Energy
NCRDS, a cooperative program funded by Congress through the U.S. Geological Survey, provides a small annual grant to geological surveys to collect, prepare, and enter coal, black shale, and other energy-related data into the National Coal Resources Data System. NCRDS was historically used to house coal data, but has been expanded to include domestic solid-fuel, conventional, and geothermal energy resources, including stratigraphic, and Geographic Information System data. These data are compiled at the state level to aid in assessing energy resources and serve the public through wise stewardship of resources. Data collected for this national project are also added to KGS databases.
| PIs / co-PIs | Steve Greb, Cortland Eble |
| Funding | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Total Budget | $75,000.00 |
| Start Date | 9/1/2015 |
| End Date | 8/31/2020 |
| Issue | Collection of energy data for public databases. |
| Objectives | KGS will update its coal-thickness, coal-quality, and shale-gas (total organic carbon, thermal maturity) data. Part of the project will also focus on preservation of coal-quality samples. |
| Methodology | KGS has a long history of compiling and providing data to NCRDS. New coal-quality and thickness data and shale-gas data will be added to KGS databases and submitted to NCRDS databases using existing formats and procedures. During a recent research project on rare earth elements, some of the historic coal samples had to be sampled again using new techniques. That project demonstrated that many of the samples needed to be boxed again (in plastic bags and bottles) and cataloged again for better preservation and easier access in the future. A database will be constructed that will include sample number, location, and weight of remaining sample. |
| Benefits | NCRDS provides funds for basic data compilation and entry so that existing publicly accessible energy-related databases can be updated. These data are accessible to government agencies, industry, and the public and used for a wide variety of energy-related projects and activities. |
| Results / Products | All point-source thickness, stratigraphic, quality, and geochemical data are being entered into KGS and NCRDS databases. |
The Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership is one of seven regional partnerships developed by the U.S. Department of Energy to assess the technical potential, economic viability, and public acceptability of carbon sequestration—the safe capture and storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) deep in the earth in order to mitigate carbon emissions. The partnership includes researchers from Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Kentucky researchers are concentrating on regional analysis of the Appalachian Basin, including eastern Kentucky, and the Cincinnati Arch region, which includes central Kentucky. For more information, see the partnership website at http://mrcspdev.org/.
| PIs / co-PIs | Steve Greb, Brandon Nuttall |
| Funding | U.S. Department of Energy through Battelle Memorial Insititute |
| Total Budget | $400,011.00 |
| Start Date | 8/26/2013 |
| End Date | 12/31/2019 |
| Issue | Regional carbon storage for the mitigation of carbon emissions. |
| Objectives | KGS is team leader for a regional assessment of the potential to store CO2, and enhance gas recovery in the Ordovician Utica Shale and Devonian Marcellus Shale. KGS is also providing data and regional analysis of Ordovician Knox Group carbonates and sandstones, and constructing regional cross sections in order to improve our understanding and visualization of potential subsurface reservoirs and confining intervals for future carbon storage. |
| Methodology | As team leader for the gas shale task, KGS will compile existing gas-content (adsorption isotherms), geophysical-log, and organic-content (total organic carbon and Rock-Eval) data on selected organic-rich shales in the region. A model developed for the Devonian Huron Shale found a relationship between TOC and density, so that geophysical-log data can be used to estimate TOC if analytical data are lacking. Relationships between TOC and density are being examined for the Marcellus and Utica Shales, so that relationships can be modeled and regional estimates can be made of potential gas storage volume in the shales, along with the potential for enhanced gas recovery. |
| Benefits | The regional partnership pools research efforts from multiple states to collect, analyze, and store data related to geologic carbon storage in the region, test carbon storage in different areas and different subsurface reservoirs, and provide stakeholders with meaningful data with which to make future policy decisions about carbon. KGS has been involved in MRCSP research since 2001. |
| Results / Products | Products of the regional partnership can be found at the MRCSP website. KGS is task leader for assessing the potential of regional organic-rich shales for carbon storage and enhanced gas recovery using carbon dioxide. Products will include databases of existing analytical data, regional maps, and estimates of potential storage volume. Data from this project will also be available for assessing the shales as confining intervals for potential deeper carbon sequestration reservoirs. KGS is also contributing to regional cross sections of the deep subsurface to illustrate potential carbon storage reservoirs and confining intervals and analysis of the Cambrian-Ordovician Knox dolomites and sandstones. |
Geologic mapping of surficial deposits is being conducted under the congressionally funded STATEMAP program in selected parts of the state. This is a continuing annual program that has one or more published geologic maps as its product. Areas of focus have been the western Kentucky Ohio River valley and its tributaries, eastern Kentucky coal fields, and landslide-prone areas of northern Kentucky.
