Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey and the Geological Surveys of Illinois, Kentucky and Indiana are partnering to image geology using airborne geophysical technology as part of the USGS Earth Mapping Resource Initiative (Earth MRI) project.

For this tri-state survey, the USGS is contracting with EON Geosciences and will fly over all or parts of 23 counties in southeastern Illinois, western Kentucky and southern Indiana. The planes and crew will be based out of the Barkley Regional Airport in west Paducah, Kentucky. The survey began in early October and will be completed in December.

The survey will be flown at elevations approximately 80 to 300 meters, or about 260 to 1,000 feet, above ground in a grid pattern along east-west flight lines spaced approximately 200 meters, or 650 feet, apart. North-south flight lines will be spaced 3,000 meters, or 9,800 feet, apart. All survey flights will occur during daylight hours.        

A Piper Navajo airplane with tail stinger magnetometer in flight. 

(Credit: Courtesy EON Geosciences, Inc.)

Two Piper Navajo airplanes will be mounted with sensors that measure variations in the earth’s magnetic field. These variations are created by different rock types up to several miles beneath the surface. Each plane will also include sensors that measure soil and rock chemistry at the surface. None of the instruments carried on the aircraft pose a health risk to people or animals. The aircraft will be flown by experienced pilots that are specially trained and approved for low-level flying. All flights are coordinated with the FAA to ensure flights are in accordance with U.S. law.

This survey is one of five large airborne geophysical campaigns being conducted across various parts of the U.S. The surveys will help understand the geology over areas that may contain critical mineral-bearing deposit types. The 2019-2020 Earth MRI focus is to better understand several types of rare earth element deposits that occur within the five airborne geophysical surveys. Data collected as part of all five surveys will be made public and used to guide more detailed geologic mapping at local scales. When the data analysis is complete, results will provide state-of-the-art, subsurface maps that will contribute to a wide range of 3D representations of the nation’s exposed and concealed geology.

Earth MRI is a cooperative effort between the USGS, the Association of American State Geologists and other federal, state and private sector organizations to improve knowledge of the geologic framework in the U.S.

Map indicating flight area for tri-state low-level flight survey. The flights will cover 23 counties in Illinois, Kentucky and Indiana, and are included within the red rectangle. Flights began in October and are expected to conclude in December, 2019.

(Public domain.)

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“Watching our estimates for the Marcellus rise from 2 trillion to 84 trillion to 97 trillion in under 20 years demonstrates the effects American ingenuity and new technology can have,” said USGS Director Jim Reilly. “Knowing where these resources are located and how much exists is crucial to ensuring our nation’s energy independence.”

The assessment unit map for the Marcellus Shale within the Appalachian Basin. Although it occupies similar areas as the Point Pleasant-Utica Shale, the Marcellus is much younger, having formed in the Devonian age.

(Public domain.)

The Marcellus, Point Pleasant and Utica are extensive formations that cover parts of Kentucky, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.

This is a significant increase from the previous USGS assessments of both formations. In 2011, the USGS estimated a mean of 84 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the Marcellus Shale, and in 2012 the USGS estimated about 38 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the Utica Shale.

Significant amounts of natural gas have been produced from the Marcellus and Utica Shales since the previous USGS assessments. USGS assessments are for remaining resources and exclude known and produced oil and gas.

A drill rig at a well site in the Marcellus Shale gas play of southwestern Pennsylvania.

(Credit: Ken Skipper, USGS. Public domain.)

The natural gas in these formations is classified as continuous, because it is spread throughout the assessed rock layers instead of being concentrated in discrete accumulations. Production techniques like directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing are required to produce these resources.

“Since our assessments in 2011 and 2012, industry has improved upon their development techniques for continuous resources like the shale gas in the Appalachian Basin,” said Walter Guidroz,  program coordinator for the USGS Energy Resources Program. “That technological advancement, plus all of the geological information we’ve gained from the last several years of production, have allowed us to greatly expand our understanding of these formations.”

The Marcellus Shale also contains an estimated 1.5 billion barrels of natural gas liquids, while the Point Pleasant-Utica Shale also contains an estimated 1.8 billion barrels of oil and 985 million barrels of natural gas liquids. Natural gas liquids are liquid hydrocarbons like propane, butane and/or ethane.

The assessments units of the Point Pleasant-Utica Shale Formation within the Appalachian Basin. Although it occupies similar areas as the Marcellus Shale, it was formed during the Ordovician Period, millions of years prior to the Marcellus.

(Public domain.)

These assessments are for undiscovered, technically recoverable resources. Undiscovered resources are those that have been estimated to exist based on geology and other data, but have not yet been proven to exist by drilling or other means. Technically recoverable resources, meanwhile, are those that can be produced using today’s standard industry practices and technology. This is different from reserves, which are those quantities of oil and gas that are currently profitable to produce.

USGS is the only provider of publicly available estimates of undiscovered technically recoverable oil and gas resources of onshore lands and offshore state waters. The USGS Marcellus and Point Pleasant-Utica Shale assessments were undertaken as part of a nationwide project assessing domestic petroleum basins using standardized methodology and protocol.

The new assessment of the Marcellus Shale can be accessed here. The new assessment of the Point Pleasant-Utica Shale may be found here. To find out more about USGS energy assessments and other energy research, please visit the USGS Energy Resources Program website and follow us on Twitter.

Original Article

USGS.gov

USGS.gov

https://www.usgs.gov/news/usgs-estimates-214-trillion-cubic-feet-natural-gas-appalachian-basin-formations

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