There are several energy-related efforts currently under way in Alaska. Geographically, these range from the Alaska Peninsula to the North Slope. Several are collaborative efforts with Federal and State agencies and Alaska Native villages. These projects:

• Circum-Arctic Basins Oil & Gas Assessment: An ongoing effort of the World Energy Project
• Geologic Framework and Assessment Studies, North Slope of Alaska including the National Petroleum Reserve, Alaska (NPRA) and Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) 1002 Area
• Gas Hydrate Studies in northern Alaska
• Coalbed Gas Studies
• Digital Geologic Map Compilation
• Interior Alaska Province Review and Yukon Flats Assessment
• South Alaska Province Review

Southward view across Brooks Range
foothills. Nanushuk Formation in
foreground. (Larger Image).

Alaska Energy Issues

Alaska’s scenic wilderness, its Arctic ecosystems with their unique flora and fauna, and its significant potential for energy and mineral resources are unmatched by any other onshore region of the U.S. Thus, the accurate and unbiased scientific data provided by the U.S. Geological Survey are crucial to the Federal, State, and Native organizations that manage Alaska’s resources to meet the challenge of balancing America’s needs for nonrenewable resources and a clean and healthy environment.

David Houseknecht
Project Chief

National Petroleum Reserve
in Alaska (NPRA)

Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPRA)

Current work focused on assessment of the area west of NPRA and aggregation of all North Slope assessments with an update of the economics, including natural gas.

The 2010 assessment supersede those of a previous assessment completed by the USGS in 2002.

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ANWR, 1002 Area

Assessment of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) 1002 Area

The “1002 area” is a 1.5-million-acre part of the coastal plain that holds potentially large oil and gas resources, and is an important wildlife habitat. In recognition of these facts, a decision regarding whether this area should be opened to petroleum exploration has been deferred since the establishment of the Arctic National Wildlife...

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Oil and Gas Assessment of Central North Slope, Alaska

In 2005 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed an assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the central Alaska North Slope and the adjacent offshore belonging to the State of Alaska. This area lies between the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and extends from  the Brooks Range northward to the State-Federal... [+]

Gas Hydrates in Northern Alaska

Gas Hydrate Studies in Northern Alaska

In 2008 USGS completed the first assessment of the undiscovered technically recoverable gashydrate resources on the North Slope of Alaska. Using a geologybased assessment methodology, the USGS estimates that there are about 85 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of undiscovered, technically recoverable gas resources within gas hydrates in northern Alaska.

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Digital Geologic Map Compilation

Digital Geologic Map Compilation

Compilation of existing geologic maps of the northern foothills of the Brooks Range, from the Chukchi Sea eastward to the Canadian border. This work is a collaboration between the USGS and the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys (DGGS) and the Division of Oil and Gas.

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NPRA Seismic Data Archive

NPRA Seismic Data Archive

The National Petroleum Reserve, Alaska, (NPRA) Legacy Data Archive represents one of the largest geological and geophysical data sets held by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). From 1944 to 1953 the U.S. Navy operated a large-scale exploration of the then Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4, drilling 36 test wells and 45 core tests. A second extensive exploration program was operated between 1974 and 1982...

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National Oil and Gas Assessment
The Energy Resources Program provides periodic assessments of the oil and natural gas endowment of the United States.

Circum-Arctic Basins Oil & Gas Assessment is an ongoing effort of the World Energy Project that includes northern Alaska.

USGS Links

Alaska Science Center

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Geospatial Data Base
A cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to develop a comprehensive multi-agency database of the ANWR Coastal plain ecosystem for public, scientific, and academic access.

External Links

Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (DGGS) and
USGS scanning project
Alaska related U.S. Geological Survey publications. The collection is not complete but includes historical and pertinent documents published prior to 2002. This collection of historical publications includes, USGS Professional Paper 20, the first systematic topographic and geologic survey across the Brooks Range and the North Slope published in 1901 by F.C. Schrader (USGS geologist) with notes by W.J. Peters (USGS topographer). "Schrader described thick marine sequences and noted broad anticlinal structures--both of prime importance in the search for oil.” (USGS Prof. Paper 1240-C).