with blue epoxy. The blue areas are pore space and would contain natural gas in a producing gas field. The pore space can be seen to be interconnected so gas is able to flow easily from the rock.
	Magnified in electron scanning micrograph to reveal their variety of shape, the .03-inch conodonts can serve as geologic markers for possible oil sites. These samples, discovered in central Nevada, range in age from 360 million to 500 million years old. Image of the U.S. Geological Survey.

The Energy Program uses a total petroleum systems approach to evaluate the probable presence of undiscovered, subsurface accumulations of oil and natural gas resources in the U.S. and around the world. Research projects using this approach provide the basis for estimating resource volumes in conventional and unconventional (continuous) oil and natural gas accumulations, including coalbed methane and gas from low-permeability geologic units such as ‘tight gas sands.’ These scientific activities yield geologically based estimates (assessments) of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resource endowments. Technically recoverable resources can be produced using currently available technology.

• National Oil and Gas Assessment (NOGA)
  Assess the natural gas endowment and the reserve growth potential of the United States, exclusive of Federal waters.

• World Petroleum Assessment
  Understand and quantify amounts of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids available from different provinces of the world.

• Alaskan Petroleum Studies
  Improve understanding of Alaskan petroleum—its origin, habitat, and abundance—to improve estimates of undiscovered oil and gas resources.