Map and digital database of sedimentary basins and indications of 
petroleum in the Central Alaska Province

By

Sandra M. Troutman and Richard G. Stanley
U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA

EXPLANATORY NOTES

This map and the accompanying digital database show sedimentary 
basins (Kirschner, 1988) and reported occurrences of petroleum in 
wells and natural seeps in central Alaska. The map and database were 
prepared for use in a U.S. Geological Survey assessment of 
undiscovered petroleum resources.
Sedimentary basins and selected geologic features of regional 
importance were taken from the map of Kirschner (1988), with minor 
modifications in some cases. The primary source of information on 
seeps and older (pre-1959) wells was the report of Miller and others 
(1959). Additional information on seeps and wells was acquired from 
the published literature, public records available at the Alaska Oil 
and Gas Conservation Commission and the Alaska Geologic Materials 
Center, and unpublished documents provided by companies and 
individuals.
76 localities are depicted on the map and described in table 1. Most 
of the localities are within the boundary of the Central Alaska 
Province as defined by the 1995 National Assessment of United States 
Oil and Gas Resources (U.S. Geological Survey, 1995, p. 3), but the 
map also includes (1) 2 localities that occur north of the Central 
Alaska Province boundary in the uplands near Yukon Flats, and (2) 
several exploratory wells that were drilled west of the Central 
Alaska Province boundary in the offshore Norton basin. Also shown on 
the map are oil and gas fields in the Cook Inlet region. Not 
displayed on this map, but described by Miller and others (1959) and 
other published sources, are numerous hydrocarbon seeps and wells in 
southern and northern Alaska and adjacent parts of Canada.
The 76 localities depicted on this map include 3 wells with oil 
shows, 18 wells with gas shows, and 9 wells with no oil or gas shows. 
Outcrops of oil shale and (or) oil-bearing rocks have been reported 
at 14 localities. The 76 localities also include 29 accounts of oil 
seeps and 3 accounts of gas seeps; of these, investigations by the 
U.S. Geological Survey confirmed the existence of 1 gas seep and 
concluded that reports of 16 oil seeps and 1 gas seep are doubtful or 
disproved. The remaining reports of 13 oil seeps and 1 gas seep are 
neither confirmed nor refuted and require additional study.
Seeps of oil and gas are among the most useful indicators of the 
possible existence of nearby, buried accumulations of petroleum. 
However, not all reports of oil and gas seeps are reliable. In many 
cases, people have mistaken iron stains, mineral salts (including 
iron oxide scums), coal tar, and living organic material for oil 
seeps (Miller and others, 1959; Martin, 1923). Some of the reported 
seeps may be practical jokes or deliberate deceptions. Also, many oil 
and gas seeps are ephemeral, and a seep that was observed and 
reported years ago may be inactive today.
No commercial petroleum production has been obtained from central 
Alaska, in contrast to the prolific deposits of oil and gas that have 
been found and commercially developed in northern Alaska and the Cook 
Inlet region. Nevertheless, confirmed indications of petroleum in 
central Alaska include (1) oil and gas in seeps and wells in the 
Norton basin; (2) oil shale and numerous occurrences of bitumen in 
Precambrian to Mesozoic rocks in the Kandik area and the uplands near 
the Yukon Flats basin; (3) gas in Miocene coal-bearing strata in a 
core hole at Fort Yukon in the Yukon Flats basin; (4) gas in wells 
that penetrate Tertiary coal-bearing strata in the Nenana basin; (5) 
gas in water wells and test holes in the Fairbanks area; (6) gas in 
exploratory wells, seismic shot holes, and a water well in the 
Kotzebue basin; (7) gas in Quaternary deposits in shallow wells in 
the Northway lowlands; and (8) gas in an exploratory well in the 
Bethel basin.
The scattered distribution of confirmed oil and gas occurrences 
implies that active and (or) formerly active petroleum systems are 
present in some parts of central Alaska, most notably in certain 
Tertiary sedimentary basins. However, much remains to be learned 
about the geology, organic geochemistry and petroleum resource 
potential of these systems.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank Tom Ager, Jim Clough, Dwight Bradley, Terry Eschner, Art 
Grantz, Naresh Kumar, Keith Kvenvolden, Marti Miller, Jim Mery, Dean 
Morgridge, Gil Mull, Chet Paris, Bill Patton, Donald Peter, Chris 
Puchner, John Reeder, Kirk Sherwood, Alison Till, Gerry Van Kooten, 
John Varsek, Art Watts, and Doyon, Limited for information, 
suggestions, and discussions; Les Magoon for a helpful and timely 
technical review; and (insert name) for a useful digital review.

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