Introduction

This report provides digital geographic information systems (GIS) files of maps for each of the 24 plays considered in the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 2010 updated petroleum resource assessment of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPRA) (Houseknecht and others, 2010). These are the sample plays evaluated in a previous USGS assessment of the NPRA (Bird and Houseknecht, 2002a), maps of which were released in pdf format (Bird and Houseknecht, 2002b).

The 2010 updated assessment of the NPRA evaluated each of the previously used 24 plays based on new geologic data available from exploration activities and scientific research. Quantitative assessments were revised for 11 plays, and no revisions were made for 9 plays. Estimates of the volume of technically recoverable, undiscovered oil, and nonassociated gas resources in these 20 plays are reported elsewhere (Houseknecht and others, 2010). Four plays quantitatively assessed in 2002 were eliminated from quantitative assessment for reasons explained by Houseknecht and others (2010).

The NPRA assessment study area includes Federal and native onshore land and adjacent State offshore areas. A map showing the areal extent of each play was prepared by USGS geologists as a preliminary step in the assessment process. Boundaries were drawn on the basis of a variety of information, including seismic reflection data, results of exploration drilling, and regional patterns of rock properties. Play boundary polygons were captured by digitizing the play maps prepared by USGS geologists.

USGS NPRA Resources Online

National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska—2010 assessment: http://energy.usgs.gov/alaska/npra.html
National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska—2002 assessment: https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2002/fs045-02/
National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska—2002 assessment play maps: http://wrgis.wr.usgs.gov/open-file/of02-207/

References Cited

Bird, K.J., and Houseknecht, D.W., 2002a, U.S. Geological Survey 2002 petroleum resource assessment of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPRA): U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 045–02, 6 p.

Bird, K.J., and Houseknecht, D.W., 2002b, U.S. Geological Survey 2002 petroleum resource assessment of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPRA)—Play maps and technically recoverable resource estimates: U.S. Geological Survey Open–File Report 02–207, 18 p.

Houseknecht, D.W., Bird, K.J., Schuenemeyer, J.H., Attanasi, E.D., Garrity, C.P., Schenk, C.J., Charpentier, R.R., Pollastro, R.M., Cook, T.A., and Klett, T.R., 2010, 2010 updated assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPRA): U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2010–3102, 4 p.

Revised May 3, 2011

First posted April 2011

Version 1.1

Supersedes U.S. Geological Survey
Open-File Report 02–439