Thursday December 22, 2005

Alaska North Slope oil decline

peakoil.com -> chron.com :

Alaskan North Slope oil production, once heralded as a domestic mother lode, has hit a new output low - embodying the precarious balance confronting the U.S. as it struggles for energy security in an era of volatility in the international oil market. The decline in Alaska is led by a slump in output from the once-mammoth Prudhoe Bay field, which has been producing since 1969. At its height in fiscal 1988, the field produced an average of 1.6 million barrels per day; but in fiscal 2005, it was down to 381,000 barrels per day. Overall production in the North Slope has dropped to an average of 916,000 barrels per day from 2.01 million barrels in the same period.

The fall in the North Slope comes even with the startup of the Northstar and Alpine fields which, with a combined projected output of over 200,000 barrels per day, many hoped would partially offset the decline in Prudhoe Bay. Prudhoe "was one of the last great fields in America," said Bill Samuelson, an analyst with Houston-based consultancy Purvin & Gertz.

While President Bush's administration has pushed for opening a pristine refuge believed to hold about 10 billion barrels of recoverable crude oil, environmentalists argue such a move would only temporarily delay the inevitable while ruining the delicate Arctic habitat.

(2005-12-22 08:38:16 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

Most popular blog postings on lowem.log :

1. 2010 Honda Civic Hybrid preliminary specifications released
2. Singapore SIBOR rate falls to 0.69% in Jan 2009, lowest since Apr 2004
3. How to insert currency exchange rates into Google Spreadsheets
4. Live spot gold price quotes chart on COMEX
5. 2010 Toyota Prius specifications released : 50 mpg, 1.8L, 134hp, Ni-MH, solar roof option
6. Singapore MRT rail network length to double by 2020
7. Singapore property market : Home prices fall 13.8% in Q1 2009
8. 2010 Honda Insight specifications released : 41 mpg, 1.3L, 98hp, i-VTEC, CVT

Featured articles on lowem.log :

1. ABC Guide to Beating Inflation in Singapore and Elsewhere
2. Baltic Dry Index falls 93% as shipping rates plunge, signalling global economic collapse
3. 2010 Honda Civic Hybrid preliminary specifications released
4. 2010 Honda Insight specifications released : 41 mpg, 1.3L, 98hp, i-VTEC, CVT
5. 2010 Toyota Prius specifications released : 50 mpg, 1.8L, 134hp, Ni-MH, solar roof option
6. Peakoiler buys 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid FD3
7. NYMEX crude oil recovers from $32.40 low after 2.2 mbpd OPEC production cut announced
8. Singapore SIBOR rate falls to 0.69% in Jan 2009, lowest since Apr 2004