Great Bear to gather more seismic data

In an Oct. 7 interview with the Alaska Public Radio Network Ed Duncan, president of Great Bear Petroleum, said that his company plans to gather more seismic data this winter. The company, which is hoping to develop shale oil resources on Alaska’s North Slope, has already conducted two 3-D seismic surveys in its leases, one of them during the winter of 2012-13.

The company operates a broad swath of oil and gas leases over territory thought to be prospective for shale oil, south of the conventional oil fields in the central North Slope.

The company has drilled two shale oil test wells in its leases and has been testing rock samples obtained from those wells. Duncan has previously said that Great Bear will use its seismic data, well data and rock sample analyses to determine what drilling to do next, to determine the feasibility of North Slope shale oil production.

Duncan also told the radio station that Great Bear will unveil its development plan at the end of 2014. A decision on a development plan will presumably depend on further drilling and testing.

At the time of going to press Great Bear had not responded to a request from Petroleum News for confirmation of Duncan’s statements to the radio station.

—Alan Bailey