2U. S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO 80225

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has allocated the following mean values of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources underlying the U.S. portions of the Great Lakes: 312 million barrels of oil (mmbo), 5,229 billion cubic feet of natural gas (bcfg), and 122 million barrels of natural gas liquids. These allocations were estimated from recent USGS assessments of oil and gas resources of the U.S. portions of the Appalachian Basin (2002) and the Michigan Basin (2004). For the U.S. portions of the Great Lakes, the USGS described eight petroleum systems (defined according to petroleum source rocks and associated reservoirs) and 21 reservoir intervals or assessment units (AUs). Thirteen of the AUs are classified as containing conventional accumulations, and eight are classified as containing continuous (unconventional) accumulations. Mean values of the resources are allocated as follows: Most conventional oil resources (179 mmbo) and conventional gas resources (914 bcfg) are allocated to the Silurian Niagara AU in the Michigan Basin, whereas most unconventional gas resources (2,355 bcfg) are allocated to the [Silurian] Clinton-Medina Transitional AU in the Appalachian Basin. In terms of allocation by lake, most conventional oil resources (141 mmbo) and conventional gas resources (721 bcfg) are allocated to Lake Huron, whereas most continuous gas resources (2,408 bcfg) are allocated to Lake Erie. In terms of allocation by State, most conventional oil resources (282 mmbo) and conventional gas resources (1,325 bcfg) are allocated to Michigan, whereas most continuous gas resources (1,536 bcfg) are allocated to Ohio.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90059©2006 AAPG Eastern Section Meeting, Buffalo, New York