Trading Bay unit hits 600-million barrel mark

Petroleum News Alaska Staff

Unocal Alaska said Jan. 17 that the Trading Bay unit has produced 600 million barrels of oil, putting it in the ranks of Unocal’s all-time biggest producers. The Trading Bay unit encompasses the McArthur River field, the largest offshore oil field now in production in Cook Inlet.

Unocal discovered the McArthur River field in 1965 and began production in October 1967. At its peak in the 1970s, the field produced 120,000 barrels of oil per day. Unocal is field operator and has a 54 percent working interest; the remaining interest is held by Forest Oil Corp.

The Trading Bay unit produces from four of the 10 platforms Unocal operates in Cook Inlet. Unocal Alaska holds interests in 17 of the 25 established fields or units in the inlet, and is the designated operator for 15. Unocal’s net daily production from Cook Inlet fields is 144 million cubic feet of gas and 12,000 barrels of oil.