Interactive map of produced waters in the United States

The U.S. Geological Survey's Produced Waters app provides information on over 100,000 samples of produced water from the oil and gas industry, waters extracted from hydrothermal systems (geothermal water), and some additional water wells.

Interactive map of coastal and marine geoscience features in the United States

The Marine Cadastre National Viewer is a joint product of the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The viewer contains an enormous amount of information relevant to marine and coastal issues in interactive map form. Over 275 different map layers are available on a wide range of topics. The geoscience-related layers include:

Visualization of energy use in every state

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, under the direction of the U.S. Department of Energy and using data from the Energy Information Administration, has produced flow charts showing the major sources and uses of energy in every U.S. state in the year 2014.

U.S. District Court rejects BLM authority to regulate fracking on public and tribal lands

The U.S. District Court for Wyoming ruled that the Department of the Interior (DOI) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have no authority to regulate hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as “fracking,” on public and tribal lands.

CHOW 2016 includes a panel on changing offshore energy portfolios

Inspired by recent milestones in domestic offshore wind energy and persistently low oil and gas prices, Capitol Hill Ocean Week (CHOW 2016) included a panel on potential changes to U.S. offshore energy portfolios.

What is coalbed methane?

Most coal has some methane (the main component of natural gas) trapped inside it. This methane is produced during the coal formation process and gets trapped on the surface of the coal in tiny pores and fractures.¹ Many coalbeds also contain large amounts of water; the pressure from this water keeps the methane in place. Coalbed methane is extracted by pumping out the water, which lowers the pressure, allowing the gas to detach from the coal surface and flow out into the well.¹

What is produced water?

Produced water is naturally occurring water that comes out of the ground along with oil and gas

National Academies Roundtable holds workshop on use of flowback and produced waters from the oil and gas industry

The National Academies’ Unconventional Hydrocarbon Roundtable held a two-day workshop on “Use of Flowback and Produced Waters: Opportunities and Challenges for Innovation”.

RFF and Duke University hold seminar on impacts of oil and gas development on local governments and communities

Resources for the Future (RFF) and Duke University co-hosted a seminar on how oil and gas development impacts local governments and communities, highlighting several recently released reports.

Offshore Energy

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Background:

Offshore energy is a huge and growing resource:

About 18 percent of U.S. oil and natural gas is produced offshore and production is growing. Globally, the offshore provides 30 percent of oil and natural gas.
Offshore wind is also a growing source of electricity, especially in Europe. The U.S. has significant offshore wind power potential, but no commercial wind facilities are in development [2017 update: the first offshore wind project in the United States went live in December 2016 off the coast of Rhode Island].

Ongoing technological advancements assure all these resources will continue to grow while addressing heightened environmental concerns.

Our speakers are:

Buford Pollett, Assistant Professor of Energy Law, University of Tulsa | Slides Video
Eric van Oort, Professor of Petroleum Engineering, University of Texas at Austin | Slides Video
James Bennett, U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management | Slides Video

Webinar Co-Sponsors:

American Association of Petroleum Geologists, American Geophysical Union, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Consortium for Ocean Leadership, Geological Society of America

Resources to learn more:

View this webinar's Question & Answer session
U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement's Annual Report 2015
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 2015, 2014-2015 Offshore Wind Technologies Market Report

Search the Geological Surveys Database for reports and factsheets about offshore energy.

American Geosciences Institute

oil and gas