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Brooks Range spuds well
Brooks Range Petroleum Corp. has spud the North Shore No. 1 well on Alaska’s central North Slope, north of the Prudhoe Bay oil field, the company announced Feb. 8. The well will test an oil accumulation first tested by Mobil in the Gwydyr Bay South No. 1 well in 1974.
The prospect lies in the Ivishak, in a fault block separate from the Prudhoe Bay field, and in a State of Alaska lease that Brooks Range has acquired through a farm-out arrangement with Exxon, Chevron and ConocoPhillips.
Nabors rig used
Nabors rig 16E is drilling the well.
“We have identified a structural closure of interest on 3D seismic,” said Larry J. Smith, Brooks Range chief geophysicist. “Today’s 3D seismic technology and 3D mapping techniques were not available to Mobil when they drilled their well making it difficult for them to map reservoir geometry.”
According to Brooks Range partner TG World Energy the Mobil 1974 well tested 35 API oil at a flow rate of 2,263 barrels per day.
After completion of the North Shore well the Nabors rig will move a mile and a half north to drill the Brooks Range Petroleum Group Sak River No. 1 well. That well will test Kuparuk and Ivishak Gwydyr Bay prospects, Brooks Range said. According to the company’s plan of exploration, the Sak River operation will involve drilling the No. 1 well and a sidetrack, to target two prospects.
Directional drilling All of the wells involve directional drilling from onshore locations. The North Shore well target lies under the Kuparuk River delta, while the Sak River well targets lie under the state waters of the Beaufort Sea.
“Brooks Range Petroleum Corp. is committed to safe operations, environmental stewardship, and economic growth which will provide jobs for Alaskans,” said Bo Darrah, Brooks Range CEO. “We place a high priority on purchasing goods and services locally. We are committed to giving local contractors and suppliers the opportunity to participate in our projects through the competitive bid process.”
“BRPC is (also) in the final stages of planning, permitting, and designing the 130-square mile North Shore 3D seismic survey to be acquired beginning in early March 2007 by Kuukpik Veritas,” Smith said. “This survey will provide coverage of the BRPC Group’s acreage position in the Gwydyr Bay area.”
Brooks Range Petroleum, a wholly owned subsidiary of Alaska Venture Capital Group, is operator of a joint venture involving TG World Energy Inc., Ramshorn Investments and Bow Valley Alaska Corp. for the exploration and development of AVCG-operated North Slope oil and gas leases.
—Alan Bailey
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