Alaska offers promise for major oil companies

[Judi Lynn]

Alaska offers promise for major oil companies
Sat Jan 21, 2006 12:19 AM ET

By Yereth Rosen
ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Alaska offers great potential for an extended period of new oil development and exploration, executives from major oil companies said at an industry conference on Friday.

BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and ConocoPhillips (COP.N: Quote, Profile, Research) aim to wring more oil from existing fields in Alaska's North Slope and bordering areas, while Shell said it intended to increase exploration in the mostly untapped frontiers of the state.

BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc., which operates the Prudhoe Bay field, remains focused on developing up to 6 billion known barrels of North Slope oil, company president Steve Marshall said at the annual Meet Alaska conference.

"We're not chasing new barrels through wildcatting. But we are chasing more of the discovered barrels," said Marshall, noting the company's success in using technology to improve production at oil fields.
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