The Historical
Resouce and Recovery Growth in Developed Fields, Arctic Slope of Alaska
Hartz, Jack1, Robert Swenson1
(1) AK DNR, Anchorage, AK
Exploration for oil in Alaska has a long, diverse
history. Initial prospecting was guided by surface oil seeps that were reported
in many of the sedimentary basins around the state. These include on-shore Gulf of Alaska, Alaska Peninsula, Western Cook Inlet, and the North Slope from Cape Simpson to Angun Point.
According to archaeological evidence, the first “oil developers” were
indigenous peoples of the Arctic who used oil shale and
tar mat as fuel. The next phase of ‘exploration' was undertaken by prospectors,
traders, and explorers and culminated in the first field development and
production at Katalla (on-shore Gulf of Alaska) in 1901.
The year 1901 was also when geologic and
topographic studies were initiated on the North Slope by the U.S. Geological
Survey. This early work continued through 1928 and resulted in the publication
of reconnaissance maps and reports from 1919 to 1930. Initial prospecting
permits were filed in 1921, and a 1923 executive order from President Harding
established the Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4 (NPR-4), now known as the
National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska (NPR-A). Exploration in NPR-4 began in 1943
with the U.S. Navy drilling 35 core test and exploration wells. This work
continued through 1953 and resulted in the discovery of three oil and six gas
accumulations, the largest being the Umiat field with an estimated 50 million
barrels (8 million cubic meters) of recoverable oil.