| PIs / co-PIs | William Andrews, Matt Massey |
| Funding | U. S. Geological Survey STATEMAP program |
| Total Budget | $146,639.00 |
| Start Date | 7/16/2018 |
| End Date | 7/15/2019 |
| Issue | Geologic mapping efforts of KGS are currently focused in an area prioritized by the Kentucky State Geologic Mapping Advisory Committee (SGMAC) as needing detailed surficial geologic mapping to meet societal needs. The proposed area is situated in a geologically unique area that spans three physiographic provinces, which will also provide the opportunity to compare and contrast mechanisms of sediment deposition, Pleistocene geomorphology, and hazard assessment. This mapping also supports the long-range goals identified by the SGMAC of completing mapping along the I-65 corridor south of Louisville metropolitan area. |
| Objectives | For 2018-19, KGS mappers will complete new surficial geologic maps for the Big Spring, Colesburg, Cravens, Flaherty, Fort Knox, Lebanon Junction, Pitts Point, Samuels, and Vine Grove 7.5-minute quadrangles in west central Kentucky. |
| Methodology | The KGS mapping team will use a combination of traditional field methods and digital terrain analysis to complete the project. Field work typically includes components of landform observations, sample collection for lab analyses, and collection of core samples where deemed necessary. Digital analysis relies heavily on the statewide LiDAR coverage, using various derivative maps to guide interpretation and field work. |
| Benefits | This mapping will augment our understanding of the nature and distribution of residuum, colluvium, alluvium, and relict Pleistocene glaciofluvial sediments in the Outer Bluegrass, Knobs, and Mississippian plateau regions of Kentucky. This increased awareness of geologic materials will have utility for future studies of Quaternary landscape evolution and geologic history in the region, as well as improved understanding of ancient and modern geologic processes in the region. This in turn will support better geologic hazard assessments and geotechnical planning for construction projects. All of these will be useful to support responsible decisions for economic development of the area. |
| Results / Products | Nine new 7.5-minute quadrangles in west central Kentucky. |
The goal of this project is to create a core-logging tutorial and mining-geology website as part of the KGS "Coal Information" website. The new material will be educational information on exploratory coal core and the use of the three-digit "Ferm" code for core description, as well as a general introduction to the identification of geologic obstacles and potential roof hazards in coal mines.
| PIs / co-PIs | Steve Greb, Jerry Weisenfluh |
| Funding | Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet |
| Total Budget | $44,828.00 |
| Start Date | 11/1/2016 |
| End Date | 6/30/2017 |
| Issue |
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| Objectives | New "Mining Geology" web pages will be added to the KGS "Coal Information" web pages. These will consist of two subsections: "Coal Exploration Cores" and "Geologic Obstacles and Roof-Control Geology." |
| Methodology | KGS has experience in developing web pages and information for the public, industry, and government. New pages will be added to the existing "Coal Information" website. Pages will contain many photographs and illustrations to aid in explanations. |
| Benefits | The Kentucky Geological Survey has previously developed several web-based data and information services from grants through the Kentucky Department for Energy Development and Independences coal-education program. Jerry Weisenfluhs extensive experience with creating and using the core books will be invaluable for developing a website that will explain coring and use of the core-description methodology. The proposed website will also provide information and a gateway for finding additional information on hard-copy publications that are currently hard to find and examples of geologic obstacles in underground mining. |
| Results / Products | Web pages on "Coal Exploration Cores" and "Geologic Obstacles and Roof-Control Geology." |
The National Geologic and Geophysical Data Preservation Program is a program funded by Congress to preserve geoscience collections by supporting inventory work, salvaging collections at risk, and establishing collection facilities. This project will work to preserve a set of oil and gas records for wells permitted through the Kentucky Division of Oil and Gas. KGS is legislatively mandated to archive and make these records available. Archiving these records in a digital format and making them available through web services is a top priority for preservation and data dissemination by KGS.
