In its first update since 1998, the USGS reported significant undiscovered oil, gas and NGL reserves beneath U.S. federal lands. (Source: Shutterstock.com)
Vast untapped oil and gas reserves lie beneath U.S. federal lands, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessment that evaluates for the first time both conventional and unconventional reservoirs.
The last time the USGS allocated potential volumes of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas reserves to federal lands was in 1998—before the U.S. shale revolution took off.
The 1998 report also focused on conventional reservoirs and didn’t include hydrocarbons trapped in shales and tight rock formations.
The new USGS tally: Around 29.4 Bbbl of oil, 391.6 Tcf of natural gas and 8.4 Bbbl of NGL lie trapped beneath U.S. federal lands, according to the report published June 18.
Alaska
Around half of the recoverable oil is in Alaska, with around 14.5 Bbbl left untapped. Alaska oil production is forecast to grow for the first time since 2017, according to Energy Information Administration data.
Alaska production will increase by 16,000 bbl/d in 2026 to 438,000 bbl/d, after roughly flat year-over-year growth this year.
New projects from producers on the North Slope are driving the increase. ConocoPhillips’ Nuna project produced first oil in December. At its peak, Nuna’s 29 wells will produce a combined 20,000 bbl/d.
The Pikka project, a joint venture between Australian firm Santos and Spanish firm Repsol, will drive production growth in 2026. The Pikka project will produce 80,000 bbl/d form 45 wells at its peak.
Federal lands in Alaska also contain around 111 Tcf of gas reserves. U.S. companies and international partners are evaluating ways to export greater volumes of Alaskan gas to Pacific markets.
Glenfarne, majority owner and lead developer of the Alaska LNG project, recently reported receiving $115 billion in potential interest during its search for strategic partners. More than 50 companies from U.S., Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, India and the EU participated.
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New Mexico
The untapped potential under federal lands in New Mexico is immense, with around 30% of total oil resource.
Most of the barrels are concentrated in the Permian Basin’s Delaware core, located in the state’s southeastern region. USGS data shows nearly 9 Bbbl of recoverable oil under federal acreage in the New Mexico Permian.
It’s a region home to among the nation’s top oil producers, including Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, EOG Resources, Occidental Petroleum and Devon Energy.
New Mexico also has significant natural gas reserves in the Permian and in the San Juan Basin. Across New Mexico and Colorado, San Juan federal acreage holds nearly 30 Tcf of gas.
The San Juan gas play is seeing renewed drilling activity as commodity prices increase. Hilcorp Energy is the top San Juan gas producer, followed by LOGOS Resources and SIMCOE.
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Nevada’s forgotten oil
Nevada isn’t a meaningful oil and gas producer today, but it holds sizeable untapped reserves.
Nevada produced less than 220,000 bbl of oil in 2023, or around 600 bbl/d. That’s down from a peak of over 4 MMbbl produced in 1990, or about 11,000 bbl/d, per EIA data.
But USGS data shows around 1.4 Bbbl of recoverable oil under federal acreage in Nevada. It supports long-held beliefs among the state’s oil advocates that vast reserves are waiting to be unlocked in the Silver State.
Wildcatters have mostly targeted the eastern part of Nevada, in the Railroad and Pine Valley areas.
Wyoming
Around 1 Bbbl of oil and 57 Tcf of gas remain below federal lands in Wyoming.
Most of Wyoming’s oil production comes from the Powder River Basin, where operators are expanding production from the Niobrara and Mowry shales. Private E&P Anschutz Exploration and public operator EOG Resources are the state’s top oil producers.
But only around 83 MMbbl are attributed to federal acreage in the Powder. Greater volumes are associated with the Big Horn Basin (417 MMbbl) and the Wind River Basin (296 MMbbl), per USGS data.
Fields in Southwestern Wyoming, including the Green River Basin, Pinedale and Jonah fields, hold over 57 Tcf of gas in place.
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