Alaska's North Slope has generated sustained onshore production for four decades. Today, exploration interest is expanding into the Arctic’s western frontier, both onshore and offshore, where the Beaufort and Chukchi seas hold an estimated Mean UTRR of 45.11 billion barrels of oil, according to the BOEM 2026 National Assessment (BOEM, 2026 ). Just this month, the USGS has further assessed the onshore North Slope to hold an estimated Mean UTRR of 17.10 billion barrels of oil (Craddock et al., 2026).
Recent North Slope leasing has picked up activity, with the last November sale garnering $17.5 million in bonus bids from major players (Alaska Department of Natural Resources, 2025). The 11th cycle of the US National OCS Program is planning for lease sales likely beginning in 2027 and through 2030 for both the Beaufort and Chukchi, positioning the region for a renewed exploration cycle (Figure 1[JC1.1]) (BOEM).
On May 18, 2026, Santos and Repsol announced first oil at Pikka on Alaska's North Slope, with production reaching 23,000 barrels per day by August 2026 and plateau production of 80,000 BOPD targeted for Q3 2026 (Santos Limited, 2026). The field validates the economic case for shallow-marine plays.
Offshore in NPRA, ConocoPhillips' Willow discovery advances toward development approval, scheduled for first oil in early 2029. Project capital is estimated at $8.5 to $9 billion with approximately 50% complete as of late 2025 (ConocoPhillips, 2026). Together, Pikka and Willow will deliver more than 260,000 barrels per day at plateau, boosting total Alaska production by more than 40% over the next decade.
Two combined play concepts define the Alaska Arctic exploration landscape: (1) Brookian clinoforms (Cretaceous-Tertiary), and (2) Ellesmerian-Beaufortian rifts and clinoforms (Permian-Lower Cretaceous), both of which contain proven petroleum systems and commercial potential: (1) Brookian clinoforms (Cretaceous-Tertiary): Topset sands represent the primary prospective play, now proven productive with Pikka producing and Willow in development.
Net pay 40–225 ft; oil gravity 30–44° API; excellent porosity preservation (>30%) at shallow burial (Alaska Department of Natural Resources, 2017; Decker, 2018). Regional seismic data demonstrates continuous fairways extending from proven onshore discoveries (Pikka, Willow, Tulimaniq, and Kodiak/West Sak fields) westward into the offshore Chukchi domain (Figure 2). (2) Ellesmerian-Beaufortian rifts (Permian-Lower Cretaceous): Permian-Jurassic sandstone pinch-outs analogous to the Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk fields, which extends as far as the Chukchi Sea with the Burger field (Chevron, 1989-1990) confirming a natural gas accumulation and multiple oil shows.
The historical Chukchi exploration wells (Burger, Klondike, Crackerjack, Diamond, and Popcorn, drilled 1989-1991) discovered both oil and gas, validating that petroleum systems are active and functioning across the western frontier (Figure 3). Offshore and in western NPRA, where seismic integration is sparse and well control is minimal, accurate fairway definition becomes challenging—a gap that basin-scale seismic data integration can help address.
In an effort to assist operators in evaluating upcoming open acreage opportunities both onshore and offshore, TGS has embarked on a large scale 2D reprocessing effort combining publicly available 2D with TGS’ legacy 2D Multiclient Library data. Initial products will be created unifying over 140,000 km of various vintages by amplitude/phase/frequency matching (TGS Alaska 2D Mega Project) and for denser 2D coverage TGS will produce a pseudo-3D volume or 2Dcubed product (TGS Alaska 2Dcubed). Basin-scale interpretation on the forthcoming 2Dcubed volumes will enable identification of play fairways, allowing operators a head start on spotting prospective acreage prior to upcoming lease rounds for the onshore North Slope and offshore Beaufort and Chukchi Sea offerings.
Visit the TGS seismic data library or contact us to schedule a data showing.