Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Central North Slope of Alaska, 2020

Houseknecht, David W.; Whidden, Katherine J.; Connors, Christopher D.; Lease, Richard O.; Schenk, Christopher J.; Mercier, Tracey J.; Rouse, William A.; Botterell, Palma J.; Smith, Rebecca A.; Sanders, Margaret M.; Craddock, William H.; DeVera, Christina A.; Garrity, Christopher P.; Buursink, Marc L.; Karacan, C. Özgen; Heller, Samuel J.; Moore, Thomas E.; Dumoulin, Julie A.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; French, Katherine L.; Woodall, Cheryl A.; Drake, Ronald M.; Marra, Kristen R.; Finn, Thomas M.; Kinney, Scott A.; Shorten, Chilisa M.

doi:10.3133/fs20203001

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…The current resource assessment of the hydrocarbon potential of Brookian clinoform deposits in North Alaska (NPR-A and the North Slope) suggests their substantial hydrocarbon potential varying from 0.5 to 6 bln toe (about 2 bln toe on average) (Houseknecht 2017;Houseknecht et al 2020). Recent major discoveries in stratigraphic traps in this prospective complex (Willow-42 mln tons of oil, Smith Bay and Pikka-Horseshoe-more than 140 mln tons of oil each) have provided an incentive for its vigorous development.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…7 Hydrocarbon generation chart of Tertiary supposed to be source rock Fig. 8 Critical moment map of Tertiary supposed to be source rock 5 mln tons on the North Slope (Houseknecht 2017;Houseknecht et al 2020). The situation is more reassuring in the Beaufort-Mackenzie Basin, where the structural factor plays a significant role and combination (structural-lithologic) traps are well represented.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Peculiarities of Tertiary petroleum systems evolution under prograding shelf environment on the continental margin of the East Siberian Sea

Мустаев

Лавренова

Kerimov

et al. 2021

J Petrol Explor Prod Technol

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The upper part of the sedimentary cover within the East Siberian Sea shelf comprises Cenozoic clinoform deposits, which accumulated in passive continental margin settings. In the Eastern Arctic, the productivity of clinoform deposits has been proved on the Alaska North Slope and in the Beaufort–Mackenzie Basin. Considering that Cenozoic clinoform deposits are widely represented in the Russian part of the Eastern Arctic, they undoubtedly attract considerable interest from the standpoint of hydrocarbons prospecting. However, despite increasingly closer attention to this interval of the sedimentary section, it is still poorly understood due to its complicated geology. The lack of drilled wells in the region imposes a considerable limitation on an understanding of sedimentary basins development. In this situation, geophysical data become the primary source of information for building geologic models in the Russian sector of the Eastern Arctic. An assessment of hypothetical Cenozoic petroleum systems of the East Siberian Sea is the main objective of this paper. It is to be said research performed under high uncertainty of input data. The results obtained from basin analysis and numerical modeling indicate the possibility that an active petroleum system may exist in the Cenozoic sedimentary wedge of the East Siberian Sea. The outlook for the clinoform complex largely depends on the source rock maturity, i.e., higher prospects should be expected in areas where the prograding wedge has maximum thickness. Considering all factors (reservoir quality prediction, proximity to a hydrocarbon kitchen, timing), the Eocene–Oligocene part of the sedimentary section appears to offer the greatest promise within the study area. Here, predominantly oil accumulations may be expected at a depth of 2.5–3.5 km below sea bottom.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peculiarities of Tertiary petroleum systems evolution under prograding shelf environment on the continental margin of the East Siberian Sea

Мустаев

Лавренова

Kerimov

et al. 2021

J Petrol Explor Prod Technol

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Arctic Alaska Basin, Hanna Trough and Beaufortian Rifted Margin Composite Tectono-Sedimentary Elements

