Alaska looks HOT!
Production in Alaska has been sluggish in recent years, with activity in the Prudhoe Bay region in the North Slope on a steady decline. Alaska North Slope (ANS) production topped out in 1988 at 2.037 MMbo/d, with 1.6 MMbo/d from Prudhoe Bay. This year operators expect to produce 788 Mbo/d from Prudhoe Bay, falling to 739 Mbo/d next year. ANS production as a whole should reach 1.3 MMbo/d this year, sliding to 1.29 MMbo/d in 1998. These declining numbers had industry officials and politicians talking about the early death of the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline System-the vital link between ANS crude and markets. But enhanced drilling technology coupled with a vastly improved relationship between the state government and industry have made development in Alaska more economical and attractive. Alaska`s Democratic Gov. Tommy Knowles is fond of telling industry {open_quotes}we`re open for business.{close_quotes} New discoveries on the North Slope and in the Cook Inlet are bringing a renewed sense of optimism to the Alaska exploration and production industry. Attempts by Congress to lift a moratorium on exploration and production activity in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) have been thwarted thus far, but momentum appears to be with proponents of ANWR drilling.
- OSTI ID:
- 576350
- Journal Information:
- Hart`s Oil and Gas World, Vol. 89, Issue 7; Other Information: PBD: Jul 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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