Enlarged part of Landsat image 1700-17422 showing an area near Needles, Calif., June 23, 1974. A, Standard product, photographically processed. B, Digitally enhanced product, processed by EDIPS. " During fiscal year 1979, the U.S. Geological Survey continued petroleum exploration activities on the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPRA), which was transferred from the Department of the Navy to the Department of the Interior on June 1, 1977, under the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976 (90 Stat. 305; 42 U.S.C. 6504(d)(3)). In accordance with the Act, the Survey was assigned the responsibility to explore and to evaluate the petroleum resources by drilling and geological and geophysical investigations and to build an information base to assist Congress in determining the best use of the land within the Reserve; to continue to develop and to produce natural gas from the South Barrow gas field or other fields as may be necessary and to supply gas at reasonable and equitable rates to the Native village of Barrow and other communities and installations of the Federal Government in the vicinity of Barrow; and to continue environmental rehabilitation of parts of the Reserve disturbed by previous exploration and construction activities. During fiscal year 1979, five exploration wells were completed, including one at which drilling had been suspended the previous spring. One well begun during fiscal year 1979 was temporarily suspended during the summer months. Three geophysical parties acquired 1,872 line miles of seismic data. In addition, the Geological Survey continued to operate and to maintain the South Barrow gas field which supplies natural gas to the village of Barrow and Federal installations in the vicinity of Barrow. An access road to the South Barrow gas field and a pipeline connecting the East Barrow gas field to the South Barrow gas field were constructed. A pressure-reducing station is being constructed at the East Barrow gas field to allow two previously drilled East Barrow wells to begin production during the winter of 1979-80. Husky Oil NPR Operations, Inc., continued as the principal contractor for all phases of the exploration program. BUDGET AND PERSONNEL During fiscal year 1979, $216.9 million was appropriated for drilling and related activities within NPRA. Of this amount, $194.1 million was allocated to continue the ongoing evaluation and assessment of the Reserve; $20.2 million, to operate the South Barrow gas field and to explore for and to develop additional gas reserves in the Barrow area; and $2.6 million, for the Environmental Rehabilitation Program which consists of the normal cleanup of current exploration drilling sites and rehabilitation of areas of the Reserve disturbed during previous petroleum exploration and construction activities. The Office of National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska was allocated 24 permanent full-time positions and 6 part-time positions for the fiscal year. Of the 30 permanent full-time positions, 3 have been staffed elsewhere in the Geological Survey to provide dedicated contract support to the program and to upgrade NPRA petroleum resource data as new information is acquired from the ongoing exploration program. The remaining 27 positions comprise the Operations, Exploration Strategy, and Liaison elements of the Office. STATUS OF EXPLORATION DRILLING South Meade Test Well No. 1, located 45 miles south of Barrow, spudded in February 1978 and drilled to a depth of 8,516 feet before spring breakup conditions required suspension of drilling. In December 1978, the well was reentered and completed to the "argillite" basement at 9,945 feet. The well was drilled to test for possible oil and gas accumulation in truncated onlap strata on the southern flank of the Barrow Arch. Minor gas shows were observed from many zones, but none was judged to be commercially significant. The well was plugged and abandoned in January 1979. Inigok Test Well No. 1, located 60 miles south of Lonely, began drilling in June 1978 and continued drilling throughout the summer because an all-season drilling pad, roads, and airstrip had been constructed. The well was drilled to test a deeply buried east-trending faulted anticlinal feature separating the Umiat and Ikpikpuk Basins. Drilling was routine to 17,570 feet when native sulfur and high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide gas were encountered. After the sulfur and the gas were controlled, drilling continued. Only minor gas shows were noted in several zones, but no good reservoirs were found. Although "argillite" was not encountered due to early termination of drilling caused by excessive borehole drift, the well reached a depth of 20,102 feet, a new record for an Alaskan well. The well was plugged and abandoned in May 1979. Tunalik Test Well No. 1, located 22 miles southeast of Icy Cape, was planned as a second deep test for fiscal year 1978, but drilling did not begin until November 1978 because the drilling rig could not be moved from the Kugrua well site before spring breakup. Numerous minor gas shows were encountered at both shallow and moderate depths in thin sandstones which had low porosity. High-pressure gas, which was encountered at about 12,550 and 14,725 feet, created severe drilling problems. Attempts to test the upper unit before drilling ahead failed. Further testing will be delayed until drilling has been completed. Target depth of the well is 21,000 feet; however, as of the end of September 1979, drilling was below 17.000 feet. Ikpikpuk Test Well No. 1, located 42 miles southwest of Lonely, spudded in November 1978 on a drilling pad constructed during the previous winter. The well was drilled to test for possible oil and gas accumulations on the northern wedge of the Ikpikpuk Basin. The well was programmed to drill to "argillite" at 15,200 feet. Although drilling progressed approximately on schedule, the well did not reach target depth before spring breakup. The well was suspended at 14,210 feet in April 1979. When suspended, the well had penetrated no significant reservoir zones or oil shows. The borehole was