A company will reckon as best it can, then when it finds a field will conscientiously refigure, only to find development cost is a bit higher, prices a bit lower, taxes a bit heavier -- so that it would have been better off never having gone to the North Slope in the first place.

                                                Morris Adelman, professor of economics, MIT
                                                White House Cabinet Task Force, 1971

This quote can be found in the epilogue of the book, The Last Alaskan Barrel: An Arctic Oil Bonanza that Never Was, by John M. Miller.

The Last Alaskan Barrel is an analysis of the fifty-year investment life of Alaska North Slope oil, and what oil prices, development costs, environmental regulations and risks, timing, and a variety of taxes did to the earnings.

During his  26-year career with Atlantic Richfield Company, John M. Miller  managed long range planning, business development, and operations in the U.S., Norway, Japan, Korea, China, and Indonesia. For more than a decade, he directed Alaskan megaprojects budgeted at billions of dollars. He also chaired the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) Owners Committee.

A video of John Miller speaking at the Arctic Imperative Summit in June 2011 and a radio interview are available at the following links:

Video: Arctic Imperative Summit

Radio Interview: (Start 14:30 End about 33:00)
 
It is generally assumed that oil companies cannot wait to "drill, baby, drill" on Alaska's North Slope.

On the contrary, in light of the first fifty years of Alaska North Slope experience, it is becoming increasingly likely that the bulk of any remaining oil and gas resource will remain undeveloped.

Read The Last Alaskan Barrel: An Arctic Oil Bonanza that Never Was to understand why.

Book Review: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

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