December production down from November 01/10/2010
Alaska North Slope production drops 1.6%, month to month; Endicott, Milne, Alpine, Prudhoe Bay all have reduced volumes
Alaska North Slope crude oil production dropped 1.56 percent in December, averaging 688,765 barrels per day compared to the November average of 699,675 bpd. ANS crude oil production peaked in 1988 at...

ExxonMobil buys XTO Energy for $31 billion 12/20/2009
XTO has two platforms in Cook Inlet, which will make Exxon a producer in Alaska; main focus of purchase XTO's natural gas assets
ExxonMobil will buy XTO Energy Inc. in an all-stock deal worth $31 billion as the oil giant moved aggressively Dec. 14 to capitalize on the growing supply of natural gas at home. The deal could signal...

ANS November production up from October 12/06/2009
Alaska North Slope crude oil production for November averaged 699,675 barrels per day, up 2 percent from an October average of 686,126 bpd. ANS crude oil production peaked in 1988 at some 2 million bp...

TG World positive on NS exploration 12/06/2009
BRPC JV partner spells out some details of seismic and drilling program across the North Slope; sees value of exploration credits
As the only outfit engaged in exploration onshore or offshore northern Alaska this winter, Brooks Range Petroleum Corp., operator for a joint venture of small independents, looks like having a lonely...

Conoco won't explore this year in Alaska 11/29/2009
Company focusing on preparing for Chukchi drilling in 2012; development drilling at Kuparuk, Alpine down; focus on maintenance
ConocoPhillips Alaska is changing its exploration focus and looking to the Chukchi Sea, Helene Harding, the company's vice president of North Slope operations and development, said Nov. 18. Harding t...

Oooguruk field continues to perform well 11/22/2009
Pioneer Natural Resources' Oooguruk field in state Beaufort Sea waters, offshore Alaska's North Slope, continues to perform well, said Timothy Dove, the company's president and chief operating officer...

Cosmo change OK 11/22/2009
DOG approves well workover and new schedule for appraisal well drilling
On Nov. 10 the Alaska Division of Oil and Gas approved Pioneer Natural Resources' proposed changes to the fourth plan of exploration for the joint state-federal Cosmopolitan unit, offshore the souther...

The Explorers 2009: BP Exploration (Alaska) 11/15/2009
BP Exploration opened its first office in Alaska in 1959, and drilled a confirmation well for the Prudhoe Bay discovery a decade later. Today it operates the unit and its participating areas and satel...

The Explorers 2009: ConocoPhillips Alaska 11/15/2009
ConocoPhillips, the largest producer in Alaska, dates back to the beginning of the modern Alaska oil industry in the 1950s and plays a role in almost every major trend in the Alaska oil industry. In t...

The Explorers 2009: Northern Alaska and Arctic offshore 11/15/2009
In 1968 the discovery of the giant Prudhoe Bay field, the first field to be discovered on Alaska's North Slope and among the 20 largest oil fields ever discovered worldwide, triggered a northern Alask...

The Explorers 2009: Chevron Alaska 11/15/2009
Chevron is one of the largest players in Alaska, but sometimes gets overshadowed by companies that operate more units or run higher profile exploration campaigns. Chevron arrived in Alaska more than 1...

The Explorers 2009: Armstrong affiliate 70 and 148 top bidder at North Slope lease sale 11/15/2009
It was déjà vu all over again as Alaska Division of Oil and Gas Director Kevin Banks read 93 bids for 80 tracts in the state's 2009 areawide North Slope oil and gas lease sale in Anchorage Oct. 28. A...

ANS production back up from September 11/15/2009
Alaska North Slope production averaged 686,126 barrels per day in October, an increase of 1.4 percent from a September average of 676,664 bpd, according to data from the Alaska Department of Revenue's...

70 and 148 top bidder 11/01/2009
Armstrong affiliate puts down $7.8 million for 68 North Slope sale tracts
It was déjà vu all over again as Alaska Division of Oil and Gas Director Kevin Banks read 93 bids for 80 tracts in the state's 2009 areawide North Slope oil and gas lease sale in Anchorage Oct. 28. A...

September North Slope production up 18% 10/11/2009
BP completes planned turnarounds for year with work at Northstar, where production returned to average rates in early October
September Alaska North Slope production averaged 676,664 barrels per day, up 18 percent from an August average of 572,967 bpd. The BP Exploration (Alaska)-operated Northstar field averaged 9,474 bpd...

Picking the test site 10/11/2009
Researchers study potential areas for North Slope gas hydrate production test
Researchers engaged in a multiyear joint government, industry and university project to investigate the production of natural gas from gas hydrates under Alaska's central North Slope are selecting a s...

August production holds level with July 09/06/2009
Alaska North Slope crude oil production averaged 572,967 barrels per day in August, an increase of 4,179 bpd or 0.73 percent from the July average of 568,788 bpd. The largest increase, more than 332...

State approves BRPC Beechey Point unit 09/06/2009
Development at 52,876-acre unit north of Prudhoe Bay would commercialize small discoveries between Milne Point, Northstar units
Brooks Range Petroleum Corp. has received approval from the Alaska Division of Oil and Gas for formation of the Beechey Point unit. The new unit includes 25 state oil and gas leases, some 52,876 acres...

BRPC seeks North Shore project permits 08/23/2009
Company executive doesn't see legal tussle with partner TG World getting in way of small oil development near Prudhoe Bay field
Brooks Range Petroleum Corp. is seeking a raft of permits for its small North Shore oil development on Alaska's North Slope. The Anchorage-based company is pursuing the permits as state officials revi...

Pioneer gets multiple Oooguruk approvals 08/23/2009
Participating areas, multiphase meters approved; development drilling continues; WAG in Nuiqsut, waterflood in Kuparuk planned
Pioneer Natural Resources Alaska received multiple regulatory approvals for its Oooguruk field off Alaska's North Slope north of Kuparuk in late July. The field, which began producing last summer, rep...

Big money going offshore 08/16/2009
With oil and gas employment in Alaska at an all-time high for the fourth year in a row, crude prices bumping $70 per barrel, four northern Alaska oil fields under development, and the world's majors l...

State OKs Oooguruk participating areas 08/09/2009
On Aug. 5 Alaska's Division of Oil and Gas approved the Kuparuk and Nuiqsut participating areas for Pioneer Natural Resources' Oooguruk oil field, in the Beaufort Sea offshore Alaska's North Slope. Oi...

Maintenance continues production impact 08/09/2009
July North Slope production averages 568,788 bpd, down 3.9 percent from June's 591,666 bpd; Cook Inlet barrels up marginally
Summer maintenance work on the North Slope continued to impact production rates in July, with production averaging 568,788 barrels per day, down 3.87 percent from a June average production level of 59...

Oooguruk field performs 08/09/2009
Oil production has exceeded Pioneer's expectations; no Cosmo drilling in sight
Good and getting better seemed to be the tone in comments about Pioneer Natural Resource's Beaufort Sea Oooguruk oil field, offshore Alaska's North Slope, during the company's earnings conference call...

State revenue stream OK but 'fragile' 07/19/2009
Assuming strong oil prices, state will have plenty of cash for budgeting and can build its savings, revenue commissioner says
Prospects are decent for ample revenue to support state government and preserve savings through the year 2020, but Alaska's finances will remain "fragile" due to heavy dependence on oil production, st...