Recent Sphagnum expansion into the tundra on the North Slope of Alaska

This paper presents a historical analysis of plans proposed by the private sector to develop and commercialize the natural gas resources found on the North Slope of Alaska. It evaluates current proposals to commercialize North Slope gas and discusses the potential economic benefits to be derived from gas commercialization. First, we describe the natural gas resources of the North Slope. Second, a resource-allocation optimization model is presented to evaluate quantitatively the options available for gas utilization. The model is applied to the North Slope to screen the various gas utilization alternatives and to recommend the economically feasible options. The optimal decision is a major gas (LNG) sale to the Pacific Rim countries. The LNG project involves conditioning natural gas on the North Slope and transporting the gas by pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to a tidewater port where it can be liquefied and shipped by tankers to the Pacific Rim markets. Introduction The North Slope of Alaska is endowed with vast amounts of natural gas resources. Estimates of proven natural gas reserves remaining on the North Slope are in the range of 30 - 39 trillion standard cubic feet (TCF)(ADNR, 1996; AOGCC, 1995; USGS, 1995). Potential gas reserves of 14.6 TCF are estimated in the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska (NPRA) alone, with some additional 31.3 TCF of gas that could be recovered from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The definitions of reserves and resources are given in the Appendix. Throughout the 1970s, a number of proposals and studies were made to bring the North Slope natural gas to market. In the early 1950s, the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System which had been supported by the Carter Administration floundered due to lack of private or public financing. For the past ten years gas production on the North Slope has risen from 2.5 billion to over 7.5 billion cubic feet per day [AOGCC, 1995]. Multibillion dollar gas handling facilities have been built by the operating companies to process the huge volumes of gas produced from the North Slope fields. At present the North Slope natural gas has no market and it is being processed primarily for reinjection into the formation to maintain reservoir pressure. A small fraction of the gas is converted into natural gas liquids (NGLs) and blended with the crude oil for shipment via TAPS (Trans-Alaska Pipeline System). The North slope gas is also used to manufacture miscible injection fluids for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operations. In this paper we describe the natural gas resources of the North Slope of Alaska. Past and current proposals to develop and commercialize the gas resources are analyzed in order to recommend the optimum resource development plan. The gas utilization analysis is conducted using a constrained, resource-allocation optimization model developed by Lannom et al (1996). The paper presents the economic benefits to be derived from various gas utilization options. The results of this study should serve as guidelines for making decisions concerning the development of Alaska North Slope natural gas. Overview of North Slope Hydrocarbon Resources The North Slope is by far the dominant oil and gas producing region in Alaska. This region covers approximately 65,000 square miles and includes the National Petroleum Reserve—Alaska (NPRA) and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). P. 623