| PIs / co-PIs | Doug Curl, Liz Adams |
| Funding | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Total Budget | $79,472.00 |
| Start Date | 7/1/2016 |
| End Date | 6/30/2017 |
| Issue | The Survey currently has thousands of paper well documents in file cabinets at its Henderson office. Though these are easily accessible to the public who visit the office in person, many of the documents are not online. This project is designed to make all western Kentucky well documents available online, add new well data to the database, and correct any current errors. |
| Objectives | Add these documents to the online database of oil and gas records available to industry and the public. Correct errors in the database. Enhance map and database search services that use or display the oil and gas data or documents. |
| Methodology | The project will review, scann, create metadata, and disseminate to the public historical oil and gas well documents from the KGS Western Kentucky Office. Three students will be hired to manage scanning and data preparation, and one KGS staff member will be needed for scanning and metadata management. |
| Benefits | This project fulfills a KGS legislated mandate and provides valuable subsurface geologic data for researchers and the public. In addition, the online database of oil and gas documents will be larger and more accurate for KGS, industry, and public use. Permitting will improve as a result of more accurate well locations and plugging information. Public services and data available for research use will improve. |
| Results / Products | The addition of somewhere between 15 and 20 percent more wells to the western Kentucky part of the online library of records, bringing KGS closer to a complete oil and gas well archive. Data corrections and added wells will result in a better database and public services. |
Using several measurement methods, this project will characterize shale cores from the Midland Basin in Texas to help determine the basins potential for developing unconventional oil wells.
| PIs / co-PIs | Bethany Overfield |
| Funding | Pioneer Natural Resources through UK Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences |
| Total Budget | $2,371.00 |
| Start Date | 9/1/2015 |
| End Date | 5/16/2017 |
| Issue | Prediction of failure associated with hydraulic fracturing. |
| Objectives | Assessment of elastic properties of cored shales from the Midland Basin to better define the shale as a reservoir. |
| Methodology | Use various geophysical measurements (e.g., piccolo hammer, ultrasonic velocity) to characterize shale cores from the Midland Basin in Texas. |
| Benefits | Assessment of the geophysical properties of shale cores in the Midland Basin to help determine the potential for developing unconventional oil wells. |
| Results / Products | A report highlighting the results. |
Mike McGlue in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Kentucky has a 3-year cooperative research project with PetroChina to research unconventional energy resources in China and the United States. Project collaborators include scientists from the USGS and KGS. As part of that research, KGS is leading a field trip for visiting Chinese researchers through eastern Kentucky, concentrating on the geology of Devonian and Lower Mississippian organic-rich shales and Pennsylvanian coals.
| PIs / co-PIs | Steve Greb, Cortland Eble |
| Funding | PetroChina |
| Total Budget | Internal Funded |
| Start Date | 6/1/2015 |
| End Date | 11/30/2016 |
| Issue | Geology of gas shales and coals in a foreland basin. |
| Objectives | Show visiting researchers general geology of Devonian and Mississippian gas shales and Pennsylvanian coals in eastern Kentucky. Discuss and compare geology of these resources with similar resources in other Chinese and U.S. basins. |
| Methodology | A field trip with visiting Chinese geologists will examine different aspects of gas shales and coal geology in Kentucky. |
| Benefits | Collaborative discussions with scientists from another country provide opportunities for exchange of ideas about these energy resources. |
| Results / Products | Field trip. |
The 2007 passage of Kentucky House Bill 1 brought KGS the largest single research grant in its history. The legislation allocated $5 million to KGS for carbon dioxide research. It directed KGS to study methods of permanent geologic storage of CO2 emitted by industrial and electricity-generating facilities and using CO2 for enhanced oil and gas recovery. The KGS Energy and Minerals Section created the umbrella Kentucky Consortium for Carbon Storage to find partners, attract additional financing, and develop projects to accomplish these mandates.
