http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_PETROLEUM_RESERVE_ALASKA?...

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Industry watchers say it's too early to say what the new estimate's effect will be. But the extreme reduction could further discourage investment from producers, who already are sharply curtailing their NPR-A spending.

Natural gas is much more plentiful at the reserve. But without a way to transport it from Alaska's North Slope - a gas pipeline has been the dream of Alaskans for decades - it is far less attractive than oil to developers that hold leases there. Some have relinquished their NPR-A leases, while at least one company is trying to sell all its reserve assets, Houseknecht said.

The USGS also has cut its earlier estimates of NPR-A natural gas, from a mean estimate of 61 trillion cubic feet to 53 trillion cubic feet. The agency's 2002 estimates ranged from 5.9 billion to 13.2 billion barrels for oil, and 39 trillion to 83 trillion cubic feet for natural gas.

The new numbers are based on factors including seismic surveys and drilling of more than 30 exploration wells, according to the USGS. In fact, the estimates reinforce what the industry has found over a decade of exploration, leading to a substantial slowdown in development, Houseknecht said.