Summary Since the OPEC oil embargo of 1973, U.S. oil companies have been placing increasing emphasis on exploring for and producing oil located within the U.S. Alaska's North Slope has received a great amount of attention recently as there exists a known transportation system (the Trans Alaska pipeline) and because geological information indicates the potential for pipeline) and because geological information indicates the potential for large producing reservoirs. Drilling on Alaska's Arctic North Slope poses a number of interesting operational problems, including transporting and supporting drilling rigs to their respective locations. Sohio Alaska Petroleum Co. has extensive experience in transporting and supporting drilling figs in development operations (Prudhoe Bay) and exploration locations both on- and offshore Alaska's Noah Slope. This paper addresses how arctic drilling figs are transported to development locations within the Prudhoe Bay Unit and to remote on- and offshore locations. Principal topics deal with the current methods by which rigs are moved and how daily drilling operations are supported. In addition, this paper discusses transportation systems that may be required when drilling operations extend beyond the Barrier Islands of Alaska's North Slope. Introduction Drilling operations on Alaska's North Slope have come a long way since the discovery of oil at Prudhoe Bay in 1968. During the early days of drilling at Prudhoe, rigs were transported to the Slope by Hercules C-130 aircraft, barges up the west coast of Alaska, or cat trains up the 375-mile [603-km] winter-haul road out of Fairbanks. In 1975, the all-weather Trans Alaska pipeline haul road to Prudhoe Bay was completed, which provided an pipeline haul road to Prudhoe Bay was completed, which provided an alternative method to bring rigs to the slope. This paper explains how drilling figs are transported to drilling locations on Alaska's North Slope. The figs and support equipment now being used in the development of Prudhoe Bay have day rates that exceed $50,000. To minimize the time it takes in the Prudhoe Bay field to move a fig from one well to the next requires the use of specially designed fig-transportation systems. Two such systems are described, one with rollers on skids and another with rubber-tire wheels coupled to a jacking system. Exploration drilling up to 60 miles [97 km] from Prudhoe Bay is being conducted. This work involves moving Prudhoe Bay development rigs to both on- and offshore locations. This paper discusses moving rigs to exploration locations by Hercules aircraft, rolligons, trucks over ice roads, and barges-the methods being used by most operators drilling on the North Slope. Arctic North Slope Environment The North Slope of Alaska is bordered to the north by the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas and to the south by the Brooks Mountain Range (Fig. 1). The entire 90,000 sq miles [233 099 km 2] of land making up the North Slope lies wholly above the Arctic Circle. Prudhoe Bay, the largest oil field in North America, is located within this region and occupies about 0.5% of the overall area. Situated on the edge of the Beaufort Sea, Prudhoe Bay is approximately 250 miles [402 km] north of the Arctic Circle and 1,300 miles [2092 km] south of the North Pole. JPT p. 2308

The aims of this study are to investigate historical PAH deposition through the analysis of PAHs in bulk peat cores and reveal the different distribution of PAHs in Sphagnum and Ledum peat from peat cores. Peat cores from Jingjiang peatland are collected, and Sphagnum peat samples are manually separated from bulk peat. The remaining bulk peat samples are defined as “Ledum peat.” 137Cs is used to date the peat cores. PAH contents as well as physicochemical property of Sphagnum and Ledum peat are determined. The PAH deposition rates measured in the bulk peat cores range from 3.5 to 12.8 ng cm−2 year−1, which are different in both absolute values and trends from those of nearby sediment cores. Concentrations of PAHs in Sphagnum and Ledum at the surface are similar, indicating the accumulation ability by adsorption and uptake between two species of plants are similar. However, at depths of 5–30 cm, concentrations of PAHs in Sphagnum peat are higher than those in Ledum peat, which can be attributed to their different PAH accumulation abilities or to different PAH degradation rates. An increase in PAHs/TOC ratios with depth in Sphagnum peat indicates that PAHs are resistant to degradation in Sphagnum peat. While a significant positive correlation between C/N and PAHs in Ledum peat suggests that PAHs may be degraded during peat decomposition in Ledum peat. This study finds a difference in PAH concentrations between Sphagnum and Ledum peat. The results suggest that peat quality rather than microbials results in a difference in both PAH accumulation and degradation in peat cores.

