A new Prudhoe Bay Kuparuk formation satellite field has been discovered at the V-200 well. The well encountered a 58-foot vertical section of oil-bearing sand in the Kuparuk formation, ARCO Alaska Inc. said in a March 23 statement.
This Kuparuk accumulation, which will be named the Aurora field, tested more than 1,900 barrels per day of 30 degree API oil and 1.3 million standard cubic feet of gas per day. The accumulation is estimated to contain 20 million to 35 million recoverable barrels of oil. Prudhoe Bay satellites are oil and gas accumulations in or around the Prudhoe Bay field that are not part of the main reservoir.
The discovery well is located on a lease in which ARCO Alaska and Exxon Company USA each own a 50 percent interest. Adjacent leases are held by ARCO, Exxon, Mobil Alaska E&P Inc. and Phillips Petroleum Co.
The four companies are involved in evaluating plans for additional appraisal activities at Aurora during 1999. The V-200 well was drilled from an ice pad; 1999 appraisal activities would be done from existing gravel in the area, ARCO Alaska spokeswoman Dawn Patience told PNA.
Patience said this is the fifth Prudhoe Bay satellite discovered within the last 18 months. Eight other wells were drilled to discover and delineate the nearby Midnight Sun, Sambuca, Northwest Eileen Kuparuk and S-Pad and W-Pad Schrader Bluff satellites. Patience said that Midnight Sun is on test production; the rest are under appraisal.
