Cumulative Environmental Effects of Oil and Gas Activities on Alaska's North Slope (2003) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
5. Future Oil and Gas Activities
5. Future Oil and Gas Activities
Pages 51-63
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From page 51... ...
The 1002 Area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (see Figure 4-1) is not analyzed in detail because exploration there is currently prohibited.
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From page 52... ...
Unpublished, proprietary estimations for the entire North Slope and the state waters of the Beaufort Sea range from mean undiscovered TRR of 12.6 billion bbl of oil and 54.1 TCFG (Magoon 1994) to a TRR of 18 billion bbl of oil, exclusive of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge reserves.
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From page 53... ...
The potential for additions to the gas reserve base is 10-15 TCFG. Brooks Range Foothills Belt The Brooks Range foothills belt extends south from approximately 69° 45' N to the northern boundary of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and Gates of the Arctic National Park and lies between the refuge and National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.
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From page 54... ...
The state Beaufort Sea lands are likely to continue to be desirable holdings, and leases will be retained and evaluated as promptly as circumstances and priorities permit. The likelihood of leasing significant new areas probably depends on the eventual availability of the deferred tracts lying offshore from the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
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From page 55... ...
Brooks Range Foothills The area from the latitude of Umiat and Gubik to the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska's southern limits is thought to be predominantly a gas-prone province. Studies of the Umiat oil field indicate potential for additional relatively substantial oil accumulations, and the Gubik gas field and other smaller discoveries at Square Lake and Wolf Creek provide evidence of the potential for gas.
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From page 56... ...
Spills are not a concern with gas, but the extensive pipeline system that would be required to transport the gas to a trans-Alaska gas pipeline would be conspicuous if it were not buried. Arctic National Wildlife Refuge 1002 Area Whether Congress will open the area to oil and gas exploration is unknown, but it is useful to assess what might happen if it did.
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From page 57... ...
~ - i! ~ : o 1960 1970 1980 1990 Year 2000 2010 2020 2030 Gravel covered area · Other disturbance · Mined area - Total direct impact area FIGURE 5-1 Cumulative direct effects of early exploratory trails and peat roads are shown with diamonds; gravel mines with triangles; gravel covered areas including roads, airstrips, and pads with squares; and total area of direct effects with circles.
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From page 58... ...
CUMULATIVE EFFECTS OF ALASKA NORTH SLOPE OIL AND GAS Although the depth of the active layer is likely to increase in a warmer climate, the general pattern of stream flows is unlikely to change much. Increased snowfall, which is possible, would result in greater spring runoff, and warmer winters should reduce the depth to which lakes and streams freeze, thereby altering wintering habitat for fish and other freshwater animals.
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From page 59... ...
We know that the cold deep permafrost that dominates ecosystems and constrains landuse on the North Slope is a consequence of low air temperatures, but we know little about the local distribution of those temperatures or other relevant climate parameters, now or in the past. (The topographically diverse North Slope, with an area of 20 million ha [50 million acres]
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From page 60... ...
estimates the total hypothetical volume of the Tertiary coals on the North Slope and offshore Beaufort Sea at 608 billion t. CUMULATIVE EFFECTS OF ALASKA NORTH SLOPE OIL AND GAS Coals of lower Mississippian age are exposed at Cape Lisburne, in the eastern Brooks Range, and in wells south of Barrow (Sable and Stricker 1987, Wahrhaftig et al.
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From page 62... ...
Base Metal Deposits The North Slope region contains potentially important base metal deposits. For example, the Red Dog lead and zinc mine is on the western end of a mineralized belt that extends east through the southern part of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska and through the Brooks Range, mainly south of the drainage divide, in the Wulik River drainage near the village of Kivalina.
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From page 63... ...
About 1.8 million t (2 million short tons) of ore are blasted and removed from the open pit each year (about 6,000 short tons or 5,400 t each day, 365 days per year)
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