Hudson Canyon Study

Sponsor: MMS


The year was 1979 and the U..S. Atlantic was first opened for exploration drilling by the U.S. Minerals Management Service. The first drilling was not encouraging but then Getty, Texaco and Tenneco struck oil in and around the Hudson Canyon Block 598 area offshore New Jersey. Although several wells were drilled, the discovery of gas and oil was declared uneconomic and a drilling moratorium prevented further exploration near the biggest energy consuming states. The Resource Geosciences Group and the MMS are trying to find out the age of the source rock that gave rise to oil and gas in Hudson Canyon by using "chemical fossils" and carbon isotopes. This type of research on petroleum geochemistry contributes to our national energy security.

Fluorescence image of an oil sample from the Hudson Canyon 598 Block. Aromatic hydrocarbons in the oil are brightly fluorescent when excited by blue and ultra-violet light. Photograph courtesy of Charles Maizel.