This article, written by Technology Editor Dennis Denney, contains highlights of paper SPE 97121, "Predicting Openhole Horizontal Completion Success on the North Slope of Alaska," by M.D. Erwin, SPE, ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc., and D.O. Ogbe, SPE, U. of Alaska, Fairbanks, prepared for the 2005 SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Dallas, 9–12 October. Wells in the Colville River (Alpine) field, on the North Slope of Alaska, were completed with horizontal open holes. This paper describes why this completion technique was selected and identifies key parameters for successful application in the field. The optimal completion technique for a candidate well is determined by the reservoir properties, geological setting, rock mechanics, development plan, and completion design. Guidelines are provided for future application of horizontal openhole completions on the North Slope of Alaska and elsewhere. Introduction From the early 1970s through the 1990s, engineers drilled and completed wells on the North Slope of Alaska with conventional cemented and perforated liners. The wells drilled in Prudhoe Bay, Kuparuk, Lisburne, and other fields are protected with casing and cement to maintain wellbore stability, ensure reservoir access, restrict solids movement, and provide conformance control for various reservoir fluids. In 2000, the Colville River field, better known as the Alpine field, was developed without conventional well-bore isolation or protection. This paper examined advantages, limitations, and unique requirements for applying openhole completions. Major issues included fluid isolation and coning, damage remediation, fluid mobility, conformance control, sand control, and surveillance. Failure to address these issues properly could result in surface-facility and processing problems from uncontrolled water, gas, and sand production. Alpine Field As shown in Fig. 1, the field is approximately 60 miles west of the Prudhoe Bay field on the North Slope of Alaska. It contains 429 million STB of recoverable reserves out of approximately 1 billion bbl of oil in place. Production is from the Alpine oil zone. The field was discovered in 1994, with field construction of the process facilities and pipelines in the winter of 1999. Development drilling followed in May 1999, with first oil delivered in November 2000. Reservoir Description. The Alpine reservoir is Upper Jurassic sandstone, approximately 10 miles east/west and 6 miles north/south. The maximum thickness of the reservoir is 100 ft, with an average thickness of 50 ft. Reservoir dip is 2° from the northeast tip of the structure to the downdip southwest corner. Top of the structure is approximately 6,600 ft true vertical depth subsea (TVDSS), falling to 7,600 ft TVDSS in the southwest. The reservoir is undersaturated, and the aquifer has not been delineated or penetrated. Original average reservoir pressure was 3,200 psig, and average reservoir temperature is 160°F. The reservoir oil is 40°API gravity and has a viscosity at reservoir conditions of approximately 0.45 cp. The bubblepoint of the fluid is 2,450 psig.

Technology improvements continue to advance the capabilities of coiled tubing directional drilling (CTDD). Alaska's North Slope, with its prevailing dedication to expanding the technological envelope, has served as a testing ground where advanced CTDD techniques mature into economically viable systems. Even after over 500 successful CTDD sidetracks on the North Slope, impetus remains to further improve this economical drilling technique. Through a close working relationship between field operator and the service company, significant research and development has led to the introduction of novel tools and services to overcome the intrinsic hurdles of conventional CTDD. Through a process of miniaturization and innovation, small-diameter systems have been developed for CTDD. The most recent introduction of tools and services includes rib steering technologies, bidirectional wireless mud pulse telemetry, gyro-based MWD services, and ultra-slim, high-resolution, real-time resistivity. Straighter, longer horizontal laterals, improved steering, and real-time resistivity in openhole sizes as small as 2 3/4-in. ID has been achieved, consequently improving precision in geosteering within the narrowest of payzone. This paper highlights two case histories describing CTDD technology, real-time formation evaluation, and multilateral drilling processes used to access previously unreachable oil-bearing rock on Alaska's North Slope. While proven in this region, CTDD advances are applicable in other mature fields for the economical extraction of additional reserves.

Pe'eri, S.; Madore, B.; Nyberg, J.; Snyder, L.; Parrish, C., and Smith, S., 2016. Identifying bathymetric differences over Alaska's North Slope using a satellite-derived bathymetry multi-temporal approach. In: Brock, J.C.; Gesch, D.B.; Parrish, C.E.; Rogers, J.N., and Wright, C.W. (eds.), Advances in Topobathymetric Mapping, Models, and Applications. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue, No. 76, pp. 56–63. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Many nautical charts of Alaska's North Slope are based on chart data that have not been updated since the early 1950s. Additionally, these charts may have been compiled using inadequate data and contain unsurveyed areas. However, with more days per year of diminished Arctic sea-ice coverage, including along the North Slope, marine transportation in this region has increased during the past decade, thus increasing the need for updated nautical charts. Due to limited resources available for U.S. Arctic surveying, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric ...

