Caelus Energy, a US energy company, has discovered a large oil deposit in Alaska, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The company, sponsored by the Apollo Global Management LLC private foundation, said the deposit was located on the continental shelf about 480 kilometers above the Arctic Circle. It can yield 1.8-2.4 billion barrels of oil.

"It's not going to be easy, but we've had projects like this around the world," Caelus CEO Jim Musselman told The Wall Street Journal.

The company also plans to build a 125-mile (200-kilometer) oil pipeline that will cost $800 million.