Alaska: America's Last Oil and Gas Reserve

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The following is an advisory by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). When Secretary of State William Seward purchased Alaska from Russia on March 30, 1867 for $7.2 million, his goal was to increase the United States' (U.S.) landmass. In reality Seward's Folly has turned out to be, arguably, the single best deal the U.S. government has ever completed. While Alaska does cover over 656,000 sq miles, its greatest contribution to the U.S. has been, and will continue to be, its natural resources.

The first major oil reserve in Alaska was first discovered in 1968 in Prudhoe Bay. Soon thereafter, construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline kicked off in 1974 and by 1977 oil was being transported 800 miles south to Valdez, AK. Today, the Trans-Alaska Pipeline transports 20% of the annual U.S. oil production.

With the discovery of the oil and natural gas reserves on the North Slope, Alaska was thrust into the limelight of the U.S. energy industry. Alaska boasts over 9 billion barrels of oil reserves yet to be recovered. In addition, Alaska has the potential to recover 4 billion barrels of liquid natural gas and up to 65 trillion cubic feet of raw natural gas. With the traditional oil and gas reserves in the lower 48 states slowly depleting, Alaska remains the best hope to meet the fuel needs of the U.S. energy industry in the future.

Having resources of this magnitude provides the state of Alaska with numerous capital opportunities. Over $38 billion will be spent in Alaska developing, processing, and transporting the oil and gas reserves in the next few years. New finds will be developed and existing finds will be expanded as the industry seeks to develop the natural resources to their utmost. Companies such as Phillips Alaska, ARCO Alaska, BP Canada Energy, Foothills Pipeline, Yukon Pacific, and Arctic Resources are developing the oil and gas reserves at a feverish pace.