The Brooks Range Petroleum Corporation Group said March 7 that it has acquired the majority of the North Slope leases held by the Bachner-Forsgren-Feddersen group, some 126,990 gross acres in four key areas, including Gwydyr Bay, Colville Delta, Point Thomson and Camden Bay. The acquisition represents a 70 percent increase in BRPC Group’s acreage, bringing its gross acreage to more than 300,000 acres after the transaction closes and leases are issued from the October State of Alaska lease sale.
BRPC Group also said it has begun its 130 square mile North Shore 3-D seismic survey, expected to be complete by March 31.
The BRPC Group consists of AVCG LLC, its operating subsidiary Brooks Range Petroleum Corp. and its co-ventures TG World Energy Inc., Ramshorn Investments Inc. and Bow Valley Alaska Corp. — collectively dubbed by their management as the BRPC Group.
BRPC Vice President of Land and External Affairs Jim Winegarner said the Bachner acreage acquisition, which consists of state leases acquired in areawide lease sales over the past few years, “makes the BRPC Group one of the largest exploration acreage ownership groups on the North Slope.”
The Gwydyr Bay area leases involve 5,115 acres east of the Milne Point unit, which are surrounded on three sides by the BRPC Group’s leasehold in an area where the group is drilling two exploration wells and acquiring 3-D seismic this winter.
The Colville Delta area leases are on 11,472 acres west of the Kuparuk River unit, adjacent to the northwest corner of the BRPC Group’s Titania leasehold and north of the group’s Cronus leases.
The Point Thomson area leases consist of 96,000 acres south of the recently terminated Point Thomson unit, west of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and east of the BRPC Group’s Slugger leasehold. The Yukon Gold No. 1 and Red Dog No. 1 wells, both certified capable of producing, were drilled on this block of leases.
The Camden Bay area leases involve 14,403 acres surrounding the ARCO Stinson No. 1 well, which was drilled in 1990, certified capable or producing, and granted extended well data confidentiality because of its proximity to un-leased acreage within ANWR’s 1002 area.
The BRPC Group “paid an undisclosed sum of cash for the acreage, and Bachner will maintain an undisclosed overriding royalty interest in the acreage,” the group said in its release.
Larry J. Smith, BRPC’s chief geophysicist, said the geophysical contractor for the North Shore seismic program is Kuukpik Veritas.
“The survey will provide coverage of the BRPC Group’s acreage position in the Gwydyr Bay area, including the newly acquired Bachner lease,” Smith said.
