Fish Creek wanders through the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, a 22.8 million acre region managed by the Bureau of Land Management on Alaska's North Slope. USGS has periodically assessed oil and gas resource potential there. These assessments can be found here.
Can the oil and gas that the USGS assesses be produced today?
USGS oil and gas assessments are for technically recoverable resources, meaning they can be produced using today’s technology and standard industry practices. However, our assessments do not look at what infrastructure would be required to produce these resources, nor does it look at whether it would be profitable to produce them.
In addition, USGS assessments are for undiscovered resources, which are estimated to exist based on geologic knowledge and theory. Before they can be produced, these resources must be proven to exist.
Learn more: USGS Energy Assessments
Related Content
What is the difference between the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge?
The National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) is a roughly 23.4 million acre area of Federal land managed by the Bureau of Land Management. It lies in northwest Alaska and borders both the Chukchi Sea to the west and the Beaufort Sea to the north. The NPR-A was originally established in 1923 as a petroleum reserve for the U.S. Navy, then transferred to the Department of the Interior in 1976. The...
How do the USGS and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) divide up which areas to be assessed for Oil and Gas Resources?
The USGS is responsible for oil and gas assessments onshore and in state waters (up to 3 miles offshore), while the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) assesses energy resources in the Federal offshore waters and the outer continental shelf. Learn more: USGS Energy Assessments
Does an assessment of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska mean there should or should not be oil and gas production in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge?
The USGS is an unbiased, non-regulatory science agency, and therefore we do not advocate for or against oil and gas development in any location. The USGS role is to provide scientifically robust, publicly available estimates of potential resources so decision-makers have the best possible information to manage the Nation’s resources. Learn more: About USGS USGS Energy Assessments Alaska Petroleum...
How is hydraulic fracturing related to earthquakes and tremors?
Reports of hydraulic fracturing causing felt earthquakes are extremely rare. However, wastewater produced by wells that were hydraulic fractured can cause “induced” earthquakes when it is injected into deep wastewater wells. Wastewater disposal wells operate for longer durations and inject much more fluid than the hydraulic fracturing operations. Wastewater injection can raise pressure levels in...
Does the Bakken Formation contain more oil than Saudi Arabia?
Probably not. In 2000, the USGS assessed undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources in Saudi Arabia at 87 billion barrels ( USGS 2000 World Petroleum Assessment ) compared to a mean estimate of 4.3 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable continuous oil in the Bakken and Three Forks formations ( USGS 2021 Bakken and Three Forks Assessment ). In addition, Saudi...
Why do the oil and gas resource numbers sometimes change when the USGS releases a new assessment of an oil and gas formation?
Assessments regularly change based on our understanding of geology, as well as advances in technology. As more is learned about the geology of a given formation, both from USGS research and from industry activity, a clearer picture of the potential recoverable oil and gas resources can be created. In some cases, industry activity can show that a rock formation that was previous thought to have...
Fish Creek Watershed in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska
Fish Creek wanders through the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, a 22.8 million acre region managed by the Bureau of Land Management on Alaska's North Slope. USGS has periodically assessed oil and gas resource potential there. These assessments can be found here.
Permafrost in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska
Permafrost forms a grid-like pattern in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, a 22.8 million acre region managed by the Bureau of Land Management on Alaska's North Slope. USGS has periodically assessed oil and gas resource potential there. These assessments can be found here.
Permafrost forms a grid-like pattern in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, a 22.8 million acre region managed by the Bureau of Land Management on Alaska's North Slope. USGS has periodically assessed oil and gas resource potential there. These assessments can be found here.
Gas Hydrate Drill Rig at the Mt. Elbert Test Site in Alaska
A drill rig at the Mount Elbert test site in Alaska's North Slope, just west of Prudhoe Bay. USGS joined BP Exploration (Alaska) and the U.S. Department of Energy to drill a test well to study natural gas production from gas hydrate deposits. Read more about the Mt.
A drill rig at the Mount Elbert test site in Alaska's North Slope, just west of Prudhoe Bay. USGS joined BP Exploration (Alaska) and the U.S. Department of Energy to drill a test well to study natural gas production from gas hydrate deposits. Read more about the Mt.
The Ivotuk Hills, Alaska North Slope, Viewed From Ivotuk Camp
Exposures of sedimentary rocks in the western Brooks Range, Alaska were evaluated for their contents of metals and phosphate and for their petroleum maturation histories to determine the potential for undiscovered resources in the southern National Petroleum Reserve Alaska.
