THE EXPLORERS 2007: Exploring on pause, development on go 11/18/2007
Pioneer focusing on Oooguruk development, Cosmo delineation; exploration still on hold due to disappointing results, concern about Alaska's tax regime
Dallas-based Pioneer Natural Resources has no immediate plans to resume its Alaska oil and gas exploration program, Timothy Dove, Pioneer's president and chief operating officer, said on Sept. 27, 200...

THE EXPLORERS 2007: Eni moving forward with Nikaitchuq 11/18/2007
Beaufort Sea project sanction expected by end of 2007, first oil 2009; Maggiore, Rock Flour undergoing evaluation
The signs are good that Eni will move forward with development of its Nikaitchuq unit offshore Alaska's North Slope in 2008. On Oct. 5, 2007, the Houston-based affiliate of Italy's Eni SpA received S...

THE EXPLORERS 2007: Armstrong, Total back in the game 11/18/2007
An affiliate of Denver-based Armstrong Oil and Gas and a subsidiary of Paris-based Total S.A. returned to Alaska in 2007. When independent Armstrong Alaska LLC and Houston-based major Total EandP USA In...

Back in the game 09/16/2007
Bill Armstrong team returns to Alaska, this time in the Cook Inlet basin
The independent responsible for bringing three new oil companies to Alaska's North Slope in 2002-05 is back in the state - this time in Southcentral Alaska's Cook Inlet basin. A newly formed, local af...

Eni applies for North Slope Nikaitchuq camp pad 08/19/2007
Eni Petroleum has applied to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources Division of Mining, Land and Water to lease seven acres south of Oliktok Point in the Kuparuk River unit for 25 years. The tract...

Eni applies to roll Tuvaaq, other acreage, into Nikaitchuq unit 07/08/2007
Move would more than double size of offshore North Slope unit, from some 12,968 to 33,869 acres; two wells just drilled from Oliktok Point, one may be re-entered, one used as injector
As it moves toward a possible end-of-year development decision at its Nikaitchuq unit, Eni Petroleum has applied to expand the unit by merging the adjacent Tuvaaq unit and additional acreage to the so...

Oil Patch Insider 02/25/2007
PN sources say Eni buying Anadarko out of Nikaitchuq; Milan approved development after successful production test; Canada told to forget Arctic claims
Petroleum News sources said Feb. 22 that Eni has purchased Anadarko Petroleum's 70 percent interest in the Nikaitchuq prospect, making Eni 100 percent owner in the Alaska Beaufort Sea unit. State of...

Oooguruk expansion application complete 12/17/2006
Pioneer Natural Resources picked up needed leases to fill in unit, got royalty reduction, built gravel island; pipelines next
Pioneer Natural Resources Alaska has completed an application to expand its North Slope Oooguruk unit, which now includes 12 State of Alaska oil and gas leases, with an additional seven state leases....

THE EXPLORERS 2006 - Eni plans to drill North Slope wells 11/12/2006
Italian major has formed two units, picked up 11 more leases since buying out Armstrong in mid-2005
Eni Petroleum, which is the U.S. EandP affiliate of Italy's Eni SpA, picked up its first oil and gas leases in Alaska in late August 2005. Purchased from Armstrong Alaska, the leases consisted of 341,50...

North Slope exploration plans shaping up 10/22/2006
Six companies will drill at least 13 wells across northern Alaska; NPR-A programs impacted by court decision, 1998 stipulations
Companies gearing up to drill oil exploration wells on Alaska's North Slope during the upcoming winter drilling season are still filing permits, leaving the exact number of wells unknown. But it's saf...

Gustafson knocks Alaska fear factor 09/17/2006
Former Exxon executive tells story behind breakthrough successes attained by Armstrong Oil and Gas in 'difficult' Alaska oil patch
Stu Gustafson says he knows what kind of consultant he isn't. That's one whose motto is: "There is a whole lot of money to be made working on the problem if you are not part of the solution." Certain...

Lease sales attract broad interest 03/12/2006
Alaska's Beaufort Sea, North Slope areawide sales attract bids targeting a wide variety petroleum plays across northern Alaska
There's nothing to beat high oil and gas prices to stimulate lease bidding. Add in the prospect of a North Slope gas line and you have the necessary ingredients for the State of Alaska's March 1 humdi...

Kerr-McGee files for royalty relief 01/22/2006
Oklahoma-based independent rolls Tuvaaq, Kigun and Nikaitchuq leases into application; DNR official says independent hopes to lay gravel this winter; Corps permit, ConocoPhillips deal last hurdles company has to clear to start work on Nikaitchuq
Kerr-McGee submitted its formal application to the State of Alaska on Jan. 11 for royalty modification on 14 leases in and around its proposed Nikaitchuq oil development in the shallow waters of the B...

Norway confirms Eni's Arctic oil find 01/15/2006
Barents Sea Goliat field 50 miles northwest of northernmost town; environmentalists claim area too sensitive for development
Norwegian authorities on Jan. 5 confirmed a promising oil and natural gas find in the Barents Sea off the country's northern tip. The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said an exploration well drilled...

THE EXPLORERS 2005: Armstrong sells Alaska acreage to Eni 11/31/2005
Denver-based independent will continue to put together oil and gas exploration prospects in Alaska
Armstrong Alaska, the small independent instrumental in bringing three new oil companies to Alaska in less than three years, sold all of its oil and gas assets in Alaska in mid-August 2005 to the last...

THE EXPLORERS 2005: Pioneer still adding to Alaska prospects 11/31/2005
Independent having new rig special built for North Slope to drill more wells, cut exploration costs
Since Pioneer Natural Resources entered Alaska in 2002 to take the lead in Armstrong Alaska's Oooguruk project, the Texas-based independent has stacked up 1.6 million acres on the North Slope. This in...

THE EXPLORERS 2005: Will Kerr-McGee be the first independent? 11/31/2005
Oklahoma company to make decision on North Slope Nikaitchuq development by year-end 2005
Kerr-McGee could be the first independent to operate an oil field on Alaska's North Slope. The decision to sanction its Nikaitchuq project will likely be made by the Oklahoma independent before the en...

THE EXPLORERS 2005: New player: Eni Petroleum enters Alaska 11/31/2005
Houston affiliate of Italian major buys Armstrong's assets; expected to hold 170 million barrels
In late August 2005 Eni Petroleum picked up its first oil and gas leases in Alaska. Houston-based Eni Petroleum, which is the U.S. EandP affiliate of Italy's Eni SpA, purchased the assets of Armstrong A...

Oil Patch Insider 10/09/2005
Getting Arctic pipelines back on track; Eni to open Alaska office
Canada's Prime Minister Paul Martin has intervened to break a logjam of key energy issues, with the Mackenzie and Alaska gas pipeline projects at the top of that list. He named John McCallum to tempo...

Eni targets ANS viscous oil 09/18/2005
Rock Flour target is shallow West Sak/Schrader Bluff; also after Ugnu, Kuparuk C
Could the North Slope's shallowest and most viscous oil formation, the Ugnu, be commercial at depths comparable to West Sak/Schrader Bluff reservoirs now in production? That is one proposition Eni Pe...

Oil Patch Insider 09/11/2005
Canadian Superior closes book on Nova Scotia well; Eni files for Rock Flour unit
Toss another few million dollars into the US$30 million spent drilling one of offshore Nova Scotia's most celebrated wells. Only this time Canadian Superior Energy has agreed to pay C$2.15 million and...