U.K. NORTH SEA AND ALASKA NORTH SLOPE: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF PETROLEUM PROVINCES

Alaska's North Slope and the United Kingdom North Sea were petroleum frontiers in the truest sense around 1960 when industry gained access to both areas. Exploration of these two petroleum provinces progressed almost simultaneously with both emerging as significant sources of oil and gas. Both provinces entered the 1960's with no oil production, but, by the end of the 20th century, the provinces combined had delivered almost 50 billion barrels of oil equivalent to markets in Europe and the United States.

Alaska's North Slope started producing oil at about the same time as the United Kingdom North Sea, in the mid to late 1970's. Alaska North Slope (ANS) and UK North Sea oil production rates were approximately equal in 1980, but UK North Sea oil production has exceeded that of the Alaska ANS by more than 40% in recent years. The UK North Sea and ANS share similar areal sizes and other similarities, but differ in several key areas including government policy. This paper examines exploration and development history, resource access, and government take for the ANS and UK North Sea petroleum provinces via information available to the public. This analysis shows that government policies and the lack of a gas market have played a crucial role in the production history of the Alaska North Slope.