nmbgmr-energy-resources

New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources - the state geologic survey - is a research and service division of the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (NM Tech).

nmbgmr

New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources

Energy resources, like petroleum, coal, uranium and geothermal, all contribute to New Mexico's economy. Our petroleum research group produces primary research that supports the petroleum industry in New Mexico, along with curating and making publicly available an extensive collection of cores, cuttings, and well logging records. In the arena of geothermal resources, we operate equipment for measuring deep borehole temperatures, that can be used to evaluate geothermal resources around the state.

Energy Program Homepage

Our coal program emphasizes the following:

Evaluation of New Mexico’s coal resources. The New Mexico Bureau of Geology has been involved in a long-term project to collect and evaluate data in all coal-bearing areas of New Mexico. Cooperative funding through the U.S. Geological Survey to enter data into the National Coal Resource Data System is in its 23rd year. Because of this project, computerized coal databases with coal thickness and coal quality data reside at the New Mexico Bureau of Geology. In the past, coal mapping and coal drilling projects at the Bureau of Geology have increased the knowledge and data available for many coal areas in the state. This information is available in New Mexico Bureau of Geology Bulletins, Geologic Maps and Open-file reports.
Researching historical coal data. Historical data on coal mines is important in determining remaining reserves in coal areas and delineating mined out areas within productive areas. Investigations have resulted in a compilation of historic production data by county and by mines from New Mexico Territorial and State Mine Inspectors reports, and mine location maps. This information available at the Bureau of Geology in computerized databases and on 7.5-min. topographic maps. We have acquired several mine maps that are part of our archival collections. Many of these maps, particularly from the San Juan Basin, have been geo-referenced and are available in Open-file report 549.This information is available to the public unless the data was acquired from a company with the request it remains confidential.
Detailed Research in producing coal fields and those with economic potential in the near future. The projects involved the use of Geographic Information Systems to evaluate the resources in a small area and apply technological and environmental restrictions. Point-source data for coal thickness and quality for these studies comes from computerized databases. The U.S. Geological Survey is funding these studies. The first detailed study was in the Bisti (Fruitland Formation) coal field in the northwest San Juan Basin. The results of this study are published in Bureau Open-file Report 438 (Hoffman and Jones, 1998). Three other studies, two in the Menefee Formation and one additional study in the Fruitland Formation have been completed and published through the Open-file series.

Coal Program 

New Mexico is blessed with several low-temperature (100-190°F) geothermal systems.  A few hot springs in the Jemez Mountains are associated with cooling magma beneath the southwest margin of the Valles caldera. Most of the hot springs in our state lie in or near the Rio Grande rift.  Water falling as precipitation on the mountain ranges bordering the rift percolates to depths of 3-5 km and is heated by elevated rift-related heat flow. The heated fluids are then discharged as springs in the vicinity of rift-related faults or at intersections of multiple generations of geologic structures.

Geothermal Program

New Mexico has large uranium reserves, a history of uranium mining, and a legacy of nuclear research. According to the US Department of Energy, nuclear power is the only viable alternative today to generate substantial quantities of electricity without significant contributions to CO2 emissions. Currently, nuclear energy provides some 20% of US electric power. Renewed interest in nuclear energy, particularly with regard to limiting greenhouse gas emissions, has resulted in many new uranium mining claims as well as resource evaluations of existing reserves in New Mexico.

Uranium & Nuclear Energy

New Mexico has been a major producer of oil and natural gas since hydrocarbons were first discovered in the state during the early 1920's. In 2016, New Mexico produced 145 million barrels of oil, 1.27 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 97 billion cubic feet of naturally occurring carbon dioxide. These valuable commodities are obtained from more than 2,000 oil and gas fields. In recent years the State of New Mexico derived more than 25% of its general fund revenues from taxes and royalties on oil, natural gas, and carbon dioxide production. These taxes and royalties have contributed more than 90% of the principal in the Severance Tax and Land Grant Permanent Funds, the earnings on which are used to fund education and other state government operations. Other petroleum tax receipts are placed directly in the state's general budget. In addition, more than 11,000 citizens of this state are directly employed by the oil and gas industry. The oil and gas industry, while primarily occupying the sparsely populated southeast and northwest areas of New Mexico, is a lynchpin of the state's economy and is fiscally essential.