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June ANS production down 5.5 percent Trans-Alaska oil pipeline down at end of month for planned maintenance; North Slope field maintenance scheduled for same time Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Alaska North Slope crude oil production averaged 666,873 barrels per day in June, a drop of 5.5 percent from a May average of 705,724 bpd.
With the exception of Northstar, all fields on the North Slope had reduced production in June, driven by a planned shutdown of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline at the end of the month and planned field maintenance.
Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. spokeswoman Michelle Egan told Petroleum News July 1 that planned maintenance occurred June 28 and 29. Egan said this was a full shutdown, scheduled for 30 hours, but the work was completed six hours ahead of schedule. Remote gate valve 72 near Fairbanks was replaced, she said, along with piping at Pump Station 9. Egan said some 100 people were involved in just the remote gate valve replacement.
Another maintenance shutdown is planned in August.
ANS production, which ran at more than 700,000 bpd for most of June, dropped to 586,847 barrels June 27 and to 250,001 barrels June 28 before turning upward June 29 and finishing out the month at 521,118 barrels.
Lisburne had largest June-over-May percentage drop in output The largest percentage drop, 37 percent, was at the BP Exploration (Alaska)-operated Lisburne field, which averaged 21,951 bpd in June, down from an average of 34,849 bpd in May. Lisburne production includes Point McIntyre and Niakuk.
The Alaska Department of Revenue said there was planned maintenance at Lisburne beginning June 1. Production on that day dropped to 1,708 barrels, was at zero June 2-5, and rose to 713 barrels on June 6. The field did not reach the 30,000-bpd level until June 16, and dipped below that level June 28-29 due to the partial shutdown of the pipeline.
The second-highest percentage drop — 20.7 percent — was at BP’s Milne Point field, where Revenue said maintenance was scheduled beginning June 28. Production at Milne averaged 28,251 bpd in June, down from an average of 35,644 bpd in May. Production slowed to 1,539 barrels June 27 and was at zero June 28-29, reaching 10,513 barrels on June 30 as the field began to come back online.
Production at the BP-operated Endicott field averaged 40,682 bpd in June, down 15.7 percent from a May average of 48,242. Revenue’s figures for Endicott include some 33,000 bpd of Prudhoe Bay Flow Station 2 oil, rerouted into the Endicott line as BP rebuilds flow lines.
Kuparuk down 4.7 percent Production at the ConocoPhillips Alaska-operated Kuparuk River field was down 4.7 percent from May, with June production averaging 142,547 bpd compared to 149,640 bpd in May. Production at the field stayed above 150,000 bpd for most of the month, dropping below 100,000 bpd beginning June 26 and continuing through June 29, before closing out the month at 122,609 barrels June 30. Kuparuk includes satellite production at Tabasco, Tarn and Meltwater, as well as West Sak heavy oil.
The Alpine field, also operated by ConocoPhillips, averaged 112,036 bpd in June, down 2.7 percent from a May average of 115,152. Alpine production includes satellites Fiord and Nanuq.
Prudhoe Bay production averaged 285,765 bpd in June, down 2.5 percent from a May average of 293,161 bpd. Production at the BP-operated field includes satellite production from Aurora, Borealis, Midnight Sun, Orion and Polaris.
The BP-operated Northstar field averaged 35,641 bpd in June, up 22.8 percent from a May average of 29,036 bpd. Northstar had reduced production earlier in the year due to planned maintenance and its production is returning to pre-maintenance levels.
Cook Inlet production averaged 13,111 bpd in June, up 2 percent from a May level of 12,839 bpd.
The temperature at Pump Station 1 on the North Slope averaged 45.4 degrees Fahrenheit in June, compared to 29.9 degrees F in May.
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