Conoco applies for pad expansion

ConocoPhillips has applied to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to expand the Kuparuk Construction Services gravel pad in the northern part of the Kuparuk River unit on the North Slope. The company has said that the expansion is needed “to support the continued development and production of oil and gas resources within the Kuparuk River unit.”

The expansion would increase the pad’s surface area by about 58.6 acres, with the placement of 502,000 cubic yards of gravel. Pad construction would take place in three phases in the winters of 2016, 2017 and 2018. Upon completion of the construction, existing power poles on the northern edge of the existing pad would be removed and the associated cables buried.

According to a plan accompanying the permit application, the expanded pad would accommodate a rig camp, support shops, tank storage and a vac truck staging area.

- ALAN BAILEY