Hilcorp interested in oil at Ninilchik
Although Hilcorp Alaska’s proposed purchase of Marathon Oil Co.’s Cook Inlet assets has yet to be completed, Hilcorp has given at least some indication of its intentions for those assets, assuming that the purchase takes place.
Marathon’s latest plan of development for the Ninilchik gas field on the Kenai Peninsula contains a list of well workover projects that Hilcorp plans for the field. However, particularly intriguing in Hilcorp’s wish list for Ninilchik is a “desire to have an exploration contingency plan (“C-plan”) in place to support future deep oil drilling tests.”
Lori Nelson, Hilcorp Alaska’s manager, external affairs, confirmed to Petroleum News in an Oct. 25 email that Hilcorp is interested in looking for oil resources in the Ninilchik area.
“We do have plans that include oil development in that area,” Nelson said. “True to Hilcorp’s prior success we intend to leave no stone unturned within our existing asset base in order to maximize production. The Cook Inlet basin as a whole is a world class asset that we are excited to revitalize and develop.”
Within the Tertiary strata of the Cook Inlet basin, oil pools tend to occur at deeper levels than gas pools. The Ninilchik gas field has reservoirs within the Tertiary Tyonek formation. The older and deeper Hemlock and West Foreland formations tend to contain oil rather than gas, although the Tyonek also holds oil at some locations in the basin. Geologists have also speculated about the possibility of finding oil in older Mesozoic rocks, below the base of the Tertiary.
—Alan Bailey
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