Since the last USGS assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Bossier Formation, exploration drilling by industry has revealed deep, highly overpressured shale formations, warranting a new assessment. Since production began, the Bossier Formation has produced 3.8 trillion cubic feet of gas, equal to nearly six weeks of U.S. consumption at the record-high 2025 level.
The Gulf Coast has long been one of the most abundant sources of U.S. energy. The organic-rich shales of the Bossier Formation are produced from up to 18,000 feet below the surface, at greater depths than other resources in the Gulf Coast. New plays, such as the Bossier Western Shale Gas Assessment Unit, sometimes referred to by industry as “Western Haynesville”, or “Waynesville”, show that drilling into deeper, higher-pressured reservoirs can result in more resources than previously thought.
“The U.S. economy and our way of life depend on energy, and USGS oil and gas assessments point to resources that industry hasn’t discovered yet. In this case, we have assessed there are significant undiscovered resources in the Bossier Formation,” said USGS Director Ned Mamula.
USGS oil and gas assessments began 50 years ago following an oil embargo against the U.S. that signaled a need to understand the occurrence, distribution and potential volumes of undiscovered resources. The embargo led to a mandate for the USGS to use geologic science and data to assess undiscovered oil and gas resources to help meet the nation’s needs. The work continues today – identifying new resources for domestic production as well as international resources that affect market conditions -- an important part of the USGS mission to provide actionable insight to U.S. leaders, other Federal agencies, industry and the public.
The USGS Energy Resources Program assesses the potential for undiscovered oil and gas resources in priority geologic provinces in the United States and around the world. Two methodologies are used by the USGS: one for assessing conventional oil and gas resources and one for assessing unconventional (continuous) oil and gas resources (such as shale gas and coalbed gas).