Wednesday, July 11, 2018
A North Slope oil discovery already called huge just got bigger, company says
Writing for the Anchorage Daily News, Alex DeMarban recently reported on this:
"'We have a lot of confidence in what they're doing there, so we're comfortable with what they're saying in their announcement,' he said. Houseknecht, the USGS geologist, said that based on the very limited data he has seen so far, primarily from Repsol's announcement, the oil at Horseshoe and in the Pikka Unit to the north appear to be the same pool of oil.
If that is correct, the discovery could be the largest onshore discovery in Alaska since Kuparuk River oil field on the North Slope in 1969, now operated by ConocoPhillips. One of the largest fields in North America, Kuparuk has produced about 2.3 billion barrels of oil. It is expected to produce more than 3 billion barrels before its life ends, he said. Repsol's estimate that its play could yield 1.2 billion barrels of oil would make it bigger than the Alpine field, discovered in 1994. Houseknecht said that field will ultimately produce, by his estimates, about 750 million barrels of oil.
'"You have to go back several decades to find a bigger North American oil discovery on shore' than the one Repsol is claiming, he said."
