Alaska Oil and Gas Exploration, Development, and Permitting Project

• Main Authors: McMahon, Richard, Crandall, Robert, Dense, Chas, Weems, Sean
• Other Authors: United States
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: State of Alaska (United States) 2003
• Subjects: Natural Gas; 02 Petroleum; Information Systems; License Applications; Production; Petroleum; Planning; Exploration; Internet; 03 Natural Gas; Distribution; Availability; north slope; Alaska
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.2172/823303; https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc782258/

The objective of this project is to eliminate three closely inter-related barriers to oil production in Alaska through the use of a geographic information system (GIS) and other information technology strategies. These barriers involve identification of oil development potential from existing wells, planning projects to efficiently avoid conflicts with other interests, and gaining state approvals for exploration and development projects. Each barrier is the result of either current labor-intensive methods or poorly accessible information. This project brings together three parts of the oil exploration, development, and permitting process to form the foundation for a more fully integrated information technology infrastructure for the State of Alaska. This web-based system will enable the public and other review participants to track permit status, submit and view comments, and obtain important project information online. By automating several functions of the current manual process, permit applications will be completed more quickly and accurately, and agencies will be able to complete reviews with fewer delays. The application will include an on-line diagnostic Coastal Project Questionnaire to determine the suite of permits required for a specific project. The application will also automatically create distribution lists based on the location and type of project, populate document templates for project review start-ups, public notices and findings, allow submission of e-comments, and post project status information on the Internet. Alaska has nearly one-quarter of the nation's supply of crude oil, at least five billion barrels of proven reserves. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists report that the 1995 National Assessment identified the North Slope as having 7.4 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil and over 63 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. From these reserves, Alaska produces roughly one-fifth of the nation's daily crude oil production, or approximately one million barrels per day from over 1,800 active wells. Currently, State of Alaska agencies use multiple, independent systems to identify, authenticate, and authorize customers for online transactions. Consumers of online state services may be required to manage multiple online ''profiles,'' and during a permit review process valuable time may be lost verifying identity or reconciling differences in applicant information when agency records disagree. The state's Information Technology Group is developing a shared applicant profile system that will provide an additional opportunity to demonstrate data sharing between agencies.