Pioneer completes drill site at Oooguruk

Kay Cashman

Pioneer Natural Resources said in early August that it has completed the construction of the gravel drill site for the Oooguruk oil development project on Alaska’s North Slope.

Additional work scheduled for 2006 includes contouring and armoring the drill site, fabricating equipment and modifying the drilling rig for installation during 2007.

The project is “on schedule to achieve first oil production in 2008,” Pioneer said.

Oooguruk, discovered in 2003, is in the shallow waters of the Beaufort Sea, approximately eight miles northwest of the ConocoPhillips-operated Kuparuk River unit.

A subsea flowline and facilities will be installed during 2007 to carry produced liquids to existing onshore processing facilities at the Kuparuk River unit.

Some 40 horizontal wells will be drilled to develop 50 million to 90 million barrels of estimated gross oil resources, Pioneer said in February.

According to past reports Oooguruk is expected to hold some 70 million barrels of recoverable oil and produce 15,000 to 20,000 barrels per day. Production is expected to peak in 2010.

Pioneer estimated total gross capital investment for the project, including drilling and facility costs, at $450 million to $525 million.

Oooguruk will be the first independent-operated oil field on Alaska’s North Slope.