XTO defers Middle Ground Shoal drilling

Kyle Hammond, vice president of operations for XTO’s Permian division in Alaska, characterized the situation in his company’s Cook Inlet Middle Ground Shoal field as “business as usual.”

XTO bought two Middle Ground Shoal state leases and the field’s A and C platforms from Shell. Since then the company has increased reserves and maintained production rates at the field through continued drilling and development. By late 2005 XTO had drilled 11 sidetrack wells, with average reserves of 750,000 barrels per well.

But Hammond said July 6 that XTO has deferred drilling of further sidetrack wells into 2007. The company had planned to drill those wells in 2006.

“We’ve definitely decided not to do those this year,” Hammond said, commenting that the deferral stems from a decision to invest in other areas at the moment. There is, however, a high probability of drilling the wells next year, he said. Meantime XTO has completed a remodel of the crew quarters on the C platform, Hammond said. An upgrade of the fire and gas detection systems on both Middle Ground Shoal platforms continues. The upgrade is 90 percent complete on C platform and still in progress on A platform, Hammond said.

—Alan Bailey