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This is an update of a previously published assessment from 2008. The USGS periodically updates its global energy assessments to reflect changes in understanding of the geology or changes in production or industry technology.
These geological structures are located outside the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of the United States and Russia and beneath further offshore waters. Most of the area analyzed is outside the Chukchi Sea Off-Continental Shelf Planning Area, which the U.S. government uses to guide its offshore oil and gas leasing program. The Chukchi Sea remains free of oil and gas leasing. Some structures are within the U.S. Extended Continental Shelf as determined by the U.S. State Department. The area is remote, covered in ice for much of the year, and far from infrastructure.
No oil exploration wells have been drilled in the North Chukchi Basin. The nearest oil wells are located 20 to 100 miles southeast on the U.S. Chukchi Sea continental shelf and are not very productive. The geologic structure of the basin is interpreted based on 2D seismic reflection data associated with these wells and compared to the basin as a whole. The amount and size of potential oil and gas accumulations are inferred based on seismic amplitude anomalies observed in the seismic reflection data. These observations are often used as a reliable indicator of hydrocarbon accumulation on the North Slope of Alaska.
The resource volumes estimated in this report are conventional resources that have not yet been discovered and are technically recoverable.
Conventional resources are those that have accumulated into discrete accumulations and can be recovered using traditional production techniques. This contrasts with continuous resources, which are those that are distributed throughout the rock formation and generally require enhanced recovery techniques such as hydraulic fracturing to recover. The USGS does not conduct economic assessments of oil and natural gas resources; however, these resources are unlikely to be economically recovered due to their location and remoteness from existing infrastructure.
Undiscovered resources are those that are estimated to exist based on geological and other data but whose existence has not yet been proven through drilling or other means. Technically recoverable resources are those that can be produced using today’s standard industry practices and technologies. This is different from reserves, which are the amount of oil and gas that have been discovered and are currently profitable to produce.
The new assessment of the North Chukchi Basin builds on an earlier assessment from 2008 and may find hereTo learn more about USGS energy assessments and other energy research, visit U.S. Geological Survey Energy Resources Program website.
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