The U.S. Geological Survey said a new assessment shows the Permian Basin in Texas contains an estimated 1.6 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and 28.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the Woodford and Barnett shale formations. The findings highlight major untapped energy potential deep beneath West Texas and southeastern New Mexico.

According to the USGS, the two formations could also yield about 813 million barrels of natural gas liquids. At current consumption levels, the oil alone would supply the United States for roughly 10 weeks, while the natural gas could meet national demand for about 10 months.

The Woodford and Barnett shales lie far deeper than many other Permian formations, in some areas as deep as 20,000 feet below the surface. While these depths once made development difficult, advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have made production increasingly viable.

“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,” USGS Director Ned Mamula said. “In this case, we have assessed that there are significant undiscovered resources in the Woodford and Barnett shales in the Permian Basin.”

USGS geologist Christopher Schenk said modern drilling techniques have transformed what is possible. “The shift to horizontal drilling with fracking has revolutionized oil production, and we’ve changed with it,” he said.

The Permian Basin already accounts for more than 40 percent of U.S. oil production. Industry analysts say targeting deeper formations like the Woodford and Barnett could extend the basin’s lifespan as shallower areas mature.

Major producers including ExxonMobil, Diamondback Energy, Occidental Petroleum, and SM Energy are already testing or developing wells in these formations. The USGS noted the resources remain “undiscovered,” meaning they have not yet been confirmed by drilling but are considered recoverable with current technology.

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