When Prudhoe Bay was developed in the 1970’s, about 2 % of the surface area over the field, or 5,000 acres, was covered by gravel for roads and drilling and production facility sites. If Prudhoe Bay were developed today, using lessons learned since the 1960’s, gravel would cover less than 2,000 acres, a 60 % […]
Exploration for oil and gas involves the evaluation of a variety of information. Reflection seismic methods can be used to create images of the geologic changes between wells. These images can help complete a picture of the subsurface that should enhance the ability of the explorationist to successfully select future well locations. The seismic tool […]
Alaska has a world-class oil spill response plan. Read about how it and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation’s Industry Preparedness and Pipeline Program keep Alaska free from oil spills. Program mission To prevent and mitigate oil and hazardous substance releases through government planning and rapid response. The Prevention and Emergency Response Program is Alaska’s […]
The U.S. Geological Survey first surveyed Alaska’s Arctic in the 1920s to identify petroleum reserves for the U.S. Navy. While promising structures were found, the harsh, isolated northern frontier was deemed too costly to explore, especially compared to more accessible areas in the Lower 48. It was the early 1960s before private companies ventured north […]
The mission of SERVS is to prevent oil spills by assisting tankers in safe navigation through Prince William Sound, and to protect the environment by providing effective response services to the Valdez Marine Terminal and Alaska crude oil shippers, in accordance with oil spill response agreements and plans. SERVS is considered to be one of […]
All of these new technniques have enabled oil and gas producers to develop new oil reserves on the North Slope for less than $2.50 a barrel. By lowering the finding costs of new oil, North Slope producers have been able to compensate for other costs, such as transportation, that rise because overall production from the […]
In the petroleum industry, there is an orderly progression of events from leasing to exploration to development. Oil field activities fall into three phases: exploration, development, and production. In the petroleum industry, there is an orderly progression of events from leasing to exploration to development; in ANWR the progression is expected to take about 15 […]
The oil and gas industry in Alaska’s Arctic have maintained perhaps the most strict code of operations of any industry in the world. This is a result of decades of work and coordination with the State of Alaska, the US Federal Dept. of Interior and the North Slope Borough to maintain safe operations that respect […]
Two new tankers on order to carry North Slope Crude from Valdez to the West Coast meet the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 requirements that older tankers be phased out and replaced with double-hulled vessels, meet or exceed state, federal, and international safety requirements and are designed to improve redundancy maneuverability and self-sufficiency. Specially designed […]