MADRID: Spanish energy giant Repsol announced a large find in Alaska that it says holds approximately 1.2 billion barrels of oil.
The discovery, made with its US partner Armstrong Energy, is Repsol’s biggest since a gas find in Venezuela in 2009, a spokesman said.
The discovery is “the largest US onshore conventional hydrocarbons discovery in 30 years”, Repsol said in a statement.
The petroleum found near the village of Nuiqsut in Alaska’s north “could amount to approximately 1.2 billion barrels” of oil, it added.
Repsol has been actively exploring Alaska since 2008. The find was made in two wells in a region where Repsol has made other discoveries with Armstrong since 2011.
The Spanish firm holds a 25 per cent interest in the discovery, with Armstrong holding the rest.
“The successive campaigns in the area have added significant new potential to what was previously viewed as a mature basin,” Repsol said.
The company expects to begin production in the area in 2021, with a potential rate of around 120,000 barrels of oil per day. — AFP
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