The 1995 U.S. National Oil and Gas Assessment defined conventional oil and gas plays as its fundamental geologic unit. This dataset maps the geologic boundaries for seven named plays within the Central Coastal Province, including Point Arena Oil and Salinas Oil. Boundaries were defined by geologists between 1993 and 1994.
Use Cases
- Analyze the spatial distribution of historical oil plays like 'Point Reyes Oil' and 'Bitterwater Oil' within the Central Coastal Province.
- Study the geologic criteria, such as reservoir rock limits and trapping mechanisms, used to define play boundaries for assessment units.
- Compare the geographic extent of different plays, such as 'Western Cuyama Basin' versus 'Cox Graben', for regional geological analysis.
Strengths
- Provides defined geologic boundaries for 7 distinct conventional oil and gas plays.
- Play definitions are based on specific geologic elements like source rock and trapping mechanisms.
Limitations
- Data is historical, representing assessments from 1993-1994 and last updated in 1996.
- Specific columnar data, row counts, and quantitative attributes for each play are not provided.
- Coverage is limited to a single province (Central Coastal) within the national assessment.
Provenance
- Source
- U.S. National Oil and Gas Assessment (1995), managed by CEOS_EXTRA via NASA EarthData.
- Collection Method
- Geologic boundaries were defined and mapped by geologists responsible for the province.
- Time Range
- Assessment period 1993-1994.
- Freshness
- 1996-12-31
- Geography
- Central Coastal Province (Province 11) in the United States.