| PIs / co-PIs | Dave Harris |
| Funding | Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, U.S. Department of Energy, industry partners |
| Total Budget | $13,900,000.00 |
| Start Date | 10/15/2007 |
| End Date | 9/30/2016 |
| Issue | Limits on carbon dioxide emissions will require capture and storage of CO2 in subsurface geologic reservoirs to reduce atmospheric CO2 levels. The location, depth, and storage capacity of these reservoirs are not well established in Kentucky. In addition to permanent storage, CO2 has beneficial use in enhancing oil production, and possibly gas production. This research will provide critical data to determine the potential for permanent geologic CO2 storage, and enhanced oil and gas production in eastern and western Kentucky. |
| Objectives | Quantify the potential for enhanced oil and gas recovery using CO2. Test permanent geologic storage potential for CO2 by drilling two deep research wells. Test the Devonian shale for carbon storage potential and enhanced gas recovery. Secure matching funds from the federal government and private industry to leverage State funding. |
| Methodology | Choose optimal locations, design and drill two deep research wells to inject CO2 or water to evaluate CO2 injection rates and storage capacity. Design and conduct CO2 enhanced oil recovery pilot project to evaluate the effect of CO2 on Kentucky oil reservoirs. Design CO2 injection test to evaluate the potential of organic-rich black shale to store CO2 and enhance gas production. |
| Benefits | Two new deep wells were drilled and tested for injection capacity. In an 8,200-foot well in Hancock County, in the Western Kentucky Coal Field, commercial-scale storage capacity was found in the Knox Group, a dolomite and sandstone formation. In the Eastern Kentucky Coal Field, a 4,800-foot well in Carter County proved that similar storage capacities are likely in the Knox Group in northeastern Kentucky. KGS also acquired advanced well logs in the Duke Energy East Bend well in Boone County, a test well drilled by a CO2 partnership funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. KGS partnered with the Midwest Geologic Sequestration Consortium to conduct a year-long CO2 enhanced oil recovery project in the Sugar Creek oil field in Hopkins County. KGS and Basin Energy injected CO2 into a single well in the Euterpe oil field in Henderson County. Such single-well CO2 projects may be useful in many of Kentucky’s small oil fields. The Devonian black shale, Kentucky’s most prolific gas-producing formation, was tested in a well in Johnson County to evaluate enhanced gas recovery and CO2 storage. Public outreach and education were an important part of the program; local meetings, site visits, and the KGS website were used to communicate plans and results. |
| Results / Products | Deep wells proved that there are both reservoir rocks and overlying confining intervals at suitable depths for permanent CO2 storage in eastern and western Kentucky. Not all of the commonwealth is suitable for permanent CO2 storage, but this research has reduced geologic risk in locating a commercial site. Enhanced oil recovery using CO2 is a proven technology, but there are technical and economic challenges for using it in Kentucky. CO2 storage in organic shales needs additional research before it is a proven technology. Outreach efforts indicate more education is necessary before carbon storage is widely accepted. Results have been documented in 28 publications and abstracts and more than 20 professional presentations. The extensive data acquired in these projects is publicly available at KGS, and will be invaluable if commercial CO2 storage is mandated. See www.uky.edu/kgs/kyccs. |
The Berea oil play is notable as a major producer of natural gas, and the current focus in Lawrence and Greenup Counties accounts for more than 10 percent of Kentucky’s oil production. This study of the Devonian Berea Sandstone oil play is funded by eight energy companies, and research is performed by KGS, the USGS, R.J. Lee Group, and the Ohio Geological Survey. One of the questions the consortium hopes to answer is whether oil produced in northeastern Kentucky was generated from local source rocks (Ohio and Sunbury Shales) or migrated from deeper in the Appalachian Basin.
Existing thermal-maturity maps suggest that this area is too immature to have produced oil. If the oil is locally derived, current models for oil generation in low-maturity areas will have to be revised. Thermal maturity of a source rock is a measure of its stage of oil and gas generation. In addition to source-rock work, the consortium will use numerous cores, logs, and outcrops to characterize the detailed stratigraphy and structure of the Berea in the oil-producing area. This work will provide the stratigraphic and structural framework needed to successfully plan and drill horizontal wells in the Berea interval.
