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Report says Cook Inlet gas likely 1.7 tcf Netherland, Sewell estimates proved natural gas 1.2 tcf, probable 515 bcf, for developed fields in basin based on public data By Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Data publicly available shows a total of 1.7 trillion cubic feet of proved and probable natural gas reserves at 22 active field areas in the Cook Inlet region of Alaska. In a report done for ConocoPhillips Alaska and Marathon Oil Co. as part of their application for a two-year extension of their liquefied natural gas export license, Netherland, Sewell & Associates said data publicly available totals 1.212 tcf of proved reserves and 514.6 billion cubic feet of probable reserves. The total of proved and probable is 1.726 tcf, the firm said, based on data as of Dec. 31, 2005.
Beluga River, with proved and probable reserves, or 2P, of 509.4 bcf, and North Cook Inlet, with a 2P of 610.2 bcf, account for more than half of the total of 1.726 tcf.
Marathon-operated Beaver Creek on the Kenai Peninsula, discovered in 1972, produced 185.9 bcf through the end of 2005 from the Beluga, Sterling and Tyonek formations. Estimated reserves are 39.6 bcf proven, 1P, and 41.4 bcf 2P, proven and probable.
Production began at the ConocoPhillips-operated Beluga field on the west side of Cook Inlet in 1963 and by the end of 2005 the field had produced 960.6 bcf from the Beluga and Sterling formations. Reserves are 473.3 bcf 1P and 509.4 bcf 2P.
The Marathon-operated Cannery Loop field on the Kenai Peninsula produced 139.2 bcf of gas between 1988 and the end of 2005 from the Beluga, Sterling and Tyonek formations. Reserves are the same for both 1P and 2P, 44.2 bcf.
Deeper reserves possible at Kenai The Kenai gas field, also operated by Marathon, has produced 2.292 tcf of natural gas since production began in 1963 from the Beluga, Sterling and Tyonek formations. Reserves are 98 bcf 1P and 173.2 bcf 2P.
The majority of Kenai reserves, 2P of 126.5 bcf, are in the Beluga/Upper Tyonek formation, which has produced 459.5 bcf since production began from the formation in December 1967. Netherland, Sewell said reserves are based on producing wells and probable behind-pipe zones in existing wells and include an estimated 40.2 bcf based on a structure map produced by Marathon and available at the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. The report said the map showed four probable undeveloped locations, “all below the current lowest known gas from a recent well as annotated on the map. The lowest known gas refers to the deepest structural level where gas has been seen on a well log, but does not necessarily represent the deepest structural level where gas is present in the reservoir.”
Middle Kenai formation gas production began from the McArthur River field in 1968 as fuel for Trading Bay unit oil operations. Current gas production is by Chevron from the Steelhead platform. Cumulative production through December 2005 is 1.285 tcf. Reserves are 89.4 bcf 1P and 174.9 bcf 2P.
Ninilchik, one of the Kenai Peninsula’s newest gas fields, began producing in 2003 from the Tyonek formation and had produced 28.7 bcf through December 2005. Reserves at the Marathon-operated field are 56.4 bcf 1P and 82.5 bcf 2P. Based on Marathon’s second plan of development, Marathon is evaluating three additional delineation wells for the Tyonek formation, and Netherland, Sewell said it included reserves for two additional wells, as well as behind-pipe reserves for existing wells.
Some North Cook Inlet reserves at infill locations The North Cook Inlet field, discovered in 1962, began production in March 1969 and as of December 2005 had cumulative production of 1.71 tcf from the Sterling and Beluga formations. Reserves at the ConocoPhillips-operated field are 350.3 1P and 610.2 2P. Netherland, Sewell said that in addition to gas reserves that will be captured through existing well bores, another portion of the 1P reserves are behind pipe zones in producing wells and at future infill locations.
Netherland, Sewell estimated 1P (proven reserves) of 60.6 bcf and 90.9 bcf 2P (probable reserves) for 15 other active fields. Probable reserves for these fields (2P) are: Albert Kaloa 4 bcf; Deep Creek 22 bcf; Granite Point 8.3 bcf; Ivan River 9.6 bcf; Lewis River 1.5 bcf; Middle Ground Shoal 3.4 bcf; Nicolai Creek 0.7 bcf; Oskoloff G 1.1 bcf; Redoubt Shoal 0.3 bcf; Sterling 13.8 bcf; Swanson River 6 bcf; Three Mile Creek 3.8 bcf; Trading Bay 1.5 bcf; West Foreland 14.2 bcf; and West McArthur River 0.8 bcf.
Proved reserves, 1P, are known reserves which can be expected to be recovered under current economic conditions, operations methods and government regulations, and may be either developed or undeveloped. Probable reserves, while unproved, are those reserves more likely than not to be recoverable. In the report, proved plus probable is categorized as 2P.
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