Reply #5: The "oil-rich region" may not be oil-rich at all

[bhikkhu]

...as there was only one test hole drilled, about 40 years ago, and the results were never published. There has been far more political brouhaha over ANWAR, and far more political hay made of it, than there ever was oil industry interest over the years.

So if its back in the news, it will probably become a big talking point again, and all the familiar misinformation trotted out. Estimates of the oil there all go back to it being potentially similar to Prudhoe Bay, rather that actual exploration in ANWAR. Many geologists think that Prudhoe Bay was an anomaly, and ANWAR may well be dry, but we don't know by a long-shot.

If its like Prudhoe Bay, they estimate a peak flow rate of 1mbpd out of it, optimistically, which would be about 5% of US daily consumption. A significant drop in the bucket, but not much more than that.