Bill Barron, director of the Department of Natural Resources' Division of Oil and Gas, addressed that questions from a permitting perspective at a meeting of the House Resources Committee on Nov. 1.
DNR has established a multidepartmental shale task force to look specifically at requirements for shale development. The task force includes DNR, the Department of Environmental Conservation, the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, the Department of Fish and Game, the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities and the governor's office.
Barron said successful exploration of shale resources could lead to immediate development. He said indications are that the targeted formations are likely to have shale oil, but drilling will be necessary to confirm that they can be developed. Some shale plays in the Lower 48, such as the Marcellus and Bakken, have been very successful, he told the committee, but others have not.
Drilling shale wells is no different than drilling conventional oil wells, Barron said, and the state can manage shale development under current statutes and regulations.
But, he cautioned, the pace and magnitude of permitting and development for North Slope shale oil could be significant, with a total well count comparable to wells already in place on the North Slope -- although being drilled over 10 years, instead of the 30 it took for the North Slope wells.
Hydraulic fracturing has been a big issue in Lower 48 shale development.
Barron said about 25 percent of Alaska wells -- both on the North Slope and in Cook Inlet -- are fractured, so the process isn't new to the state, or unique to shale plays. A large number of horizontal, multistage, hydraulic fractured wells are required to maintain production and the economic feasibility of shale plays.
Frac fluids are about 98 percent water and sand; there would be no surface disposal of water in Alaska, Barron said.
Important warning about e-mails purporting to be from the adn.com staff.