By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, May 11 -- The US Geological Survey, in an assessment released May 11, reported "significant" undiscovered oil and gas resources in the central part of Alaska's North Slope and the adjacent state offshore area.
USGS estimates there are 4 billion bbl of oil, 37.5 tcf of natural gas, and 478 million bbl of natural gas liquids undiscovered and technically recoverable in the area. Technically recoverable resources are the amount of petroleum that may be recovered with current technology.
The central North Slope contains most of the commercial oil fields and virtually all of the petroleum-producing infrastructure and pipelines in northern Alaska, including the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, USGS noted. To date, about 15 billion bbl of oil have been produced from this area, and remaining reserves include 7 billion bbl of oil and 35 tcf of gas.
USGS estimates of undiscovered oil in adjacent areas include 10.6 billion bbl of oil in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPRA) and 10.4 billion bbl of oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge 1002 area (coastal plain).
"Most undiscovered oil accumulations in the central North Slope assessment area are expected to be relatively small in comparison to those already discovered," USGS said.
Most of the estimated undiscovered gas resource in the central North Slope is in the southern half of the assessment area in the foothills of the Brooks Range, USGS said. "This is about half of what has been estimated to occur in NPR-A (73 tcf of natural gas) and significantly more than has been estimated to occur in ANWR 1002 area (9 tcf of natural gas)."
The central North Slope lies between the NPR-A and ANWR and extends from the Brooks Range northward to the state-federal offshore boundary. The assessment area consists mostly of state and native lands, covering about 23,000 square miles.