A recent assessment revealed millions of barrels of oil and billions of cubic feet of natural gas reserves in northwest Colorado and southwest Wyoming.
The US Geological Survey announced the discovery of new resources in the Phosphoria Total Petroleum System, which has produced oil and gas since around 1920. Since then, about 500 million barrels of oil and 2.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas have been extracted from the system.
The new discovery includes approximately 3 million barrels of oil and 666 billion cubic feet of recoverable gas. Despite the survey results, the USGS believes the system is nearing depletion.
“USGS energy assessments typically focus on undiscovered resources – areas where science indicates that a resource may exist but has yet to be discovered by industry.
In this case, after 100 years of production, we estimate that the Phosphoria Total Petroleum System has relatively little remaining oil and more than 600 billion cubic feet of gas,” stated Sarah Ryker, acting director of the USGS.
The USGS reported that other formations in the province, such as the Lance Formation, Lewis Shale, and Mesaverde Group, continue to produce abundant oil and gas.
