Lets say we were to drill in ANWR.....How much oil is actually in ANWR ?

[FogerRox]

If you're an oil man, taking a look under the surface of ANWR, means looking at drilling reports and seismic reports. Inspite of the quality results from seismic studies, nothing beats drilling samples brought up from the rock you suspect bears oil. A 3-D seismic test, is conducted by vehicles that "shake" the ground the ground and uses thousands of geophones to read sound waves below, can create a sort of stereo seismic computerized image, of the oil-bearing strata under the surface. This technique is responsible for reducing the number of dry wells.
But Seismic test vehicles used by the US Geologic Survey have left long straight scars across the tundra.

So just what do the oil companies know about ANWR ?

Only one well has ever been drilled in ANWR
KIC was drilled in 1985, by the Kaktovik Indians, near the coast of ANWR. Kaktovik Indians drilling report is proprietary, a secret. The Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation (KIC) then shut the well down & capped the well.
This is ANWR:





Taking a closer look:


To the west of this map is the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The little red marked box is an area thought to be an extension of the Pt Thompson reservoir. The 2 big oil fields on Alaskas North Slope are Kuparuk is the 2nd largest oil field in the United States at 20 miles by 15. Prudhoe Bay is the largest at 19 miles by 40 miles.

ANWR's Geology and Potential Petroleum Resources.
Parts of Alaska's North Slope (ANS) coastal plain have proved abundant in oil reserves, and its geology holds further promise. The oil-bearing strata extend eastward from structures in the NPRA, to the 2 billion barrel Kuparuk River field, past the Prudhoe Bay field (originally 11-13 billion barrels, now down to about 4 billion barrels),
and a few smaller fields, and <strong>may continue through ANWR's</strong> 1002 area. Further east in Canada's Mackenzie River delta, once promising structures have not produced significant amounts of oil.

Source.

So there is Prudhoe Bay, the super big oil field, and as you head east you cross the Canadian border and then run into the MacKenzie river. The Canadians have drilled in this area, and as far as I know, no commercial production resulted.

These are 2 good maps





that shows as one moves east, the oil fields get smaller. And here is a composite image on page 3 of this pdf


http://www.dog.dnr.state.ak.us/oil/products/slideshows/stratigraphic/alaska_stratigraphic_test_well.pdf

Even the Energy Information Agency uses lots of qualifiers when speaking about ANWR:

ANWR Production Uncertainties

There is much uncertainty regarding the impact of opening ANWR on U.S. oil production and imports, due to several factors:

There is little direct knowledge regarding the petroleum geology of the ANWR region. .... based largely on ... neighboring State lands. Consequently, there is considerable uncertainty regarding both the size and quality of the oil ... in ANWR. ... ultimate oil recovery and potential yearly production are highly uncertain.
Oil field sizes.
The size of the oil fields found in ANWR is one factor....if the reservoirs are smaller than expected, then production would be less.
The quality of the oil and the characteristics of the oil reservoirs. Oil field production rates are also determined by the quality of oil found, e.g., viscosity and paraffin content, and the field’s reservoir characteristics, i.e., its depth, permeability, faulting, and water saturation.

Ok, ya'll following things so far ? Heres the kicker:

This analysis assumes oil quality and reservoir characteristics similar to those associated with the Prudhoe Bay field.

ANWR is not Prudhoe Bay.



The north west corner of ANWR is said to be home to 4 to 11 billion barrels of oil, not a lot of oil in the larger scheme of things. Oil companies hold 68 million acres in leases, estimated to contain 100 billion barrels of oil, enough to nearly double domestic oil production, and increase natural gas production by 75%. Three quarters of those 68 million acres lie idle. The Interior Department has estimated 18 billion barrels of oil can be pulled from waters off the U.S. coast that are currently off limits.

But in existing leases there are 100 billion barrels. SO fuck it, lets drill in ANWR and get those 8 or 9 billion barrels, and ignore all the other oil we know is there.


Further reading:

175 to 500 billion barrels in the Dakotas:

http://www.nextenergynews.com/news1/next-energy-news2.13s.html

90 billion barrels north of Arctic Circle

http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=1980&from=rss_home

http://www.dog.dnr.state.ak.us/oil/products/maps/northslope/images/NS%20Maps%202008/ns_oandg_activitymap_jul08.pdf

[LaurenG]

1. They don't really want to drill there, it's not cost effective and

it's too hard to drill there and they have to follow too many guidelines.

:shrug:

[FogerRox]

2. at 100 bucks per barrel and only 35 miles from the Alaskan pipeline

its a good deal, but there just isnt much there.

