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August production holds level with July
Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Alaska North Slope crude oil production averaged 572,967 barrels per day in August, an increase of 4,179 bpd or 0.73 percent from the July average of 568,788 bpd.
The largest increase, more than 332 percent, came at the BP Exploration (Alaska)-operated Endicott field, which averaged 13,206 bpd in August compared to 3,055 bpd in July. BP replaced the production control system at Endicott over the summer, and the field was down completely during much of July. Production began again July 31, reached 598 bpd Aug. 2, dropped to zero Aug. 3, and began ramping up again Aug. 4; production was in the 14,000-15,000 bpd range during most of August, topping out at 15,761 bpd on Aug. 25. Production in May and June, prior to work beginning at the field’s facilities, was typically in the 13,000 to 15,000 bpd range.
BP’s Milne Point field averaged 27,277 bpd in August, up 12.5 percent from a July average of 24,246 bpd.
Milne Point is a major viscous oil producer and data from the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which breaks out production by pool within fields, shows that for July — the latest detailed data available — 28.8 percent of Milne production was from the viscous Schrader Bluff formation, 70.7 from the Kuparuk River pool and 0.6 percent from Sag River.
The ConocoPhillips Alaska-operated Alpine field averaged 104,113 bpd in August, up 11.2 percent from a July average of 93,666 bpd. July AOGCC data shows that 71.4 percent of Alpine production is from the main pool, with 25.8 percent from Fiord, the northernmost of three satellites at the Colville River unit, 2.5 percent from the Qannik satellite and 0.4 percent from the Nanuq satellite.
The BP-operated Lisburne facility averaged 30,394 bpd in August, up 10.9 percent from a July average of 27,396 bpd. Lisburne includes production from Point McIntyre and Niakuk.
The BP-operated Northstar field averaged 22,675 bpd in August, up 4.2 percent from a July average of 21,757 bpd.
Kuparuk includes Oooguruk The ConocoPhillips-operated Kuparuk River field averaged 149,353 bpd in August, up 4 percent from a July average of 143,608 bpd. Kuparuk produces primarily from the Kuparuk formation and also from satellites at Tabasco, Tarn, Meltwater and West Sak.
Crude oil from Pioneer Natural Resources Alaska’s Oooguruk field is produced through Kuparuk. AOGCC records show that Oooguruk production, some 6 percent of the oil processed through the Kuparuk facilities, approached 8,500 bpd in July and was 73 percent from the Oooguruk Kuparuk formation and 27 percent from the Oooguruk Nuiqsut oil pool.
Oil produced at Kuparuk comes 72 percent from the Kuparuk formation. Next in volume is viscous West Sak oil (the formation is called Schrader Bluff at Milne Point), some 15 percent, with Tarn oil making up about 10 percent, Meltwater 2 percent and Tabasco just under 1 percent.
Prudhoe production down Production from the BP-operated Prudhoe Bay field averaged 225,949 bpd, a drop of 11.4 percent from a July average of 255,060 bpd. Prudhoe production includes Aurora, Borealis, Midnight Sun, Orion and Polaris.
BP’s summer maintenance projects were scheduled to wrap up about the end of August, and Prudhoe production increased from the low 200,000 bpd range early in the month to more than 260,000 bpd at the end of the month.
The temperature at Pump Station 1 on the North Slope averaged 45.8 degrees Fahrenheit, down from an average 48.1 F in July.
In Cook Inlet, where production has been slowed due to shutdown of the Drift River Terminal, the average of 3,041 bpd is up 6.6 percent from a July average of 2,854 bpd as biweekly loading began from storage at Granite Point and Trading Bay. With platforms back on line during August (see platform item in this issue), these numbers will likely be updated by the Department of Revenue as more information becomes available.
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.
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