Houseknecht¹

2021

Memoirs

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The Arctic Alaska region includes three composite tectono-sedimentary elements (CTSEs): the (1) Arctic Alaska Basin (AAB), (2) Hanna Trough (HT), and (3) Beaufortian Rifted Margin (BRM) CTSEs. These CTSEs comprise Mississippian to Lower Cretaceous (Neocomian) strata beneath much of the Alaska North Slope, the Chukchi Sea and westernmost North Slope, and Beaufort Sea, respectively. These sedimentary successions rest on Devonian and older sedimentary and metasedimentary rocks, considered economic basement, and are overlain by Cretaceous to Cenozoic syn- and post-tectonic strata deposited in the foreland of the Chukotka and Brooks Range orogens and in the Amerasia Basin. (1) The Mississippian-Neocomian AAB CTSE includes two TSEs: (a) The Ellesmerian Platform TSE comprises mainly shelf strata of Mississippian to Middle Jurassic age and includes a relatively undeformed domain in the north and a fold-and-thrust domain in the south. (b) The Beaufortian Rift Shoulder TSE includes Middle Jurassic to Neocomian deposits related to rift-shoulder uplift. (2) The HT CTSE includes four TSEs: (a) The Ellesmerian Syn-Rift TSE comprises Late Devonian(?) to Middle Mississippian growth strata deposited in grabens and half grabens during intracontinental rifting. (b) The Ellesmerian-Beaufortian Sag-Basin TSE comprises Middle Mississippian to Upper Triassic strata deposited in a sag basin following cessation of rifting. (c) The Beaufortian Syn-Rift TSE comprises Jurassic to Neocomian graben-fill deposits related to rifting in the Amerasia and North Chukchi Basins. (d) The Beaufortian Rift-Shoulder TSE comprises Jurassic to Neocomian strata related to rifting and deposited outside rift basins. (3) The BRM CTSE includes two TSEs: (a) The Beaufortian Syn-Rift TSE comprises Middle Jurassic to Neocomian syn-rift strata deposited on attenuated continental crust associated with opening of the Amerasia Basin. (b) The Ellesmerian Platform TSE comprises mainly shelf strata of Mississippian to Middle Jurassic age that lie beneath Beaufortian syn-rift strata.The AAB, HT, and BRM CTSEs contain oil-prone source rocks in Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous strata and proven reservoir rocks spanning Mississippian to Lower Cretaceous strata. A structurally high-standing area in the northern AAB CTSE, northern HT CTSE, and southernmost BRM CTSE lies in the oil window whereas all other areas lie in the gas window. Known hydrocarbon accumulations in the three CTSEs total more than 30 billion barrels of oil equivalent and yet-to-find estimates suggest a similar volume remains to be discovered.

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A lateral well in the Shublik Formation, Alaska North Slope, with implications for unconventional resource potential

Scheirer

Bird²

2020

Interpretation

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Analyses of a horizontal well drilled in the Shublik Formation within the southern part of the Prudhoe Bay field provide the first glimpse of the unit’s potential as an unconventional resource. Drilled in 1996, the 1450 ft (442 m) long well, PBU X-19B L1, targeted the 17 ft (5 m) thick Shublik Zone B. More than 70% of the lateral well path sampled that target, a feat of precise geosteering years before the unconventional revolution. The well operator’s drilling plan focused on the middle subzone of Zone B. The well history ascribes the focus on the middle subzone to its high silt content, open fractures, and significant hydrocarbon shows. Contrary to the drilling narrative, cuttings from 41 intervals indicate that siltstone monotonically decreases in Shublik Zone B, on average, from 50% to 40% to 30% in the three subzones from top to base. The limestone concentration inversely varies with the siltstone concentration through Zone B, steadily increasing from top to base (40%, 50%, and 60%). Hydrocarbon shows in the upper and middle subzones of Zone B range from good to fair, whereas the shows in the lower Zone B are weaker. Unfortunately, scant geochemical analyses of oil produced from the Shublik flow test combined with engineering difficulties prevent a definitive conclusion as to the source of the oil — the fractured Shublik Formation or the underlying Ivishak Sandstone. However, on the basis of favorable lithology, hydrocarbon shows, and fracture density, the upper and middle subzones of Zone B should be targeted as a potential unconventional accumulation if and when a well is drilled in the pod of active source rock downdip.

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Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Central North Slope of Alaska, 2020

Cited by 3 publications

References 2 publications

Peculiarities of Tertiary petroleum systems evolution under prograding shelf environment on the continental margin of the East Siberian Sea

Peculiarities of Tertiary petroleum systems evolution under prograding shelf environment on the continental margin of the East Siberian Sea

Arctic Alaska Basin, Hanna Trough and Beaufortian Rifted Margin Composite Tectono-Sedimentary Elements

A lateral well in the Shublik Formation, Alaska North Slope, with implications for unconventional resource potential

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