Increase in US gas resources reported

The PGC has reported that technically recoverable US natural gas reserves have increased to the highest ever level recorded at 2515 trillion ft3 as of the end of last year. The previous record reserve level of 2384 trillion ft3 was in 2012. The increase came from “reevaluations of shale gas resources in the Atlantic, Mid Continent, Gulf Coast and Rocky Mountains areas, and conventional/tight gas resources in the Mid Continent and Rockies,” according to the PGC and reported by the American Public Gas Association (APGA). The report also noted the breakdown of the 2515 trillion ft3 into its component parts. 2357 trillion ft3 of the overall gas comes from traditional reservoirs, which includes conventional, tight sands, carbonates, and shales, while 158 trillion ft3 is from coal bed reservoirs.

APGA has reported that the PGC press releases notes that when its assessment of technically recoverable reserves is added to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) assessment of proved reserves, 338 trillion ft3 of dry gas, the total US future supply is 2853 trillion ft3, which is also an increase over the last future gas supply evaluation.

Comments

John B. Curtis, Professor Emeritus of Geology and Geological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines and Director of the Potential Gas Agency said, “our knowledge of the geological endowment of technically recoverable gas continues to improve with each assessment. Furthermore, new and advanced exploration, well drilling, completion and stimulation technologies are allowing us increasingly better delineation of the access to domestic gas resources, especially unconventional gas’, which not all that long ago, were considered impractical or uneconomical to pursue. Consequently, our present assessment, strengthened by robust domestic production levels and reserves bookings, demonstrates and exceptionally strong and optimistic gas supply picture for the nation.”

Edited from press release by Claira Lloyd

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/drilling-and-production/10042015/us-gas-resources/