New shale player Royale hopes to drill up to 6 Slope wells
20.05.12
But before it puts together a drilling and testing program, Royale Energy Inc. has to decide on the best partner for its northernmost venture. Fortunately, it says it has several to choose from.
The San Diego-based company was high bidder on more than 100,000 acres in the state's Dec. 7 North Slope lease sale.
The acreage has some conventional oil potential in the western block of leases, which could result in "cooperation with other North Slope explorers," company executives told Petroleum News.
But Royale's focus is on what company Co-President and CEO Stephen Hosmer calls its "promising, hand-picked acreage for oil-rich shale."
Royale was founded in 1986 and has 23 full-time employees. The company has been recognized by Oil & Gas Journal as one of the 20 fastest-growing producers in the U.S. It has an unconventional view, Hosmer said, on the locations and migration pathways of the oil that escaped northern Alaska's source rocks, making its way into the region's world class reservoirs, including the giant Prudhoe Bay field.
Source: Anchorage Daily News
