thumbnail

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Ventura Basin Province, California, 2016

Fact Sheet 2017-3050
By: , , , , , , , , , , , , and 
https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20173050

Links

Abstract

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed a geology-based assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable conventional and continuous oil and gas resources in the part of the Ventura Basin Province that lies onshore or within State waters (within 3 miles of the shoreline) of California (fig. 1). Conventional oil and gas resources are those that have migrated upward into structural or stratigraphic traps from deep zones where the oil and gas is generated; water is present below the oil or gas. Continuous accumulations, in contrast, are those in which oil or gas is pervasively present in essentially all wells that penetrate them, that may not be structurally or stratigraphically trapped, and that typically lack oil-water or gas-water contacts. They are commonly produced with well-stimulation technology, such as hydraulic fracturing, referred to as “unconventional.” The same stimulation technology, however, is also used in many conventionally trapped accumulations. We estimated both the likely range of oil and gas volumes remaining to be discovered in accumulations similar to existing conventional oil and gas fields in the Ventura Basin Province (previously assessed by Keller [1995] as 1,060 million barrels of oil [MMBO], 1,900 billion cubic feet of gas [BCFG], and 60 million barrels of natural gas liquids [MMBNGL]), and the potential for oil and gas that might be present in a continuous accumulation at extreme depth in the floor of the basin.

Suggested Citation

Tennyson, M.E., Schenk, C.J., Pitman, J.K., Lillis, P.G., Klett, T.R., Brownfield, M.E., Finn, T.M., Gaswirth, S.B., Hawkins, S.J., Marra, K.R., Mercier, T.J., Le, P.A., and Leathers-Miller, H.M., 2017, Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Ventura Basin Province, California, 2016: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2017–3050, 2 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20173050.

ISSN: 2327-6932 (online)

ISSN: 2327-6916 (print)

Study Area

Table of Contents

  • Introduction
  • Geologic Summary
  • Total Petroleum Systems and Assessment Units
  • Undiscovered Resources Summary
  • References Cited
Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Ventura Basin Province, California, 2016
Series title Fact Sheet
Series number 2017-3050
DOI 10.3133/fs20173050
Year Published 2017
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Publisher location Reston, VA
Contributing office(s) Central Energy Resources Science Center
Description 2 p.
Country United States
State California
Other Geospatial Ventura Basin Province
Online Only (Y/N) N
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
Additional publication details