| PIs / co-PIs | Steve Greb, Cortland Eble |
| Funding | Industry consortium |
| Total Budget | $160,000.00 |
| Start Date | 8/1/2014 |
| End Date | Ongoing |
| Issue | Since 2011, oil from the Upper Devonian Berea Sandstone in northeastern Kentucky has caused the region to become the leading oil producer in the state. Berea oil is being produced at depths of 2,200 feet or less and in an area in which the prospective source rocks—the overlying Mississippian Sunbury Shale and underlying Devonian Shale—are interpreted to be too immature for oil production. Farther downdip, the Berea appears to produce primarily gas in the oil window. The hydrocarbon phases being produced therefore do not match with the prevailing view of thermal maturity for source rocks in the area of the Berea oil play. |
| Objectives | Determine why the Berea produces oil and gas in areas where the prospective source rocks—the over- and underlying Sunbury and Ohio Shales, respectively— are interpreted to be thermally immature with respect to the hydrocarbon phase produced. |
| Methodology |
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| Benefits | Contributions to an understanding of why the Berea produces oil and gas in what is interpreted as a thermally immature environment; source determination and other data about the resources. |
| Results / Products | Analytical results were provided to the industry partners at a final meeting and field trip in April 2016 in Lexington. A final report, delivered to the partners in early May, will remain confidential until May 1, 2017. |
In the central and eastern United States, felt earthquakes likely triggered by fluid injection from oil and gas production or wastewater disposal have dramatically increased in frequency since the onset of the shale gas boom. In the Rome Trough (RT) of eastern Kentucky, fracture stimulations and wastewater injection are ongoing and occur near historically active areas, including the source region of the 1980 magnitude 5.2 Sharpsburg earthquake to the northwest and the eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone to the south.
Unlike in states surrounding and near to Kentucky (e.g., Ohio, West Virginia, and Arkansas), no seismic events related to subsurface fluid injections have been reported felt or detected by regional seismic networks. Interest is emerging in development of the deep Cambrian Rogersville Shale in the RT that would use horizontal drilling and high-volume hydraulic fracturing. To characterize natural seismicity rates and the conditions that might lead to induced or triggered events, the Kentucky Geological Survey is conducting a collaborative study, the Eastern Kentucky Microseismic Monitoring Project, prior to the onset of large-scale oil and gas production and wastewater injection. A temporary network of broadband seismographs is being deployed in the vicinity of dense clusters of Class II wastewater injection wells and near the locations of new, deep oil and gas test wells in eastern Kentucky. Project collaborators thus far include Nanometrics Inc. (instrumentation and support), Cimarex Energy Co. (instrumentation), and the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (research) at the University of Kentucky. Installation began in mid-2015 and by June, 2016, 13 stations were operating. Data are acquired in real-time and in tandem with regional network data; real-time event detections and locations are being determined. Network performance will be modeled to estimate the minimum magnitude event detectable in the project area.| PIs / co-PIs | Seth Carpenter, Zhenming Wang |
| Funding | Internally funded |
| Total Budget | Internal Funded |
| Start Date | |
| End Date | Ongoing |
| Issue | Induced seismicity has become an issue in certain states where large volumes of wastewater, both produced during hydrocarbon extraction and used for hydrocarbon production via high-volume hydraulic fracking, interact with existing, stressed faults in the crystalline basement. To a lesser extent, fracking itself has been linked with cases of ephemeral induced seismicity. It was a problem in some cases (e.g. Oklahoma) that natural levels of microseismicity (magnitude < 2.5) were unknown due to sparse seismic monitoring coverage. Therefore, it proved to be difficult to identify the causes of increases in the rates of felt earthquakes in these cases. Furthermore, the uncertainties in event locations were large due to the sparse monitoring, which increased the difficulty in studying the causal structures. |
| Objectives | To establish background levels of microseismicity in and around the Rome Trough of eastern Kentucky, in the vicinity of clusters of active wastewater injection wells (UIC Class II disposal wells) and permitted and completed deep oil and gas test wells targeting the Rogersville Shale. To monitor induced seismicity if and when it occurs. To investigate characteristics that can distinguish between natural and induced seismicity. |
| Methodology | To accomplish the objectives, a network of sensitive, autonomous seismographs was installed in the project area with roughly uniform coverage throughout the project area, though with a slightly denser station distribution in the vicinity of the deep oil and gas test wells. The data are monitored in real time by computers at KGS. Earthquakes detected in the project area are located by an analyst and the magnitude is estimated. When possible, fault-plane solutions are determined from the waveforms to determine the style of faulting. Network sensitivity is being modeled to establish a minimum-magnitude detection level of the network. Seismicity will be characterized in the context of this modeled network-performance assessment. |
| Benefits |
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| Results / Products | Results will include establishment of natural seismicity rates in the project area. Preliminary results indicate that the Rome Trough in eastern Kentucky is seismically quiescent. However, in Kentucky, low-level seismicity is occurring just to the north of the Rome Troughs northern boundary fault, and farther to the south in the northern Eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone. The project and its results will be summarized in an internal or external report or publication and at least one Dept. of Earth and Environmental Sciences Masters thesis. |
KGS continually assesses the geology and remaining resources of its two coal fields. Using sample, borehole, and measurement data on file, maps of seam thickness are prepared in order to calculate volumes of original in-place coal. Mined-out coal is periodically assessed to calculate remaining resources. Products of this program are maps showing the extent and character of individual coal beds and tabulations of resource tonnages.
