|
ANS production drops 2.4% in January Decline from December driven by Prudhoe Bay field, where a drop of 13,614 bpd accounted for most of the 16,776 bpd overall drop Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Alaska North Slope crude oil production averaged 671,989 barrels per day in January, down 2.44 percent from a December average of 688,765 bpd.
The average drop in barrels was 16,776, and the largest per-barrel decline was at the North Slope’s largest field, Prudhoe Bay, which averaged 338,915 bpd in January, down 3.86 percent from a December average of 352,529 bpd, a drop of 13,614 bpd. The BP Exploration (Alaska)-operated field includes production from satellites at Aurora, Borealis, Midnight Sun, Orion and Polaris.
BP’s Milne Point field had a larger percentage drop in production from December to January, 4.61 percent, but on a much smaller volume of oil. Milne production averaged 26,608 bpd in January, down from 27,895 bpd in December. Milne’s main production is from the Kuparuk River formation, but it also produces a small amount of oil from the Sag River formation and a substantial portion of its volume, almost 35 percent, from the viscous Schrader Bluff formation.
The BP-operated Lisburne field averaged 34,855 bpd in January, down 2 percent from a December average of 35,564 bpd. Lisburne, a part of greater Prudhoe Bay, includes production from Point McIntyre and Niakuk.
Oooguruk production at 9,100 bpd The ConocoPhillips Alaska-operated Kuparuk River field averaged 142,345 bpd in January, down 1.94 percent from a December average of 145,167 bpd. Kuparuk, the second-largest field on the North Slope, includes production from satellites at Tabasco, Tarn and Meltwater; West Sak viscous oil — the formation analogous to Schrader Bluff; and production from the Pioneer Natural Resources Alaska-operated Oooguruk field. The most recent month for which Oooguruk production figures are available is December, when Oooguruk production averaged more than 9,100 bpd.
The BP-operated Northstar field averaged 22,301 bpd in January, down 0.9 percent from a December average of 22,500 bpd.
Only two North Slope fields had increased January over December production, Alpine and Endicott.
The BP-operated Endicott field averaged 13,608 bpd in January, up 4 percent from a December average of 13,084 bpd.
The ConocoPhillips-operated Alpine field averaged 93,357 bpd in January, up 1.45 percent from a December average of 92,026 bpd. Alpine includes satellite production from Fiord, Nanuq and Qannik. The majority of Alpine oil comes from the main Alpine formation; the second-largest producer is Fiord, which accounted for 22 percent of oil processed at Alpine in December, the most recent month for which such details are available.
The temperature at Pump Station 1 averaged minus 14.8 degrees F in January, compared to minus 0.5 F in December.
Cook Inlet production averaged 9,564 bpd in January, about flat from a December volume of 9,512 bpd.
ANS crude oil production peaked in 1988 at some 2 million bpd; Cook Inlet crude oil production peaked in 1970 at more than 227,000 bpd.
|
