P. M. BRIEFING : Arco Says New North Slope Well Could Be Biggest Find in 10 Years
Atlantic Richfield Co. said today that a new well it is testing on the Alaskan North Slope could prove to be one of the largest discoveries in the United States in the last 10 years.
Arco’s stock jumped $2.25 to $100.375 on the New York Stock Exchange on the news.
Tests on the Point McIntyre well near Prudhoe Bay showed oil flowing at the generous rate of 5,400 barrels a day.
The total daily output of Alaskan oil is about 2 million barrels, with many single wells producing around 2,500 barrels a day.
The average well in the United States yields fewer than 10 barrels a day. Many of the fields in Texas and other states are mature.
An Arco spokesman said preliminary tests indicated a high recovery rate that could ultimately reach about 300 million barrels during the life of the well.
Arco said in June that tests on its first well in the area indicated flow rates as high as 5,300 barrels a day. The figures released today are for a second well in the area.
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