Federal and state permits for North Slope oil development stipulate that sites used for exploration and production operations must eventually be returned to a condition acceptable to the regulating agencies and the landowner. In cooperation with the University of Alaska Fairbanks and regulatory agencies, BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. (BPXA) has been researching and testing rehabilitation measures for abandoned exploration facilities. Results from these studies are identifying effective ways to assure that disturbed sites will provide usable wildlife habitat after field abandonment. Introduction The North Slope of Alaska is a vast area covering more than 88,000 square miles (37 million acres). Nearly the entire region is classed as wetlands. The area is underlain by continuous permafrost extending to depths of 2,000 feet or more beneath the tundra surface. The Arctic coastal plain remains frozen for more than nine months of the year. During the short summer, which lasts from mid-June through mid-August, a shallow active layer of surface soil thaws to a depth of 1 to 3 feet. This arctic coastal plain is dominated by thousands of thaw lakes and tundra ponds. The region is home to 15 regularly occurring species of terrestrial mammals, six species of marine mammals and more than 250 species of birds. Bird and mammal density is generally low, although regionally the area may support numbers in the millions. Wildlife frequently seen in the North Slope oil fields include caribou, grizzly bears, foxes, and birds. The presence of permafrost dictates that oil and gas production facilities be placed on gravel pads to protect the underlying frozen soil and to provide a stable surface for equipment and buildings. Approximately five feet of gravel is placed on the tundra for road and pad construction on the North Slope. Oil production from the Prudhoe Bay field began in 1977 with completion of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline (TAPS). other North Slope fields have come on line since then - Kuparuk, Endicott, Milne Point, Lisburne, Niakuk, Pt. McIntyre - and currently provide approximately 1.6 million barrels of crude per day, approximately 25 percent of U.S. domestic crude production. This contribution to U.S. energy needs has been achieved with extremely low impact to Alaska's wetlands. Less than 20,000 acres of wetlands have been affected by oil and gas development on Alaska's North Slope, including oil field production facilities and infrastructure, airport support facilities, exploration drill pads, gas production fields, and those portions of TAPS and the Prudhoe Bay Haul Road north of the Brooks Range. In a state with more than 173 million acres of wetlands, that equates to less than 0.1 percent. Less than 0.05 percent of all North 1Slope wetlands have been affected by oil and gas development. BPXA has developed many ways to avoid important habitats and minimize the area required for new facilities and reduce impact to tundra wetlands on the North Slope. Winter construction techniques utilize ice roads and ice pads which melt in the spring, leaving little trace of exploration activities on the tundra. Advances in directional drilling, elimination of surface reserve pits for drilling waste disposal and continued reduction in well pad size (more than 70 percent in the last two decades) help minimize the land needed for operations. New operating practices have also been developed to minimize the generation of waste and improve waste handling. BPXA is also working cooperatively with government to explore options for eventual rehabilitation of oil field facilities. Such measures have not yet been applied to production facilities because North Slope oil fields are still operational, and because gravel roads and pads continue to be used. However, at some point in the future, production facilities will be removed, and rehabilitation will be required. Lands currently used for oil and gas development on the North Slope are leased, primarily from the State of Alaska. P. 51

On March 31, 1999 Atlantic Richfield (ARCO) agreed to be acquired by British Petroleum (BP) for $27 billion. The merger raised a number of antitrust concerns, including whether the merged company would raise the price of crude oil produced on the Alaskan North Slope (ANS). The combined output of the firms exceeded 70% of total production of ANS crude oil, suggesting that if ANS crude oil were a distinct market the merged firm would possess power over price. We estimate a model of demand for ANS crude oil based on a simple theoretic model of pricing arbitrage to identify the relevant market in which ANS crude oil trades. The dramatic decline in production of ANS crude oil during the 1990s, as the North Slope passed its peak production, provides an excellent natural experiment to assess the effects on prices of declining output. We find no evidence that ANS is a distinct market and argue it is highly unlikely the merged company could have raised the price of ANS.

