88 Energy (88E) has announced the results of an updated internal Prospective Resource assessment across its 100% owned South Prudhoe acreage on Alaska’s North Slope. The combined unrisked Gross Best Estimate (2U) Prospective Resource stands at 507 million barrels of oil and natural gas liquids, equivalent to 422 million barrels net to the company.
The South Prudhoe lease position spans around 52,269 acres and lies immediately south of the Prudhoe Bay Unit and the Kuparuk River Unit, two of North America’s most prolific oil fields. The acreage consolidates newly secured leases with the former Project Leonis area and sits within a proven petroleum system with direct access to existing infrastructure.
All identified prospects are covered by modern 3D seismic data. In total, seventeen mapped prospects have been defined across five independent reservoir intervals, including maiden Prospective Resource estimates for both the Ivishak and Kuparuk reservoirs.
Ivishak Formation – maiden prospective resource
The Ivishak Formation, which has produced more than 13 billion barrels of oil from Prudhoe Bay, hosts multiple prospects at South Prudhoe. These carry an unrisked Gross Best Estimate (2U) Prospective Resource of 77.2 million barrels of oil and natural gas liquids.
Reservoir quality is described as consistent with producing analogues, with average porosity of around 20% and permeability typically between 50 and 100 millidarcies.
Kuparuk Formation – maiden prospective resource
The Kuparuk Formation, the backbone reservoir of the Kuparuk River Unit which has produced more than 2.5 billion barrels, contains three mapped prospects at South Prudhoe. These represent a combined unrisked Gross Best Estimate (2U) Prospective Resource of 49.9 million barrels of oil and natural gas liquids.
At the Augusta Prospect, the Kuparuk is considered a low-risk appraisal target supported by nearby well performance and evidence of reservoir continuity. In addition, the company is assessing the potential to reclassify the Augusta North area as a discovered Contingent Resource following the successful flow test of Hemi Springs State-1, which has been formally recognised by the State of Alaska as capable of producing in paying quantities.
Brookian Formation
A comprehensive review of the Brookian sequence has consolidated the opportunity into six structurally defined prospects, primarily within the South-East Hub. These include Upper, Mid and Lower Schrader Bluff targets.
Collectively, the Brookian prospects carry an unrisked Gross Best Estimate (2U) Prospective Resource of 439.0 million barrels of oil. While Ivishak and Kuparuk remain the near-term focus, the Brookian sequence provides substantial secondary upside, with further potential expected to be delineated in the North-West Hub within the West Sak and Price Creek reservoirs.
Augusta-1 planning and farm-out discussions
Looking ahead, 88 Energy is targeting a first-quarter 2027 spud for the Augusta-1 well. The well is designed as a multi-zone exploration and appraisal programme targeting stacked Ivishak, Kuparuk and Brookian reservoirs.
In parallel, the company is advancing farm-out discussions aimed at securing funding support for drilling and appraisal while retaining meaningful exposure to potential upside. Additional work in 2026 will focus on refining Brookian resource estimates in the North-West Hub and assessing potential reclassification of resources associated with the Hemi Springs State-1 discovery.
88 Energy’s Managing Director Ashley Gilbert said: “This updated internal Prospective Resource assessment highlights the significant scale and quality of our South Prudhoe acreage position, with material multi-million-barrel potential now defined across seventeen mapped prospects and five independent reservoir intervals. We can now clearly see a multi-zone, multi-million-barrel opportunity with additional potential growth to come.
The Ivishak and Kuparuk prospects are positioned immediately adjacent to two of North America's largest oil fields which have been producing since 1977. This creates low-risk potential for a fast-track and low-cost development upon success through existing, third-party infrastructure.
Importantly, we see further upside ahead. The refined Brookian Formation update, incorporating the Canning and Schrader Bluff reservoirs, is just the beginning with additional upside in our North-West Hub area expected from within the West Sak and Price Creek reservoirs.
Our focus is now firmly on upgrading these current resource estimates while at the same time advancing farm-out discussions and well planning to unlock the full value of this exciting asset.”
View from Vox
The scale of the updated Best Estimate at South Prudhoe positions 88 Energy with one of the larger undeveloped conventional oil opportunities on Alaska’s North Slope. Importantly, the acreage sits adjacent to long-producing fields with established infrastructure, which materially reduces development risk compared with frontier exploration.
The focus now shifts to securing a farm-out partner and progressing Augusta-1 toward a first-quarter 2027 spud. A successful well could begin the transition from conceptual resource potential to a tangible development pathway.