New Nicolai Creek gas well goes on line 01/10/2010
Aurora Gas has brought no. 11 well into operation and company applies for new PA and unit expansion at west Cook Inlet gas field
Independent gas producer Aurora Gas has brought on line a new well, the Nicolai Creek No. 11, in its Nicolai Creek gas field, at the northern end of Trading Bay, on the western coast of Alaska's Cook...

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...

Lawyers debate BP motion 12/27/2009
Company fights Alaska's billion-dollar suit over '06 Prudhoe Bay pipeline leaks
A lawyer for BP on Dec. 21 urged a judge to dismiss much of the State of Alaska's lawsuit against the company seeking $1 billion or more in damages for the 2006 pipeline spills in the Prudhoe Bay oil...

Seeking answers 12/13/2009
15 lawmakers ask Parnell if state oil tax policy helps or hurts Alaska investment
A group of leading state legislators on Dec. 4 asked Gov. Sean Parnell for a raft of information they want to use to evaluate whether the 2007 oil tax reform is helping or hurting industry investment...

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...

Oil Patch Insider: Alaska well drilling activity varies somewhat year-to-year 11/08/2009
On page 17 of this issue there is a chart showing the number of oil and gas wells drilled in Alaska in the January to September period for 2005 through 2009. New well numbers are almost the same for...

Rules for wells deeper than 1,000 feet 11/01/2009
AOGCC says its regulations will apply to wells in the Bristol Bay area because of likelihood of unexpected oil, gas encounters
The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has determined that there is "sufficient likelihood" that wells drilled in designated townships in the Bristol Bay area would "encounter oil, gas or othe...

Orion pool rules expansion in works 10/25/2009
Prudhoe Bay field operator BP Exploration (Alaska) has applied to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission for an amendment of pool rules for Orion, a Schrader Bluff oil reservoir and one of the...

Are Cook Inlet gas supplies in crisis? 10/25/2009
As winter approaches, Chevron manager presents facts, figures about natural gas supply and demand in Southcentral Alaska
Natural gas has flowed out of the Cook Inlet basin with apparent ease for around 40 years, in some ways the life blood of Southcentral Alaska, firing heater furnaces, fueling power stations and suppor...

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...

AOGCC requirements; DNR permits 10/04/2009
Geothermal wells will be drilled with Department of Natural Resources permits, but drilling must meet commission requirements
The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission held a hearing Sept. 23 on a commission motion to require an AOGCC drilling permit for any well with a total vertical depth greater than 1,000 feet in sp...

AOGCC proposes new well abandonment rules 10/04/2009
Regulations would make marker plates welded onto casings new standard, replacing metal posts that already are seldom used
What happens when an oil well plays out, or proves to be a duster, and the owner decides to abandon it? For one thing, it's got to be permanently marked. For a long time that meant erecting a metal ma...

Companies sue over Spurr 09/20/2009
Dispute turns on who pays what to retire a CI platform no longer producing
The bankruptcy case of small Cook Inlet oil and gas producer Pacific Energy Resources Ltd. has spun off a court fight pitting two of the region's largest players. Marathon Oil and Chevron are tussling...

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...

The geothermal dilemma 08/30/2009
DNR has geothermal authority; AOGCC has technical drilling expertise
There's been growing excitement in Alaska the last few years over the possibility of using geothermal energy to create power. At Chena Hot Springs power is being generated using hot springs water. Bu...

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...

BP pushes for AOGCC probe 08/23/2009
Wants 'waste' claim reviewed, punitive damages barred in Prudhoe spill case
Lawyers for BP continue to press for partially diverting a state lawsuit over the 2006 Prudhoe Bay pipeline spills from the courts to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. BP's lawyers also...

State defends BP suit 07/19/2009
Company trying to 'delay, complicate' Prudhoe spill case, state lawyers say
Lawyers for the state are opposing BP's efforts to toss out part of a lawsuit seeking potentially huge damages stemming from Prudhoe Bay oil spills in 2006. They argue attorneys for BP Exploration (Al...

State approves expansion of Prudhoe Bay 07/12/2009
Kuparuk River formation believed capable of production from 7,239 acres adjacent to Point McIntyre, Raven participating areas
The Prudhoe Bay owners have applied to add a small amount of acreage to the unit, hoping to expand production at the Point McIntyre and Raven participating areas on the eastern side of the field. The...

Kitchen Lights on 07/05/2009
State approves Cook Inlet unit combining Kitchen, Northern Lights, Corsair
The state has approved formation of the Kitchen Lights unit in Cook Inlet, combining the Kitchen, Northern Lights and Corsair prospects. The 83,394-acre unit includes 40,733 acres from the Escopeta O...

Pioneer plans four laterals at Oooguruk 06/14/2009
Production has been from Kuparuk formation; two fracture-stimulated producers, two injectors planned for Nuiqsut formation
Initial results from a Nuiqsut formation well at the Pioneer Natural Resources Oooguruk project are encouraging. Pioneer said in a June 9 release that it plans to drill four horizontal laterals i...

Native American moves to oust Fowler 06/07/2009
Both sides say they control Palmer-based Fowler Oil and Gas, which has been planning coalbed methane development in Mat-Su
The Palmer entrepreneur who championed a new era of coalbed methane development in the Mat-Su is locked in a vicious battle with his business partners, who have made a bid to force him out. The head o...

State approves Northeast West Sak PA 06/07/2009
The Alaska Division of Oil and Gas has approved a new participating area at Kuparuk, the Northeast West Sak PA. In a May 29 decision the division said the new participating area includes portions of...

Thomson legal battle rages 06/07/2009
Palin sounds conciliatory note at Exxon lunch; hails project launch, local hiring
ExxonMobil has resumed drilling at Point Thomson after many years, and Gov. Sarah Palin actually had some words of praise in early June for a company she has jabbed from time to time. But these develo...

Revised annular injection regulations proposed by AOGCC 05/31/2009
The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission is proposing to revise its regulations for annular disposal of drilling waste. The agency said May 21 that the regulations will be fully revised to clari...