roughly the size of Minnesota, most of which is wetland habitat underlain by permafrost and part of which contains the largest operating oil fields in the United States. The nearshore and offshore waters of the Chukchi and Beaufort seas add another 295 000 km 2 (114 000 mi 2 ) and hold what may be the largest undeveloped oil reserves remaining in the United States. The region is home to an abundant and diverse array of fish, wildlife, and plants, resources that sup port the vibrant subsistence culture of about 6000 Inupiat Eskimos. The caribou herds that summer on the North Slope are an important food resource for Inupiat communities, as are some native plants, bowhead whales, beluga whales, four species of ice seals, and walruses living in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas. Further, Alaska’s North Slope is at the forefront of global climate change, with an increase in mean annual temperature of about 1˚C per decade in Barrow, Alaska (ACRC, 2008). Federal, state, and local agencies manage the biotic and abiotic resources of the North Slope to maintain fish and wildlife populations and their habitats while also allowing energy development. The laws and regulations applied by government agencies managing the North Slope are rigorous, complex, and often controversial. Appropriate management requires information that can be gained only through applied research. We provide a brief history of applied research on the North Slope, introduce the North Slope Science Initiative (NSSI) as an organization tasked with improving the coordination of science across the region, and posit applied science priorities that are essential for successful and informed management.

The purpose of this study is to develop a mathematical optimization model to provide a critical evaluation of the options available for utilization of Alaska North Slope natural gas. The optimization model is formulated subject to environmental factors of the North Slope, transportation in the arctic, economic considerations and other regulatory constraints. This study identifies natural gas reserves available on the North Slope of Alaska; identifies natural gas markets and several utilization options; and defines production, distribution, and other economic constraints. The options for the North Slope natural gas examined are: enhanced oil recovery (BOR); conversion of natural gas to gasoline, methanol, TAPS compatible liquids, and liquefied natural gas (LNG); transportation of natural gas or its byproducts by pipeline, rail and sea; and other in-state utilization options such as use in utility or industry. A sensitivity analysis is conducted to examine the impact of the constraints on the objective function. Introduction and Background The North Slope of Alaska contains 34 - 39 trillion standard cubic feet of natural gas reserves. An additional 14.6 TCF of gas are estimated to be in the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska (NPRA) with some 31.3 TCF of natural gas reserves estimated in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, ANWR (Sharma, et al., 1988). Prior to the completion of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) in 1977, efforts had begun to get Alaska North Slope gas to market. In 1974, the Alaskan Arctic Gas Pipeline Company proposed a 48-inch gas line that would carry up to 4.5 billion standard cubic feet per day (bcfd) across the Arctic Coastal Plain to the Alaska-Canada border where it would join Canadian gas lines carrying the gas to the Lower 48 states. The initial cost estimates for this project ranged from $6.2 to $9.5 billion. Also in 1974, the El Paso Alaska Company proposed the $7.0 billion Trans Alaska Gas Pipeline that would carry gas from Prudhoe Bay field to a tidewater port by a 42-inch pipeline where it would be liquefied and shipped in tankers to the West Coast of the United States (House of Representatives, 1977). In 1976, the Northwest Pipeline Corporation filed an application with the Federal Power Commission (FPC) to build a 42-inch gas pipeline in the existing Alaska Highway corridor. The 1977 Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Act approved this project (The Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System, ANGTS) that would have brought Prudhoe Bay natural gas across Canada to the Central United States. Due to lack of private financing and reluctance of both state and federal governments to finance the project, the Alaskan portion of the proposed line was never built. In 1982, Governor Hammond appointed a committee to explore options for marketing Alaska North Slope gas. The committee's recommendation was to build the $21.5 billion Trans Alaska Gas System (TAGS) which would move Prudhoe Bay gas to a tidewater port through a 36-inch pipeline, liquefy it, and deliver it to Pacific markets (Hickel and Egan, 1983). In June 1987 the State of Alaska, the University of Alaska Fairbanks Petroleum Development Laboratory, and the United States Department of Energy—Office of Fossil Energy sponsored the Alaskan Gas Utilization Workshop. Although the workshop identified several options for utilization of North Slope gas, there was no quantitative evaluation of the proposed utilization options (Proceedings of the Alaskan Gas Utilization Workshop, 1987). In this paper a quantitative analysis of the utilization options for North Slope natural gas is presented. P. 521