prepared for reentry in fiscal year 1980. Peard Test Well No. 1, located 70 miles southeast of Barrow, was drilled to test for possible oil and gas accumulations along the northern flank of the Meade Basin. Minor gas shows were noted in several zones, but no attractive reservoirs were found. The well spudded in January 1979 and was plugged and abandoned in April 1979. East Simpson Test Well No. 1, located 55 miles southeast of Barrow, was a test of possible stratigraphic traps. Shows of oil and gas and residual oil were noted in several zones, but no significant reservoirs were found. Potential reservoir zones had low to moderate porosity and permeability. Structural and stratigraphic relations at the well indicate that the location is structurally too low in the trap, and a followup well is planned for fiscal year 1980 updip from the East Simpson Test Well No. 1 location to test for oil structurally higher in the trap. The well spudded in February 1979 and was plugged and abandoned in April 1979. J. W. Dalton Test Well No. 1, located 3 miles east of Lonely, was drilled to test for oil or gas accumulations on the southern flank of the Barrow-Prudhoe high. Significant oil shows had been encountered in a nearby well located farther down the structure. At the Dalton location, significant amounts of heavy residual oil or tar were encountered, and tests of several zones recovered minor amounts of gas and heavy asphaltic oil. The occurrence of heavy oil and salt water may indicate that the well penetrated a reservoir just below the oil-water contact. If gas or oil is present in the reservoir, it may lie offshore. The well spudded in May 1978 and was drilled to "argillite" basement at 9,367 feet. It was plugged and abandoned in August 1979. Lisburne Test Well No. 1, located 110 miles southwest of Umiat, was drilled in the southern part of the Reserve along the northern front of the Brooks Range to test a large deeply buried anticline identified from seismic data. This was the first exploration well in the Disturbed Belt of the Southern Foothills of NPRA. Drilling began in June 1979 but was temporarily suspended at a depth of 6,773 feet on August 15, 1979, due to a labor dispute at the rig. The drilling rig, support camp, and airstrip were being maintained with minimum staff pending resolution of the dispute. Target depth of the well is 15,000 feet. Seabee Test Well No. 1, located 1 mile northwest of Umiat, was drilled in the southern part of the Umiat oil field to test deeper zones not previously tested in this area. Good oil and gas shows were noted in the Umiat Oil Zone, but no testing was performed because of the largediameter borehole and of earlier tests made in shallow wells. Drilling was temporarily suspended at a depth of 6,651 feet on August 15, 1979, due to a labor dispute at the rig. The drilling rig, support camp, and airstrip were being maintained with minimum staff pending resolution of the dispute. Target depth is 15,000 feet. Geophysical studies on NPRA continued during fiscal year 1979 with the acquisition, processing, and interpretation of 1,872 line miles of reconnaissance and detailed seismic surveys in various parts of the Reserve using three field geophysical crews, two in the Southern Foothills area and one in the northern coastal area. Approximately 500 miles of previously acquired seismic data were processed for special stratigraphic evaluation. To date, 11,407 line miles of seismic data have been collected and processed. In addition, various geologic studies are underway by the Geological Survey and by contractors to support oil exploration activities, which include structural and stratigraphic studies, geochemical investigations, and hydrologic and engineering studies. The petroleum exploration activities on NPRA are coordinated with two related studies mandated by Public Law 94-258. One study, due January 1, 1980, relates to "the best overall procedure to be used in the development, production, transportation, and distribution of the petroleum resources in the reserve." This study is referred to as the Presidential Study or the 105(b) Study. It consists of an economic analysis by the Office of Minerals Policy and Research Analysis in the Department of the Interior and an environmental analysis by the Geological Survey. The second study, conducted by the Bureau of Land Management, is "to determine the values of, and best uses for, the lands contained in the reserve, taking into consideration (A) the natives who live or depend upon such lands, (B) the scenic, historical, recreational, fish and wildlife, and wilderness values, (C) mineral potential, and (D) other values of such lands." This study, referred to as the 105(c) Study, was compiled by the Bureau of Land Management and was submitted to Congress in April 1979. However, because land use designations and petroleum development decisions are so closely related, the Department of the Interior postponed making recommendations until submission of the Presidential Study on approaches for petroleum development. Table 1 lists wells drilled by the Navy between 1975 and 1977, wells drilled in fiscal years 1978 and 1979, exploration wells planned for fiscal year 1980 by the Geological Survey, and development wells drilled in the Barrow gas fields in 1977 and 1978. Table 1.-Summary of exploration drilling by the Department of the Navy and the U.S. Geological Survey Remarks Dry, plugged and abandoned. Do. Poor oil shows; plugged and abandoned. Do. Do. Dry; plugged and abandoned. Oil and gas shows; plugged and abandoned. Poor oil and gas shows; plugged and abandoned. Do. Poor gas shows; plugged and abandoned. Dry; plugged and abandoned. Encountered hydrogen sulfide and sulfur at 17,570 feet; poor gas shows; plugged and abandoned Drilling at 18,156 feet as of 9-30-79. Poor gas shows; plugged and abandoned. Suspended at 14,210 feet; to be reentered and completed early in fiscal year 1980. Oil and gas shows; plugged and abandoned. Oil and gas shows; some heavy oil recovered during testing; plugged and abandoned. Suspended at 6,773 feet on 8-15-79, due to labor dispute. Suspended at 6,551 feet on 8-15-79 due to labor |