AOGCC sets Oooguruk pool rules hearing

The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has set a hearing Dec. 18 for pool rules for Oooguruk.

The agency said Pioneer Natural Resources Alaska Inc., the Oooguruk operator, has requested an order defining two oil pools within the Oooguruk unit, Oooguruk-Nuiqsut and Oooguruk-Kuparuk, and prescribing rules for development and operation of the pools.

Oooguruk lies in the Beaufort Sea north of Kuparuk off Alaska’s North Slope and is scheduled to go into production in the first quarter of next year. Pioneer will be the first independent oil company to operate an oil field in the Alaska Arctic. The company has estimated peak production at 18,000 to 20,000 barrels per day from the Kuparuk and Nuiqsut formations.

The commission said the proposed pools and the proposed development area are within portions of township 13 north-range 7 east, T13N-R8E, T14N-R7E and T14N-R83, Umiat Meridian.

The public hearing is tentatively scheduled for 9 a.m. Dec. 18 at the commission’s offices at 333 W. 7th Ave. in Anchorage. To learn if the hearing will be held, call (907) 793-1212 after Dec. 13.