U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CD-ROM BASED PETROLEUM ASSESSMENTS FOR UNDERGRADUATE GEOLOGY LABORATORIES

The U.S. Geological Survey periodically publishes oil and gas assessment data via digitally formatted CD-Rom products. These products result from National and World level assessment projects that identify undiscovered petroleum resources and the growth of reserves from discovered fields. The products are free and available from the U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado. They are well suited for use in undergraduate geology curricula. The U.S. Geological Survey’s 1995 National Assessment of United States Oil and Gas Resources, Digital Data Series 30 (DDS-30), is an excellent resource for introducing students to the strategies of hydrocarbon exploration, for developing their skills in problem-solving, and for evaluating real geologic data. DDS-30 contains the results of a three-year study of oil and gas resources in onshore areas and State waters of the U.S. It develops a set of scientifically based hypotheses addressing the quantities of oil and gas that could be added to proved resources in the U.S. DDS-30 can help students understand information about the location of U.S. producing fields, the depths to which wells must be drilled to encounter potential reservoirs, the geological factors controlling oil and gas accumulations, and the distribution of yet-to-be discovered oil and gas resources on a provincial, regional, and national level. In order to use DDS-30, students will require a basic understanding of petroleum geology, probability theory, and statistics. Examples of introductory laboratory exercises utilizing DDS-30 are given as a demonstration of the appropriateness of digital data products for undergraduate education. National petroleum assessments that are grounded in sound geologic and production principles provide a valuable tool by which students can introduce themselves to current and future energy issues.