Alaska drilling/production

The search for Alaska's next giant discovery beneath the waters of the Beaufort Sea began in November 1980, following decisions by federal and state courts paving the way for exploratory drilling on leases that drew high bids of $1.056 billion at the joint federal-state sale in Fairbanks in December 1979. In other Alaskan action, the federal government is moving to offer additional offshore leases even as the state of Alaska seeks to block offshore exploration on federal lands. At Prudhoe Bay, work continues on 2 major projects designed to recover more oil from proved reserves. Including a massive waterflood for the Prudhoe Bay Field's Sadlerochit sand, which is the field's prime pay, and a drilling and development program for the Kuparuk formation west of the Prudhoe Bay Field. On the production side, oil is flowing at a rate sufficient to keep Alaska in the number 2 position of the US oil-producing states. The state's wells are producing 1.61 million bpd, compared with 2.65 million bpd for Texas, number one producer in the US.