The technically recoverable conventional natural gas resources in the developed and known undeveloped fields on the Alaska North Slope (ANS) total about 37 trillion cubic feet (Tcf). No significant commercial use has yet been made of this large natural gas resource because the economics have not yet been favorable to support development of a gas transportation system. Two gas utilization options were evaluated, a gas-to-liquids (GTL) conversion option and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) option that involves a gas pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez Alaska. Both options are profitable and can provide a 10% rate of return on investment for the gas project developers using the Energy Information Administration (EIA) 1995 Reference Oil Price forecast, which assumes real growth in oil prices. The two fields evaluated for major gas sales to the gas projects, Prudhoe Bay and Point Thomson, receive a better return than they do without major gas sales. Of the two options, development of a 300 thousand barrel per day (MBPD) GTL facility for conversion of gas to a liquid hydrocarbon product, compatible with North Slope crude oil and transportable in the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS), provides a significant economic advantage over the LNG option. The GTL option would provide sufficient hydrocarbon liquids to keep TAPS operational for an additional 10 to 15 years beyond its potential shut down point in about 2015 as conventional North Slope oil production dwindles with depletion and pipeline operating costs per barrel transported soar. Introduction The technically recoverable conventional natural gas resources in the developed and known undeveloped oil and gas fields on the Alaska North Slope (ANS) total about 37 Tcf. No significant commercial use has yet been made of this large natural gas resource because there are no facilities in place to transport this gas to current markets, which are outside of the North Slope. To date the economics have not been favorable to support development of a gas transportation system. In addition to the known gas resources, the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) most recently published estimate of technically recoverable conventional natural gas resources in undiscovered fields in Northern Alaska has a mean value of 64 Tcf. Figure 1 is a map showing the known oil and gas accumulations and selected dry holes and suspended wells on the North Slope. Although discoveries of oil and gas have been made across Northern Alaska, the only development that has occurred is around the Prudhoe Bay field. This also points to the significance of the infrastructure developed because of the super giant Prudhoe Bay field It is unlikely that any of the other North Slope fields would have been developed without facility cost-sharing made possible by the development of the Prudhoe Bay infrastructure, including TAPS. About 25 Tcf of the 37 Tcf technically recoverable gas is estimated to be available for sale. The balance will be consumed in oil and gas production operations on the North Slope. These known gas resources coupled with the potential for large additional gas discoveries in Northern Alaska, make it important for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), industry, and the state of Alaska to evaluate and assess the options for development of this vast gas resource to obtain the maximum benefit for the nation, and to determine the impact that development would have on U.S. domestic energy supply. jobs, and balance of payments. P. 531

The Colville River Field (Alpine) represents the first widespread and successful application of openhole horizontal completions on the North Slope of Alaska, and one of the first in the world. The purpose of this paper is to examine why this completion technique was selected and identify the key parameters that favored its successful application in the Colville River Field. The optimal completion technique for a candidate well is determined by the reservoir properties, geologic setting, rock mechanics, development plan and completion design. In this paper we will review the unique advantages and disadvantages of openhole horizontal completions based on the Colville River Field. From the results of the review, three key parameters were found to be critical to the success of openhole horizontal well completions and should be applied broadly in other situations. Using these three key parameters as criteria, other major North Slope reservoirs are evaluated to determine their potential for openhole horizontal completion applications. Focus areas in this evaluation include in-situ reservoir parameters, development plans, fluid contacts, and wellbore geometries. The results showed that only one other major field on the North Slope could have benefited from openhole completions. The results of this paper are meant to provide guidelines for the future application of openhole horizontal completions both on the North Slope of Alaska and beyond.

