It is not unusual to see the name or the comments of David Houseknecht, U.S. Geological Survey senior research geologist, in print when it comes to Alaska geology. Houseknecht is chief of the Alaska Petroleum Systems Project and has led USGS field studies in Alaska for more than 20 years.
But it is unusual for Houseknecht to talk about himself; the rocks are the subject. Houseknecht characteristically is adamant that USGS studies are a team effort, and he is quick to deflect kudos for accomplishments to members of the team.
That is why a profile appearing in the GEO ExPro December 2019 issue is a rarity; Houseknecht is the subject, and as such, the focus is squarely on him. Author Heather Saucier has traced his story from age 7, when a young Houseknecht was fascinated by the bright lights of Michigan’s largest oilfield, to his recent accomplishments, including the Distinguished Service Award from the Department of the Interior in 2018.
Houseknecht No. 1 discovery well
It so happens that Ferne Houseknecht, relative of 7-year-old David, was encouraged by a psychic to raise money and drill a wildcat well on her Michigan dairy farm. The well, at “Rattlesnake Gulch,” made discovery of a 150 million barrel field.
Young David took to spending his summers around the gulch, and he was encouraged by Ferne’s brother George Houseknecht to study petroleum engineering at Pennsylvania State University in 1969.
David found traction, and his true calling, in the geological sciences department, which led in 1973 to the master’s program at Southern Illinois University, and subsequently to Pennsylvania State University to pursue a Ph.D. in geology.
In 1978, Houseknecht became an assistant professor at the University of Missouri, micro-scoping core samples and providing basin analyses from reservoirs all over the world.
He later accepted a position as manager for the USGS’s energy program in Reston, Virginia, for 6 years, and became a USGS research geologist in 1998.
Alaska beckons
In 1995, a USGS national resource assessment which included the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge delivered below expectations of the U.S. Department of the Interior and a few congressional delegates. Houseknecht landed on the team that went to Alaska to learn more.
New data informed a more promising USGS assessment of ANWR in 1998.
Houseknecht began leading field sessions most every summer since 1995 to conduct basin history modeling, reconstruct burial history of the rocks, and to determine when and where oil was generated, according to the profile. He taught himself how to interpret seismic data and threw himself into petroleum systems analysis.
Houseknecht, as a research geologist, worked on the Alaska Project, led by geologist Ken Bird. Houseknecht became chief of the Alaska Project in 2010.
Discovery of the Alpine field on the western North Slope in the 1990s led Houseknecht to a focus on the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. Recent giant discoveries in the Nanushuk formation, particularly the recent Pikka and Willow discoveries, prompted Houseknecht to reevaluate a 2010 NPR-A assessment.
“We never dreamed that a shallow formation previously penetrated 150 times, with the largest accumulation found being in the order of 70 million barrels of oil, would ever yield between half a billion to over one billion-barrel discoveries,” Houseknecht said. “All we can do is make adjustments and keep moving.”
Houseknecht has asked the USGS to find a replacement for him, but for now, he continues to make adjustments and keep moving.
The story can be found here: https://www.geoexpro.com/.
- STEVE SUTHERLIN