[EFerrari]

3. Bookmarking for later.

Thanks, Foger Rox.

[Submariner]

4. Estimates are 4 to 16 billion barrels. Not enough to ruin a wilderness for

[FogerRox]

5. Plus directional drilling can go sideways up to 4-5 miles

[Submariner]

7. It's the raised gravel haul roads that would cause the damage to

caribou habitat and migration, regardless of the directional drilling.

[FogerRox]

8. I've heard about Ice roads....

[DailyGrind51]

6. Remember the 2005 Energy Bill that was SUPPOSED to reduce

the price of gasoline? Worked out REAL well for us, didn't it? Whatever "Big Oil" wants, do the opposite!

[Wilms]

9. Thanks for telling this story, Foger.

[autorank]

10. k*r "If you're an oilman ..."

You blew my cover li'l buddy. I'm an Olive Oil man, good for you.

This is value added stuff. ANWR looks lime more of the same for the worse ruling class in the
history of the world.

I like the Gore alternative. I can't even look at the Pickkins plan because he's done such vile
things in the past.

Keep the truth coming.

[Breeze54]

11. "But in existing leases there are 100 billion barrels....." and they lie idle.

Exactly and the oil companies lie about not being able to drill.

What a load!!

Very informative post! Thank You!

I hope people will sign the petition in my sig line!!

:kick: & Recommended

[Mr. Blonde]

12. How much will it cost to get the oil from the leases they have?

I mean that is the excuse I hear, but that must be some damn hard oil to get to considering the prices we have right now.

[EFerrari]

13. If Democrats started saying "Emergency Oil Reserve" instead of

"strategic oil reserve" they could change this conversation in one news cycle.

[opihimoimoi]

14. and who owns the oil....who is it sold to....?

we wanna know.....

[seabeyond]

17. i heard it has already been promised out to other countries. n/t

[Chulanowa]

18. Capitalized profits, socialized costs

If the oil companies find oil / nat. gas, they get it all. Every bit of it. They are free to sell it to whoever they like in the world. Meanwhile we the taxpayers subsidize them with handouts, and lose reams of federal land to these same companies, who's unused leases are apparently indefinite.

[opihimoimoi]

19. The Resource Bandits of the GOP have set themselves up to Rape, Pillage, and Retire with Coronas on

the Beach on their Private Island....

We are the FOOLED...we are the dupes....this is not right.....Mankind suffers while they wallow in opulent luxury...

They use the narcotic of FUN to lull us...and we suck for it, hook line sinker....

[carlyhippy]

15. I had heard there is more oil shale and oil in north dakota

probably the same drilling/mining conditions, because it gets quite chilly in the winter, yet they haven't even considered this area.

[philly_bob]

16. Just for the record, I'm prepared to flip-flop on this.

It seems crazy to take these types of environmental risks, especially when you have a Big Oil prez handing off the rights to unregulated Big Oil -- and there's still gas-hogging Hummers on the road and no mass transit.

In a different situation, say a pro-consumer prez that is willing to regulate Big Oil in a nation that has cut down on its petroleum addiction, I'd consider a looser policy, allowing exploration and drilling.

To turn over drilling rights to these clowns is a dumb move. They are guaranteed to make a mess of it.

[robertpaulsen]

20. K & R!

:kick:

[windoe]

21. I wonder if they are in a hurry to drill before the permafrost melts.

How can the pipeline stay stable on melting ground?

[maynard]

22. Less than a years supply

I saw a National Geographic Explorer program called Alaska's Last Oil. It was a good explanation of all the factors involved, including native Alaskan tribe views...It is one program I have saved (DVR) for future reference.

[sofa king]

23. Or, to put it in Bush lie-your-ass-off terms...

You could check this chart, which I remember originally appeared on the Department of the Interior website back in 2001.

What the chart does is imagine a magical fantasyland where all of the oil--which some think will take thirty years to extract--is allocated only to one state. How long could one state run on ANWR's oil in bullshit magical fantasyland?

Well, if you look there you'll see that it would fuel California for 15 years, or half the time needed to actually extract it. Texas is even worse.

If you step out of bullshit magical fantasyland and add in oh, forty-nine other states, our dependencies, and the fact that Exxon will happily sell it to the Chinese if they offer more money for it, and it looks like it might keep the lights on for about 180 days, or about six days a year over the time it would take to extract it, or twenty four minutes a day over the thirty years it would take to extract it.

That of course would not be enough time to watch Neil Cavuto's show on Fox News every day.

[alfredo]

24. It might have been Stevens that said the ANWR oil will go to Asia.