USGS finds significant oil, gas in Alaska

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RESTON, Va., June 29 (UPI) -- The Cook Inlet region of Alaska contains significant amounts of oil and natural gas that haven't been technically discovered yet, the USGS said.

In 1995 the U.S. Geological Survey found the Cook Inlet contained roughly 2.14 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

In its latest estimate of undiscovered, technically recoverable resources, the USGS found the region holds on average 19 tcf of natural gas, around 600 million barrels of oil and 46 million barrels of natural gas liquids.

"For the first time, USGS has evaluated unconventional (or continuous) as well as conventional petroleum resources in the Cook Inlet region of Alaska," Brenda Pierce, USGS energy resources program coordinator, said in a statement.

Oil and natural gas production in the region began in 1958. Since then, more than 1.3 billion barrels of oil and 7.8 tcf of natural gas have been produced. This, the USGS says, shows there are plenty of natural resources remaining in the region.

"The USGS conducts assessments to evaluate the nation's petroleum potential, especially as new data and information become available in order to understand the resource endowment of the nation," added Pierce.