--> Abstract: Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources, Central North Slope, Alaska, by Kenneth J. Bird; #90039 (2005)

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Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources, Central North Slope, Alaska

Kenneth J. Bird
U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA

The U.S. Geological Survey has recently completed an assessment of the undiscovered oil and gas resources of the central part of the Alaskan North Slope, that area between the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPRA) on the west and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) on the east. The assessment area extends from the State-Federal offshore boundary southward to the Brooks Range, an area encompassing about 15-million acres owned predominantly by the State and a Native corporation. This area includes all currently producing North Slope oil fields; it is maturely explored in its northern part but only lightly explored in the south, the Brooks Range foothills.

A deposit simulation methodology was used to estimate in-place, technically recoverable, and economically recoverable oil and gas resources. In recognition of the area's extensive infrastructure and recent development of relatively small oil accumulations, the minimum accumulation size considered was set at 5 million barrels and 100 billion cubic feet recoverable. Results for undiscovered oil resources suggest that exploration potential includes relatively small (<50 mmbo recoverable) accumulations in combination traps in mature plays near infrastructure and small to medium (50 to 250 mmbo recoverable) accumulations in stratigraphic traps in emerging plays farther from infrastructure. Results for undiscovered gas resources suggest both structural and stratigraphic trap potential in underexplored plays in the Brooks Range foothills.

When combined with recent assessments of NPRA and ANWR, these results will provide an updated assessment of the entire North Slope, the first in a decade.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90039©2005 AAPG Calgary, Alberta, June 16-19, 2005