New survey shows ​huge increase in recoverable energy resources in Alaska

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke ​released an updated resource assessment​ for​ the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A), the Western Beaufort Sea, adjacent State and Native lands, and State waters​,​​ which estimates the mean undiscovered, technically recoverable resources both on and offshore to include 17.6 Bbbl of oil and more than 50 Tcf of gas. ​The assessment was conducted by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), which are all bureaus under the management of the Department. USGS led onshore efforts, and BOEM led offshore efforts with data contributed by BLM. Additional information was provided by state and industry partners. ​ Onshore, USGS estimates a mean of 8.7 Bbbl of oil and 25 Tcf of gas. This is a significant increase​ from the 2010 resource assessment, which estimated a mean of 1.5 Bbbl of oil. Offshore, BOEM’s revised estimates of mean undiscovered technically recoverable resources in the Beaufort Sea Outer Continental Shelf Planning Area are 8.9 Bbbl of oil and 27.7 Tcf of gas.​ ​BOEM’s updated assessment resulted in a net increase of nearly 700 MMboe over BOEM’s 2016 Beaufort Sea Planning Area assessment...more ​