Prudhoe Bay: Exploration and Discovery

Join us at the Noel Wien Library on Monday, March 4 at 7pm to learn more about Prudhoe Bay with local historian, Bob Hurlbut . Mr. Hurlbut is a 36 year veteran employee of Prudhoe Bay and a local historian specializing in the exploration and discovery of oil in Prudhoe Bay. Over his career, Bob has had the pleasure of meeting, working with and talking with many of the “pioneers” in the discovery and early development of oil in Prudhoe Bay.

Prudhoe Bay is the largest oil field in North America, and one that almost went undiscovered. After years of fruitless searching, oil companies, including the US Navy, had largely given up on the North Slope of Alaska.

One company decided to drill “One more hole”, and the rest is history. The discovery of oil in Prudhoe Bay was a watershed moment for Alaska, good or bad the discovery changed Alaska, the oil industry and to some degree, the world.