In April 1980, the National Petroleum Council, an advisory committee to the Secretary of Energy, was requested to estimate, among other directly relevant matters, the oil and gas resources of the United States Arctic regions. The evaluation was based on a review of publicly available information and a survey of the study participants. The results are a composite of anonymous estimates of 20 industry representatives.

As of August 1980, 16.5 billion bbl of recoverable oil and oil-equivalent gas had been discovered on the North Slope. An additional 44 billion bbl of undiscovered, recoverable oil and oil-equivalent gas are estimated for the United States Arctic. Of these, 24 billion bbl may be oil and the remainder will consist of 109 tcf of gas and natural gas liquids. These undiscovered resources constitute as much as 40% of the total undiscovered recoverable oil and gas remaining within United States jurisdiction.

A 1% chance exists that the undiscovered recoverable oil and oil-equivalent gas could exceed 99 billion bbl. Of 10 highly prospective areas,

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the largest resources occur offshore in the Beaufort shelf and the Navarin basin shelf. Basins appearing to have a relatively low potential should not be ignored. Future geologic information could cause significant revisions. Cost and technical considerations detract significantly from the apparent exploration merit of some resource-bearing basins, particularly in the arctic marine areas.

Industry investment commitments since the study correspond with the study results.

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