Key Takeaways
The USGS has produced an Alaska-wide assessment of natural gas and oil resources for the North Slope.
For natural gas, the USGS mean estimate is 96 trillion cubic feet, with a range estimate of between 17.3 trillion and 276.6 trillion cubic feet beyond the 35 trillion already discovered at Prudhoe Bay and nearby.
For oil, the mean estimate is 17 billion barrels, with a range estimate of 3.044 billion to 46.617 billion barrels.
The figures exclude estimates of unconventional resources like gas hydrates or coalbed methane, which are known to be abundant throughout the region.
There is currently no way to get natural gas resources to market, although the Trans Alaska Pipeline System has delivered oil to markets since 1977.
The Trump administration has proposed an 807-mile pipeline to supply natural gas to Alaskans and to a liquefaction plant at Cook Inlet to ship LNG to Asia.
Both South Korea and Taiwan are considering investments in the project if it proves commercially viable.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimated a mean of 96 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered conventional natural gas reserves across the entire North Slope of Alaska, far more than the 35 trillion cubic feet of known reserves. It is the first North Slope-wide resource assessment for natural gas. Past USGS assessments released in 2021, 2020, and 2017 covered only portions of the North Slope. Most known gas reserves lie within the Greater Prudhoe Bay Unit, which has produced oil since the 1970s. The new USGS assessment also estimates an average of 17 billion barrels of undiscovered oil on the North Slope.
North Slope natural gas (35 trillion cubic feet known and an estimated 96 trillion cubic feet prospective) is a stranded resource, located hundreds of miles from any market. For that reason, energy companies have not explored North Slope gas and have instead focused on oil, which has shipped through the Trans Alaska Pipeline System since 1977.
The Trump administration has proposed an 807-mile pipeline to supply natural gas to Alaskans and a liquefaction plant at Cook Inlet to ship LNG to Asia. South Korea is considering a $54 billion investment in the project, and Taiwan is also considering an investment if it finds the project commercially viable. Taiwan signed a letter of intent in March 2025 and intends to invest up to $4.4 billion; however, it still needs to negotiate the financial structure and ownership terms. If the project is feasible, Taiwan plans to buy 6 million metric tons of LNG annually.
While the mean estimate is 96 trillion cubic feet, the USGS estimates the natural gas range at 17.3 trillion to 276.6 trillion cubic feet. The estimates cover conventional oil and gas, both associated and non-associated gas, and exclude unconventional resources like gas hydrates or coalbed methane, which are known to be abundant throughout the region. The assessment includes large oil discoveries at Willow, the ConocoPhillips project on the western North Slope, and at Pikka, where operator Santos started production this year. The Pikka Phase 1 oil project currently produces about 70,000 barrels of oil per day, with a planned plateau rate of 80,000 barrels per day. It is expected to produce 99 million to 102 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2026. Alaska’s North Slope accounts for approximately 97% of Alaska’s oil production, although vast areas of the state remain unexplored.
According to the USGS, the new assessment includes three general geologic layers below the North Slope’s surface: the Brookian sequence, which holds rocks 140 million years old and younger, covering most of the Cretaceous era; the Beaufortian sequence, which holds rocks from about 140 million to 200 million years old, including the Jurassic period; and the Ellsemerian sequence, which has rocks as old as about 350 million years, and includes the Triassic period. The Brookian sequence is the one most relevant to current and future oil activities on the North Slope. It contains formations important to current North Slope oil production, including the Sagavanirktok formation, which supplies oil to Prudhoe Bay and other fields, and the Nanushuk and Torok formations, which underlie newer fields on the western side of the North Slope. While the USGS mean estimate for oil is 17 billion barrels, its estimated range for oil is 3.044 billion to 46.617 billion barrels.
“Alaska is one of America’s greatest energy frontiers, and President Trump is committed to unlocking its extraordinary potential,” Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said in a statement. “Alaska’s natural gas reserves can supply affordable, reliable, secure energy to Americans and our South Pacific allies for generations, and this assessment helps underscore the importance of understanding these vast resources beneath the North Slope and using world-class American science to turn that potential into opportunity. By advancing responsible energy development, we can strengthen American Energy Dominance, create jobs and deliver lasting economic benefits for Alaskans and the entire nation.” The assessment aligns with President Trump’s policies and executive order titled “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential.”
Conclusion
The USGS provided a new assessment of North Slope oil and gas resources as part of its update process. The mean estimate of 96 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered conventional natural gas reserves across the entire North Slope of Alaska far exceeds the 35 trillion cubic feet of known reserves, most of which lie within the Greater Prudhoe Bay Unit, which has produced oil since the 1970s. Both reserve estimates are stranded natural gas resources because there is no way to get the fuel to market. The Trump administration has proposed an 807-mile pipeline to supply natural gas to Alaskans and to a liquefaction plant at Cook Inlet to ship LNG to Asia. Both South Korea and Taiwan are considering investments in the project if it proves commercially viable. Despite limited exploration throughout the state, the resource numbers show Alaska’s staggering energy wealth potential.
For media inquiries, please contact press@ierdc.org.
