Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, 1002 Area, Petroleum Assessment, 1998

ASSESSMENT PROJECT

The new assessment involved 3 years of study by 40 USGS scientists, who coordinated work with colleagues in other Federal agencies, Alaska State agencies, and several universities. New field studies were conducted, new well and sample data were analyzed, and new geophysical data were acquired. Perhaps most importantly, all 1,400 miles of seismic data that had been collected by a petroleum-industry consortium in 1984 and 1985 were reprocessed and reinterpreted. Collection of seismic data within ANWR requires an act of Congress, and these are the only seismic data ever collected within the 1002 area. All this information was integrated as basic input to the petroleum assessment. The term "petroleum" is used herein to include crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. Although all petroleum commodities were assessed, results reported in this Fact Sheet are for crude oil only because it determines the economic viability of resources on the North Slope. Results for the other commodities are reported in a CD-ROM (USGS Open-File Report 98-34).