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Alaska Oil Field's Falling Production Reflects U.S. Trend
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Nobody is sure how many years' worth of oil is left in the ground worldwide, or whether new technology will allow those resources to be stretched further.
BP, which operates more than 1,000 wells on the Prudhoe field, has given up exploring for new oil on the North Slope, saying its prospects are better elsewhere.
The company says that when the first wells started producing here, officials envisioned that even less oil would be flowing by now. BP executives say they're doing everything they can to squeeze as much oil from the ground as possible.
"It does feel like we're pedaling hard and running out of options," said Maureen Johnson, a BP senior vice president in charge of Prudhoe Bay and nearby fields.
Prudhoe Bay's production has followed the arc of many other oil fields around the country. After ramping up quickly, the amount of oil pumped from the ground eventually fell into a prolonged period of decline. Now the pressure created by underground deposits of natural gas -- which helps drive oil to the surface -- has lessened and the most easily accessible oil has been extracted.
BP re-injects natural gas that's extracted as part of the production process into the ground as a way to stave off declines. It also injects water to help produce more oil.
One of the few places in this area where visitors can see evidence of the production declines is in a cafeteria in one of the BP dormitories.
A graphic posted on the wall shows North Slope oil production over the years, along with projections for the future. A marker reading "We are Here" is positioned in a place far below the peak and on a path toward gradual decline.
There's one bright spot on the chart -- a giant uptick in production forecast for future years. But it's not oil. BP hopes to eventually begin producing natural gas once a pipeline is constructed to carry it to the lower 48 states.