Thermokarst disturbance in permafrost landscapes is likely to increase across the tundra biome with climate warming, resulting in changes to topography, vegetation, and biogeochemical cycling. Tundra shrubs grow on permafrost, but shrub–thermokarst relationships are rarely studied in detail. Since the 1980s, Alaska's North Slope has experienced increased thermokarst activity, including retrogressive thaw slumps (RTSs) on hillslopes. Within decades, RTSs near Toolik Lake, Alaska, were colonized by tall (≥0.5 m) deciduous shrubs. We used dendrochronology methods on 66 shrubs (182 stem cross sections) representing dominant deciduous species: willows (Salix pulchra and S. glauca) and dwarf birch (Betula nana) at two RTS chronosequences on Alaska's North Slope comprising seven sites, to quantify thermokarst and climate effects (25 years of temperature and precipitation records) on shrub secondary growth (i.e., annual rings) in RTS‐disturbed and undisturbed moist acidic tussock (MAT) tundra. Across species, average growth ring widths were two times wider for shrubs in RTSs than in MAT, and ring widths decreased with RTS age. A 1°C June temperature increase was associated with 2% wider rings across species and sites, but shrubs showed marginal growth in warmer summers, supporting tundra‐wide shrub climate sensitivity studies. A 4.5% average ring width increase per 1 mm of previous year's September precipitation was seen in shrubs in mid‐successional RTSs, suggesting protective effects of early snowfall in RTSs versus open tundra. Retrogressive thaw slump age category explained 47% and 30% of average ring width variance of willows and dwarf birch, respectively, in linear mixed‐effects models. Climate variables explained 2% average ring width variance across species. Our results suggest that RTS exerts strong successional effects on tundra shrub growth. Climate effects appear to show weaker synoptic patterns across the study area. Retrogressive thaw slumps will likely contribute to tundra greening where RTS activity is increasing.

In a crisis situation responders from different organizations may find each other's priorities and goals in conflict. By training to a common standard, we create an environment where adversarial conflicts are replaced with open discussions. We may disagree on the path, but in the end it is in everyone's best interest to have a common, well understood goal. After 2010, it became apparent to me that agencies and industry did not always share a common understanding of the principles of the National Incident Management System (NIMS). The result would be conflicting agendas, potential mistrust and a perception that responders did not have control of the emergency. This paper will describe the method that Alaska's North Slope responders used in 2012 to extend the practice of spill response teams training together to the Incident Management Teams and the benefits that resulted from this approach. Our goal was to strengthen the response posture of Alaska's North Slope through an aggressive training program involving multiple industry and agency partners in a year-long series of classroom and field opportunities, working together as members of the same team. A common national curriculum delivered by a team of certified instructors allowed participants to develop or reinforce a common understanding of the NIMS based principles and processes. At the end, teams would participate in a 3 day long field exercise (using a scenario they had never seen before) involving responder and equipment deployment based on plans developed by the Unified Command. Rarely does a training product actually end up as a plan implemented in the field. Because the scenario was not rehearsed, this reality check ensured everyone took their duties seriously. Responders would implement tactics, request and expect supplies, and the consequences of the team's actions would result in a success, or failure, that could affect the reputation of all the parties involved. Program participants included personnel from six oil companies (including UK based personnel), U.S Coast Guard, Environmental Protection Agency, State of Alaska, North Slope Borough, Alaska Cleans Seas and a myriad of North Slope Spill Response Team. Key benefits included a common understanding of NIMS ICS at all levels, building relationships, a mentoring environment allowing inexperienced participants to build competency and expertise, and meeting portions of contingency plan readiness requirements. The program helped reinforce Alaska's North Slope responder's reputation for world class response capability.

