Overview of the major geologic and geographic features on the Alaska North Slope. Source: Wikimedia Commons, Rose et al., CC BY-SA 3.0
About half of what’s known as “the estimated undiscovered technically recoverable” oil lying below federal lands is in Alaska, as is more than a quarter of estimated natural gas, according to a recent report by the U.S. Geological Survey.
The national total estimate for this category of resources on federal lands is about 29.4 billion barrels of oil and 391.5 trillion cubic feet (or 11,086 trillion cubic meters) of natural gas.
Of that, almost 14.5 billion barrels of oil is in Alaska, with 14 billion of that amount on the North Slope, according to the report. Of these estimates of natural gas on federal lands across the nation, about 111 trillion cubic feet is believed to be in Alaska, with almost all of that on the North Slope as well, according to the report.
Technically recoverable oil refers to the amount that could be recovered through existing technology, regardless of economics. The category differs from economically recoverable oil. And the report only considers what is “undiscovered” — that is, what has not been drilled, but is estimated to exist based on the current knowledge of the geology.
The new report comes as the Trump administration is pushing for expanded oil development on federal territory in Alaska, especially the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, both on the North Slope. “American Energy Dominance is more important than ever, and this report underscores the critical role science plays in informing our energy future,” Doug Burgum, secretary of the Department of the Interior, said in a statement.
“Thanks to the USGS’s rigorous and independent assessment, we’re better equipped to manage America’s vast public lands responsibly while supporting energy security and economic opportunity.”
The UGSG report, part of a periodic series authorised by laws enacted in 2000 and 2005, uses data from several past resource estimates. Those past recourse estimates generally used different parameters.
A 1998 report issued by the service estimated that U.S. federal lands held 7.8 billion barrels of technically recoverable but undiscovered oil and 201.1 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable but undiscovered natural gas.
However, that 1998 report considered only conventional oil and natural gas. It did not include unconventional resources — shale oil and what’s known as “tight” oil and gas, trapped in impermeable rock, as well as coal-bed gas—that are now produced through fracking techniques.
The new report includes those unconventional types of oil and gas.
The Alaska estimates in the new report are in line with other past USGS estimates for the state.
The most recent report on estimated technically recoverable reserves in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge had a mean estimate of 7.7 billion barrels for the federal lands within the refuge. That estimate, in a report issued in 2016, excluded Native-owned lands and state territory.
A 2017 USGS report that focused largely on the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska had a mean estimate of 8.8 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil. That report was specifically about the Nanushuk and Torok geologic formations, which lie mostly in the reserve but also extend to state lands. The Willow project being developed by ConocoPhillips is within the reserve and holds oil from the Nanushuk formation. The Pikka project being developed by Santos and Repsol, located on state land just outside the reserve, also holds Nanushuk oil.
The new report splits estimated Alaska resources by geography. While the vast majority of estimated resources are attributed to the North Slope, the report presents estimates for technically recoverable resources in Central Alaska and Southern Alaska as well. For federal lands in Central Alaska, which includes Interior and Western Alaska, the total for oil is 100 million barrels and the total for natural gas is 3.2 trillion cubic feet, according to the report. For federal lands in Southern Alaska, which includes the Matanuska-Susitna Borough and the Kenai Peninsula, the oil total is 299 million barrels and the natural gas total is about 3.75 trillion cubic feet, according to the report.
Source: Alaska Beacon