New Massive Oil Find in Alaska – Will This Spell the Collapse of OPEC?

A massive amount of oil has been discovered in Alaska’s North Slope – in an area previously thought to be drying up.

The news was announced last Thursday by Spanish oil giant Repsol.

The oil field, which is believed to contain over 1 billion barrels of light crude, marks the biggest onshore find in the US in 30 years. The discovery is bad news for oil-producing nations like Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and Russia, which have been fighting to bring the price of oil back up after the recent drop in prices that led to Venezuela’s economic collapse. 

The discovery is great news for the state of Alaska, and it might bring some relief to budget pains brought on by flagging production and the crash in prices. Last year, Alaska was forced to freeze hiring and restrict state employee travel. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System was hardly being used. 

“This is also great news for the State of Alaska,” said the state’s governor Bill Walker. “We must all pull together to fill an oil pipeline that’s three-quarters empty.”

The new well was discovered in Horseshoe – in an area owned by Repsol and its US partner Armstrong Energy – and we should see oil start to flow in 2021. 

Alaska will also benefit from the Smith Bay discovery, a find that was announced less than six months ago. 

“The interesting thing about this discovery is the North Slope was previously thought to be on its last legs. But this is a significant emerging find,” said Repsol spokesman Kristian Rix.

These two discoveries come at a great time, when the Trump Administration is working hard to build and finish more pipelines and the Dakota Access Pipeline project is moving forward.

Editor’s note: Saudi Arabia is already on the verge of economic collapse and without a favorable change they could be insolvent in 3-5 years. This find is the worst possible new for OPEC countries and could be the end of oil as a bargaining chip in world affairs.