New Oil Could Keep Alaska Production Alive for Years

I remain to the present rather hesitant about drilling in ANWR. Yes, I actually do care about the enviorment. However, I'm also empathetic to Alaska's plight: 90% of the state's revenue comes from oil taxes, and with its high unemployment and declining oil production, I also understand why Alaskans are as some would describe, America's least environmentally consciousness folks.

Now we may be able to tap the best of both world's minus ANWR. There's been a blaze in the media about untapped oil riches in the Arctic: unlocked oil in the Alaska Platform may hold 27.9 bb of oil, 31% of undiscovered Arctic oil. That's nearly 15 billion barrels than Pruhdoe Bay original hold(13 billion). Much of this oil is under less than 500 meters of water (Tupi is under more than 2,000 meters of water - and that's not including the rock and pre-salt layers!

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The U.S. Geological Survey says about 30% of the world's undiscovered gas and 13% of the world's undiscovered oil may be found in an area north of the Arctic Circle, mainly offshore under less than 500 meters of water.

In a report published Friday in this month's Science Magazine, USGS scientists said, "For better or worse, limited exploration opportunities elsewhere in the world combined with technological advances make the Arctic increasingly attractive for development."

The USGS noted that the Arctic continental shelves "constitute one of the world's largest remaining prospective areas. Until now, remoteness and technical difficulty, coupled with abundant low-cost petroleum, have ensured that little exploration occurred offshore."

The Alaska Platform stands out, the USGS article said, "with more than 31% of mean undiscovered Arctic oil (27.9 BBO [billion barrels of oil]. ...The Alaska Platform is already a well-known petroleum producing area; new discoveries there could maintain the flow of Alaska oil for many years to come."

- Brewskie