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North Slope output in May level with April Output close to April; drops over month of May as BP shuts in two lines, one at Milne Point, another at Lisburne Production Center Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Alaska North Slope crude oil production for May was 822,413 barrels per day, down 0.24 percent from the April average of 824,357 bpd.
The largest month-to-month production changes were at three fields operated by BP Exploration (Alaska). Production at Lisburne (which includes Point McIntyre and Niakuk) dropped 35.5 percent, averaging 18,938 bpd compared to 29,801 bpd in April. The Department of Revenue noted that Lisburne Production Center shut in a pipeline due to corrosion issues May 8, affecting some 20,000 bpd. Lisburne production for the month peaked at 34,624 barrels May 4, then dropped to below 20,000 bpd May 9 and was as low as 13,503 barrels May 25.
The Milne Point line between K Pad and the Milne processing facility was shut-in May 5, affecting some 2,000 bpd, Revenue said. Milne Point production, which includes Schrader Bluff, averaged 40,060 bpd in May, down 3.8 percent from an April average of 41,628 bpd.
BP spokesman Daren Beaudo said the company is in the engineering phase to replace the two segments of line at Lisburne that have been identified and shut-in. Both segments will be replaced and pipe has been ordered. “Our plan will be to get the work done in the coming winter,” he said.
Plans are already in the works for replacing the K-pad line at Milne Point. The line was scheduled for complete replacement in 2008 and BP will accelerate that replacement to the winter of 2007, Beaudo said.
About 20,000 bpd of Lisburne production is impacted and about 2,000 bpd at Milne Point, he said.
At BP’s Northstar field May production averaged 53,462 bpd in May, down 5.8 percent from an April average of 56,729 bpd. Revenue said production was down 8,000 barrels May 22 due to a gas injector shutdown during a rig move. Northstar produced more than 60,000 bpd for seven days in May, but was below 50,000 bpd for a dozen days, including May 22-31.
The ConocoPhillips Alaska-operated Alpine field also had a production drop in May, averaging 123,504 bpd, down 1.6 percent from an April average of 125,548 bpd.
Prudhoe production up 3% Endicott averaged 20,764 bpd in May, up 5.24 percent from an April average of 19,731 bpd. Endicott, operated by BP, includes production from BP’s Badami field.
Production at the BP-operated Prudhoe Bay field (which includes production from Midnight Sun, Aurora, Polaris, Borealis and Orion) was up 2.9 percent, averaging 385,765 bpd compared to 374,855 bpd in April. Prudhoe production was just above 400,000 bpd in February and then dropped to 318,000 bpd in March following a March 2 oil spill at Prudhoe Bay Gathering Center 2. Some 100,000 bpd were shut-in, with flow partially restored in early April when oil began moving through a feeder line adjacent to the corroded pipeline which was the source of the spill.
The ConocoPhillips Alaska-operated Kuparuk River field averaged 179,920 bpd in May, up 2.2 percent from an April average of 176,065 bpd. Kuparuk includes West Sak, Tabasco, Tarn, Meltwater and Palm.
The temperature at Pump Station 1 on the North Slope averaged 29.6 degrees Fahrenheit in May, compared to a three-year average of 26.9 degrees F. The average temperature in April was 0.3 degrees F.
Cook Inlet production averaged 17,458 bpd in May, up 1.8 percent from an April average of 17,147 bpd.
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