The North Slope of Alaska. A lot of news, I mean a lot about the Alaska LNG and Gasline Projects.
@NavalInstitute @US_OGA @USNavy @OilnGasInvestor @SecretaryWright
Did you know that the United States Navy was the first to explore for oil and gas? The US Navy “Fighting Seabees” did the construction work !!
The federal lands today known as the NPRA (National Petroleum Reserve Alaska) was previously the NPR4 (Naval Petroleum Reserve No.4). The NPR-A is a 23 million-acre roadless area located 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle.
Key Facts About Navy Exploration
• Naval Reserve Designation: President Warren G. Harding established Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4 (NPR 4)—now known as the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska—in 1923 to serve as a wartime fuel source as the fleet transitioned from coal to oil.
• The 1944 Expedition: The U.S. Navy launched its major exploratory phase in 1944, sending the 1058th Naval Construction Battalion (Seabees) to set up camps, build airstrips, and transport heavy machinery.
• First Arctic Oil Wells: Navy teams drilled the first official Arctic oil wells at Umiat and Cape Simpson in 1945.
• Drilling Tally: Between 1944 and 1952, the U.S. Navy drilled 91 test holes across the region, followed by additional exploratory wells contracted through later decades.
• Commercial Discovery: While the Navy proved the presence of petroleum, the massive commercial breakthrough came later on March 12, 1968, when Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) and Humble Oil discovered the giant field at Prudhoe Bay.
Oil was first produced along Alaska’s north slope in the 1940s when America’s naval fleet was converting from coal to oil. The Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4 was established in 1923 and the U.S. Navy began exploring in 1944. Later, the U.S. Geological Survey drilled some wells for scientific research, some still in use today.
A total of 136 test holes were drilled under two distinct drilling periods, both sponsored by the U.S. Government to explore for oil and gas resources. In the first period, from 1944 to 1952, the U.S. Navy drilled 91 holes. In the second period, from 1975 to 1981, Husky Oil Corporation, working under contract for both the U.S. Navy and USGS, drilled 36 holes. The remaining nine holes were drilled in the Barrow area between 1953 and 1974.
Petroleum exploration in the NPR-A has been ongoing for nearly 100 years. In the early 1900s, field geologists from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) exploring the North Slope of Alaska found several oil seeps in this area. Their discovery prompted President Warren G. Harding to set aside this portion of Alaska’s North Slope as an emergency oil supply for the U.S. Navy. President Harding established the Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4 (NPR-4) by Executive Order in 1923. During early exploration programs, the U.S. Navy (1944-1953) and the U.S. Geological Survey (1975–1982) drilled 136 exploratory wells and boreholes at depths ranging from 100 to 20,335 feet.
The US Navy operated the Naval Petroleum Reserves (NPRs) directly under the Department of the Navy via the Office of Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves. Within the department, administration fell directly under the authority of the Secretary of the Navy.
Photo Map - location on the NPRA (NPR-4)
Photo below Winterized rig drilling the wildcat Seabee#1 at Umiat Seabee.
Historical Naval Petroleum Reserves
The United States Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves comprise the following numbered locations:
Naval Petroleum Reserves (NPR)
• NPR No. 1 (Elk Hills) and NPR No. 2 (Buena Vista): Both are situated in Kern County, California.
Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 1 (Elk Hills, California): Sold to Occidental Petroleum for $3.65 billion in 1998, marking the largest federal property divestiture in U.S. history up to that time.
• NPR No. 3 (Teapot Dome): Located in Wyoming.
Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 3 (Teapot Dome, Wyoming): Sold to Stranded Oil Resources Corporation for $45.2 million on January 30, 2015, completely ending federal ownership and operation of the Naval Petroleum Reserves program.
• NPR No. 4: Situated on Alaska's North Slope, later renamed the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A) and transferred to the Bureau of Land Management in 1976.
Naval Oil Shale Reserves (NOSR)
• Oil Shale Reserve No. 1 & No. 3: Located in Colorado.
• Oil Shale Reserve No. 2: Located in Utah
Combined Oil Shale Reserves contain approximately 4.3 to 6 Trillion Barrels.
The present day ownership of the Oil Shale Reserves 1 & 2 is managed through the US BLM. The #2 was transferred to the Northern Ute Indian Tribe ~2000-2001.