Exposures of sedimentary rocks in the western Brooks Range, Alaska were evaluated for their contents of metals and phosphate and for their petroleum maturation histories to determine the potential for undiscovered resources in the southern National Petroleum Reserve Alaska.
Related Content
- FAQ
What is the difference between the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge?
The National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) is a roughly 23.4 million acre area of Federal land managed by the Bureau of Land Management. It lies in northwest Alaska and borders both the Chukchi Sea to the west and the Beaufort Sea to the north. The NPR-A was originally established in 1923 as a petroleum reserve for the U.S. Navy, then transferred to the Department of the Interior in 1976. The...
How do the USGS and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) divide up which areas to be assessed for Oil and Gas Resources?
The USGS is responsible for oil and gas assessments onshore and in state waters (up to 3 miles offshore), while the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) assesses energy resources in the Federal offshore waters and the outer continental shelf. Learn more: USGS Energy Assessments
Does an assessment of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska mean there should or should not be oil and gas production in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge?
The USGS is an unbiased, non-regulatory science agency, and therefore we do not advocate for or against oil and gas development in any location. The USGS role is to provide scientifically robust, publicly available estimates of potential resources so decision-makers have the best possible information to manage the Nation’s resources. Learn more: About USGS USGS Energy Assessments Alaska Petroleum...
How is hydraulic fracturing related to earthquakes and tremors?
Reports of hydraulic fracturing causing felt earthquakes are extremely rare. However, wastewater produced by wells that were hydraulic fractured can cause “induced” earthquakes when it is injected into deep wastewater wells. Wastewater disposal wells operate for longer durations and inject much more fluid than the hydraulic fracturing operations. Wastewater injection can raise pressure levels in...
Does the Bakken Formation contain more oil than Saudi Arabia?
Probably not. In 2000, the USGS assessed undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources in Saudi Arabia at 87 billion barrels ( USGS 2000 World Petroleum Assessment ) compared to a mean estimate of 4.3 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable continuous oil in the Bakken and Three Forks formations ( USGS 2021 Bakken and Three Forks Assessment ). In addition, Saudi...
Why do the oil and gas resource numbers sometimes change when the USGS releases a new assessment of an oil and gas formation?
Assessments regularly change based on our understanding of geology, as well as advances in technology. As more is learned about the geology of a given formation, both from USGS research and from industry activity, a clearer picture of the potential recoverable oil and gas resources can be created. In some cases, industry activity can show that a rock formation that was previous thought to have...
- Multimedia
Fish Creek Watershed in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska
Fish Creek wanders through the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, a 22.8 million acre region managed by the Bureau of Land Management on Alaska's North Slope. USGS has periodically assessed oil and gas resource potential there. These assessments can be found here.
Fish Creek wanders through the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, a 22.8 million acre region managed by the Bureau of Land Management on Alaska's North Slope. USGS has periodically assessed oil and gas resource potential there. These assessments can be found here.
Permafrost in the National Petroleum Reserve-AlaskaPermafrost forms a grid-like pattern in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, a 22.8 million acre region managed by the Bureau of Land Management on Alaska's North Slope. USGS has periodically assessed oil and gas resource potential there. These assessments can be found here.
Permafrost forms a grid-like pattern in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, a 22.8 million acre region managed by the Bureau of Land Management on Alaska's North Slope. USGS has periodically assessed oil and gas resource potential there. These assessments can be found here.
Gas Hydrate Drill Rig at the Mt. Elbert Test Site in AlaskaA drill rig at the Mount Elbert test site in Alaska's North Slope, just west of Prudhoe Bay. USGS joined BP Exploration (Alaska) and the U.S. Department of Energy to drill a test well to study natural gas production from gas hydrate deposits. Read more about the Mt.
A drill rig at the Mount Elbert test site in Alaska's North Slope, just west of Prudhoe Bay. USGS joined BP Exploration (Alaska) and the U.S. Department of Energy to drill a test well to study natural gas production from gas hydrate deposits. Read more about the Mt.
The Ivotuk Hills, Alaska North Slope, Viewed From Ivotuk CampExposures of sedimentary rocks in the western Brooks Range, Alaska were evaluated for their contents of metals and phosphate and for their petroleum maturation histories to determine the potential for undiscovered resources in the southern National Petroleum Reserve Alaska.
Exposures of sedimentary rocks in the western Brooks Range, Alaska were evaluated for their contents of metals and phosphate and for their petroleum maturation histories to determine the potential for undiscovered resources in the southern National Petroleum Reserve Alaska.
- Publications
- News