US Geological Survey Releases Assessment on Oil & Gas Formations of Maverick Basin

RESTON, Va. — The U.S. Geological Survey (GSGS) released its assessment of potential for undiscovered oil and gas in formations of the Maverick Basin, assessing that there are technically recoverable resources of 366 million barrels of oil and 11 trillion cubic feet of gas. 

Since exploration began in the area in the 1930s, the Maverick Basin has produced at least 306 million barrels of oil and 3.4 trillion cubic feet of gas. Today’s finding of 11 trillion cubic feet of gas is as much gas as the United States consumes in four months at the current rate of consumption and is more than three times the total historic gas production. 

“USGS energy assessments typically focus on undiscovered resources – areas where science tells us there may be a resource that industry hasn’t discovered yet. In this case, our assessment found substantial undiscovered natural gas resources,” said Sarah Ryker, acting director of the USGS. 

The assessment area includes the Maverick Basin and adjacent areas in southwestern Texas (see map). The USGS looked at a total of 9 assessment units in the basin, including both conventional and continuous reservoirs of oil and gas in the Escondido, Olmos, and San Miguel formations of the southwestern Texas coastal plain.