December production down from November

Alaska North Slope production drops 1.6%, month to month; Endicott, Milne, Alpine, Prudhoe Bay all have reduced volumes

Kristen Nelson

Petroleum News

Alaska North Slope crude oil production dropped 1.56 percent in December, averaging 688,765 barrels per day compared to the November average of 699,675 bpd. ANS crude oil production peaked in 1988 at some 2 million bpd.

The Department of Revenue said in its fall revenue forecast that for fiscal year 2009, which ended June 30, 2009, ANS production averaged 692,127 bpd. The department forecast an average of 658,762 bpd for FY 2010, which ends June 30, and 622,879 bpd for FY 2011, which begins July 1.

The department expects ANS production to stay above a 600,000-bpd average through FY 2016.

The BP Exploration (Alaska)-operated Prudhoe Bay field, the largest on the North Slope, had the biggest per-barrel drop, almost 7,700 bpd, and averaged 352,529 bpd in December, compared to 360,195 bpd in November, down 2.13 percent. Prudhoe Bay production includes the field’s satellites: Aurora, Borealis, Midnight Sun, Orion and Polaris.

Department of Revenue figures show that as recently as FY 2000, Prudhoe Bay production averaged 571,000 bpd, with another 5,000 bpd from satellites. The department is projecting that by FY 2019 Prudhoe Bay production will average 198,000 bpd, with an additional 28,000 bpd from the field’s satellites.

Production from the ConocoPhillips Alaska-operated Kuparuk River field, the second largest on the North Slope, was up slightly in December, averaging 145,167 bpd compared to 144,617 bpd in November, a 0.38 percent increase. Kuparuk production includes Tabasco, Tarn, Meltwater and West Sak, as well as production from the Pioneer Natural Resources Oooguruk field, which Revenue figures show averaged some 4,000 bpd in FY 2009. The most recent monthly data available for Oooguruk from the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission show total October production from the field of 265,829, an average of about 8,575 bpd.

Production at the ConocoPhillips Alaska-operated Alpine field averaged 92,026 bpd in December, down almost 3,200 bpd from a November average of 95,213 bpd, a 3.35 percent decline. Alpine includes satellite production from Fiord, Nanuq and Qannik.

Production at Alpine began in 2000, and Revenue figures show it peaked at some 123,000 bpd in 2006 and averaged 106,000 bpd in FY 2009 — 63,000 bpd from the main field, 21,000 bpd from Fiord and 22,000 bpd from Nanuq. Qannik, a satellite accessed from the main field, is included in the Alpine production numbers.

The BP-operated Lisburne field averaged 35,564 bpd in December, up 10.3 percent from a November average of 32,236 bpd. Lisburne production includes Point McIntyre and Niakuk. In its fall forecast Revenue estimates some 36,000 bpd from these fields in FY 2010, declining to 15,000 bpd by FY 2019.

BP’s Milne Point field averaged 27,895 bpd in December, down 5.21 percent from a November average of 29,427 bpd. AOGCC figures for October show about a third of Milne production coming from Schrader Bluff. Revenue’s fall forecast projects that the field will average 29,000 bpd in FY 2010 and some 22,000 bpd in FY 2019.

The BP-operated Northstar field averaged 22,500 bpd in December, up 0.3 percent from a November average of 22,433 bpd. Revenue’s fall forecast shows an estimated 20,000 bpd for the field in FY 2010, declining to 6,000 bpd in FY 2019.

The BP-operated Endicott field averaged 13,084 bpd in December, down 15.88 percent from a November average of 15,554 bpd. Revenue’s fall forecast estimates Endicott production at 14,000 bpd in FY 2010, and 13,000 bpd in FY 2019.

The temperature at Pump Station 1 on the North Slope averaged minus 0.45 degrees F in December, compared to 0.31 F in November.

Cook Inlet production averaged 9,512 bpd in December, up 0.89 percent from a November average of 9,428 bpd. Cook Inlet crude oil production peaked in 1970 at more than 227,000 bpd