Summary Drill cuttings collected during drilling of two development wells at Prudhoe Bay were processed through an auxiliary unit to dry processed through anauxiliary unit to dry and sort the material. Construction-grade gravel and sandwere collected from the processing unit and stored for future use as fillmaterial on roads and pads. Material too small to use for construction wasslurried and disposed of by approved subsurface techniques. Chemical tests ofthe processed drill cuttings indicate that processed drill cuttings indicatethat they are an environmentally sound alternative for quarried gravel. Introduction Finding an environmentally acceptable method for drill-cuttings disposal isa major concern for operators worldwide, particularly in the Arctic. This paperreports the particularly in the Arctic. This paper reports the results of apilot program designed to reclaim and recycle gravel excavated duringdevelopment drilling of wells in Prudhoe Bay's eastern operating area (EOA) on Prudhoe Bay's eastern operating area (EOA) on Alaska's North Slope. Recycling drill cuttings minimizes drilling waste, conserves naturalresources, and greatly reduces the need for waste disposal. It also reduces theoperational costs associated with waste disposal and pad and road maintenanceand the demand for quarried gravel. Overall, recycling reduces theenvironmental impact of drilling and construction operations. On the basis of results from the pilot project, the Alaska Dept. of Environmental project, the Alaska Dept. of Environmental Conservation (ADEC)approved an expanded testing program for 1991. With continued success, thisprogram could result in the opportunity to reclaim sand and gravel routinelyand thus reduce drilling waste significantly. North Slope Environment. The Prudhoe Bay field is located on the Teshekpukportion of the Arctic coastal plain-i.e., the portion of the Arctic coastalplain-i.e., the North Slope of Alaska (Fig. 1). The coastal plain ischaracterized by low relief with plain is characterized by low relief withelevations of less than 30 ft at the sea coast and up to 500 ft at the base ofthe northern foothills province. The undulate tundra contains thousands ofsmall thaw lakes that, with polygonal ground patterns, make up the polygonalground patterns, make up the smaller-scale features of the physiography. Bothfeatures are related to the presence of permafrost. permafrost. The Prudhoe Bayclimate is characterized by extreme temperatures and low levels ofprecipitation. Temperatures range from 20 precipitation. Temperatures rangefrom 20 to 75 degrees F in the summer and -20 to -60 degrees F in the winter. Annual precipitation along the coastal plain ranges from precipitation alongthe coastal plain ranges from 4 to 10 in., with maximum precipitation occurringin July and August. Geology. This project focuses on the surface hole section, the upper 3,500ft true vertical depth (TVD) of strata, including 2,000 ft of permafrost. Permafrost is virtually continuous throughout the Alaskan North Slope, extending from near the surface to a vertical depth of roughly 2,000 ft near Prudhoe Bay. The most significant characteristic of permafrost in regard tothis project is its susceptibility to thaw. project is its susceptibility tothaw. Thawing causes the wellbore to enlarge during drilling, whichsignificantly influences the volume of material recovered. Permafrost consistsof shales, sands, and gravels and contains most of the material with thepotential to substitute for mined gravel. The potential to substitute for minedgravel. The drilled surface hole section generally consists of 70 % sand andgravel. The entire North Slope is overlain by poorly stratified sand and gravel, thought to poorly stratified sand and gravel, thought to be glacial outwash, extending from the surface to 40 ft. The Gubik formation occurs in Prudhoe Bayfrom below the glacial outwash to 600 ft. The Gubik formation is primarilyclean, crossbedded sand with primarily clean, crossbedded sand with smallpebbles of black chert in the upper part. The 5–10-ft-thick sand unitsarseparated part. The 5–10-ft-thick sand units arseparated by thin beds of darkgray, laminated marine silt and clay. The Gubik formation consists mainly ofcoarse gravel, with clasts that are primarily roller-shaped, 3 to 5 in. long, and composed of gray quartzite, tuff, chert, and highly weathered minorlimestone. The remaining stratum, to below 3,500 ft TVD, consists of the Upper Sagavanirktok formation, which lies beneath the Gubik. The Sagavanirktokformation consists of poorly consolidated nonmarine and marine shale, sandstone, and conglomerate, with some carbonaceous shale, lignite, andbentonite clays (Fig. 2). Pilot-Project Overview. Development of Pilot-Project Overview. Developmentof the North Slope is regulated by U.S., State of Alaska, and North Slopeagencies to minimize long-term adverse effects on the environment. Recentchanges in U.S. environmental policies have focused this goal on three areas:protection of wetlands, reduction of waste, and maximization of resourcerecycling. JPT P. 722