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ConocoPhillips has five-year NPR-A plan BLM environmental assessment covers 11 exploration wells during 2006-11: two Noatak, two Nugget, three Cassin, four Spark DD wells Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
ConocoPhillips Alaska only drilled one well on federal land in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska in the 2006-07 winter season, the Noatak No. 1.
But an environmental assessment by the Bureau of Land Management authorized as many as 11 wells in NPR-A from 2006 through 2011: two additional wells at Noatak; two at Nugget; three at Cassin; and four at Spark DD.
BLM said drilling in the multi-year winter exploration program would involve one to three sites in any one winter.
Also included in the environmental assessment are 110 miles of new access corridor, four new airstrip locations and nine new water supply lakes.
In addition to these prospects on federal leases in NPR-A, ConocoPhillips has a prospect at Intrepid some 20 miles south of Barrow on Native land, where it drilled last winter; BLM said the access corridor includes Intrepid.
BLM said in the December 2006 final environmental assessment that since 1999 it has authorized 11 winter exploration drilling programs in NPR-A and evaluated access and exploratory drilling at 82 sites. Drilling was completed at 20 of the sites, 15 of which were drilled by ConocoPhillips.
“There have been no significant direct, indirect or cumulative adverse impacts associated with the 10 authorized winter exploration programs in the NPR-A,” BLM said. Environmental protection measures for the proposed drilling area are not significantly different than those applied in the past, the agency said, noting that its field inspections “have identified no significant impacts” from ConocoPhillips’ previous winter drilling program in the same area as the proposed program.
Eleven wells in new program In addition to the wells in this project, BLM said a notice of staking and field inspection were done for the Noatak No. 1 well in 2004 with a new notice of staking and field inspection for that well in 2006. ConocoPhillips drilled that well, along with a well at Intrepid, in the 2006-07 winter season. Its partner Pioneer Natural Resources said in May that the wells were “non-commercial.”
Eleven new wells are included in the environmental assessment, wells and prospects, which appeared on applications for rights of way last year (see “North Slope exploration plans shaping up” in Oct. 26, 2006, issue of Petroleum News).
The Noatak wells (Nos. 2 and 3) are in section 21, township 12 north, range 5 west, Umiat Meridian. The Nugget wells (Nos. 1 and 2) are in section 28, T11N-R4W, UM. The Cassin wells (Nos. 1-3) are in 27-T12N-R1W, UM, 17-T11N-R1W, UM, and 31-T12N-R1W, UM. The Spark DD wells (Nos. 9-12) are in sections 21, 21, 28 and 21, respectively, of T10N-R2E, UM. All are in the Northeast NPR-A planning area.
BLM said the four Spark DD sites are “directly adjacent” to the proposed site for Alpine satellite CD-7, “which has been evaluated as a development node with permanent road access and a pipeline” to Alpine. The new Noatak well sites are some 40 miles west of the CD-7 site, 55 miles southeast of Cape Simpson and about 110 miles east of the Barrow gas fields.
High probability of economic oil and gas “The project area is considered to have a high probability for the occurrence of economic oil and gas resources,” BLM said.
“The project elements of the (ConocoPhillips Alaska) project in the NE Planning Area include the undeveloped Fish Creek oil field, as well as the expected southwesterly expansion of the production Alpine field.”
If the Spark-Lookout discoveries are developed, as little as two miles of pipeline would be needed to connect the Spark DD sites and approximately 40 miles to connect the Noatak sites, the agency said.
Packed snow trail, ice road BLM said the proposed exploration program is similar to those completed in NPR-A over recent winter seasons.
The 11 proposed ice drill pads would total approximately 63 acres.
The estimate is that up to three pads would be constructed per season, BLM said, with up to 44 penetrations (wells and sidetracks) and the possibility of multiple wells from a single pad.
Two-acre ice pads may be constructed near a drill pad to support ice construction crews or drilling. One ice storage pad of approximately 1.4 acres may be built along the access corridor.
BLM said the drill sites are in the same general area as drill sites evaluated in 2004.
Primary access to the drilling areas will be by packed snow trail-ice road along rights of way authorized by BLM between the Colville River and Barrow. ConocoPhillips “has proposed several new ROW corridor segments to more effectively reach proposed drilling locations,” BLM said. Rolligons or low-pressure vehicles may be used to pre-pack the ice road or to side cast water on the ice route to expedite penetration of frost.
Oil from testing would be held in tanks Proposed drilling and testing operations may include extended flow periods to determine well productivity; oil from testing would be held in tanks until testing is complete and then injected back into the formation or hauled to Alpine or Kuparuk for processing. BLM said produced gas would be flared.
Drilled wells will be temporarily suspended or plugged and abandoned; for multiple-year drilling, the drilling rig may be stored over the summer on an existing gravel pad or at other suitable location.
BLM said alternatives rejected included drilling each prospect from a single drill site using extended reach drilling: “Extended reach drilling methods are rarely employed for exploration wells when practicable alternatives are available, because it adversely affects data collection.”
The agency said “drilling a vertical well provides for better exploration data than drilling a deviated well and there appears to be no environmental advantage to altering the proposed winter exploration plan accordingly.”
Access by sea ice road was also rejected because it did not offer an environmental advantage for access to all drilling sites for the entire five-year program. “Similarly, use of only previously authorized access routes that go to the same general areas as new proposed segments was initially considered. However, this offers no distinct environmental advantage and the proposed route changes will shorten and improve access.”
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