Phillips completes ARCO Alaska acquisition
Calling it a "very historic and significant event" in the 83-year history of the Phillips Petroleum Co., Jim Mulva, the company's chairman and chief executive officer, said in Anchorage April 26 that Phillips has completed its acquisition of ARCO's Alaska businesses.
"It's the largest transaction that we have ever completed in the company." The company's hydrocarbon reserves around the world are essentially doubled, Mulva said, from 2.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent to 4.4 billion BOE.
The company's worldwide production has been increased by a little more than 60 percent, to a base of about 490,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, about 340,000 BOE have been added.
"Based on this transaction and the barrels of oil equivalent of production that Phillips already has in Alaska, it makes Phillips Alaska the largest producer of barrels of oil equivalent production in Alaska." Phillips Alaska has around 40 percent of total production from Alaska.
In addition to Prudhoe Bay production, Phillips Alaska owns 55 percent of the Kuparuk River field and also produces natural gas in Cook Inlet.
Kevin Meyers, 46, currently president of ARCO Alaska Inc., will become president and chief executive officer of Phillips Alaska Inc.
BLM proposes unitization, other regulations for NPR-A
The Bureau of Land Management said April 26 that it published a proposed rule on unitization, suspensions, and subsurface-storage agreements that relate to oil and gas activities in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The proposed rule, which appears in the April 26 Federal Register, would add provisions dealing with these matters to the BLM's existing NPR-A oil and gas regulations.
"This proposal, which would implement recent changes in a law that governs oil and gas activities in the NPR-A, complements May's NPR-A oil and gas lease sale," said BLM Acting Director Tom Fry. "Under this proposed rule, companies operating in the NPRA would be able to 'unitize' their oil and gas leases. Unitization maximizes production while minimizing the environmental impact of development." Under a unit agreement, several lessees share in the risks and costs -- as well as the potential benefits -- of oil and gas exploration and development. Unitization also reduces impacts from drilling by enabling two or more leases to be in production using fewer wells.
Comments, which must be submitted in writing, are due June 26 at the Bureau of Land Management, Administrative Record, Room 401 LS, 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, DC 20240.
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