| PIs / co-PIs | Jerry Weisenfluh |
| Funding | Kentucky Geological Survey |
| Total Budget | Internal Funded |
| Start Date | |
| End Date | Ongoing |
| Issue | Policy decisions affecting Kentuckys two coal fields must be informed by the potential for developing the remaining coal resources in those areas. The Kentucky Geological Survey conducts periodic studies of the magnitude of remaining resources, their quality and uses, and factors affecting mineability and recovery. |
| Objectives | Develop and update characterizations of individual coal horizons to facilitate calculation of original coal resources. Periodically assess mined-out areas to determine areas of remaining coal. Assess impediments to mining that may restrict the development of those resources in the future. |
| Methodology | Continually expand the data sources for characterizing coal-bed thickness and quality, and create revised models of coal-bed geometry, as needed. Using GIS software, tabulate mined-out areas to calculate remaining resources. Visit mines to assess factors that impede mining and extrapolate to basin scale. |
| Benefits | Compiling coal-resource information in Geographic Information Systems allows for rapid response to questions about future development. Providing up-to-date assessments of remaining resources using the best-available data allows policy-makers to make informed decisions. |
| Results / Products | GIS layers pertaining to Kentuckys original and remaining coal resources. Periodic updates to the KGS "Coal Resource" website. Publicly available source data for evaluating coal deposits in Kentucky. |
KGS staff update and maintain a repository of oil and gas drilling records for the purpose of making these data available to government, industry, and the general public. These data provide access to information needed for investigation of the commonwealths energy resources. All oil and gas drilling-related documents are available free through web-based search and mapping services.
| PIs / co-PIs | Carrie Pulliam, Brandon Nuttall |
| Funding | Kentucky Geological Survey |
| Total Budget | Internal Funded |
| Start Date | |
| End Date | Ongoing |
| Issue | Oil and gas drilling records provide a publicly available archive of subsurface data that support government regulatory programs, resource exploration and development by industry, investor research, landowner inquiries, and general public access to information. |
| Objectives | Timely online access to a catalog of basic geologic data in support of subsurface investigations by government, industry, and the public. |
| Methodology | Subsurface data from oil and gas wells were collected by KGS from its beginnings, but they werent systematically collected until the Fifth Survey, beginning in 1919. A library of paper documents was maintained and became the statewide repository with the adoption of KRS 353 (KRS 353.550) in 1960, which required drilling documents to be submitted to the Kentucky Division of Oil and Gas and then be transmitted to KGS. Beginning with the Eleventh Survey, the burden to maintain paper files and the need to archive those data resulted in a program to scan the documents and initiate a digital library and database of oil and gas wells. With the Twelfth Survey, that digital database was made available through web-based search and mapping services. Today, when the Division issues a permit for an oil and gas well, that permit is added to the Surveys oil and gas well database. As drilling documents are submitted to the Division and transmitted to the Survey, they are scanned and added to the library and become available online. |
| Benefits | The oil and gas well-record data repository provides publicly available subsurface geologic data and energy resource information that supports a broad spectrum of users. Industry uses the repository for resource exploration and development. Government agencies access the repository for information useful in the enforcement of oil and gas and environmental protection regulations. The general public can explore basic questions about the availability of resources ("Do I have oil and gas on my land?"). The repository also supports KGS research to compile and analyze subsurface data in order to develop regional knowledge related to resource distribution and assessment, carbon sequestration, underground injection and disposal, basement geology, induced- and microseismicity, and many other topics. |
| Results / Products | The scanned oil and gas well-record data repository is freely available through web-based search and mapping services. These data have formed the basis of multiple projects and reports issued by KGS that summarize topics such as the geology of shale-gas and tar-sand units, understanding petroleum systems, resource distribution, injection for enhanced oil and gas recovery or disposal of oil-field wastewater, and geologic storage of carbon. The database will grow and be enhanced, depending on emerging topics and issues related to energy development and building a better understanding of Kentuckys subsurface wealth. |