ConocoPhillips’ share is $15 billion–$17 billion; company seeks partner
Explorers keep finding more oil on the North Slope, and companies see about $24 billion in new investments possible in the next decade. ConocoPhillips’ share of this could be $15 billion to $17 billion for its own new projects, a hefty chunk for a company that size. This has caused ConocoPhillips to spread the burden, and the risk, to look for an investor to take 25 percent of its Alaska assets outside the company’s share of Prudhoe Bay oilfield. This has caused a quiver to ripple through the state’s community leaders, who worry this might foretell ConocoPhillips selling and leaving as BP is doing.

Not so, says ConocoPhillips. The company is having real success in its exploration and just needs a partner, and will remain as operator of the new oil fields. Anadarko Petroleum was a minority partner to ARCO Alaska and then ConocoPhillips until Anadarko sold its stake, approximately 20 percent, to ConocoPhillips a few years ago. The $29 billion estimate includes new discoveries and estimates for work needed in all producing fields by all companies. Meanwhile, ConocoPhillips is gearing up for another big winter exploration season that it expects will employ 1,300 across all aspects of its program. The company also added new resources, based on drilling last winter, to its Willow discovery and Narwhal, a new find in the Alpine field.