BRPC permits Tofkat exploration prospect

One to two wells planned this winter at exploration prospect northeast of Nuiqsut; access will be off of winter ice road to Alpine

Kristen Nelson

Petroleum News

Brooks Range Petroleum Corp. has submitted a lease plan of operations for its Tofkat exploration program to the Alaska Division of Oil and Gas, with one to two wells planned for this winter season.

This prospect was listed as Titania in Petroleum News’ Aug. 19 story on 2007-08 winter exploration plans.

In a Sept. 28 letter to the division, BRPC said it was changing the name to Tofkat “to avoid confusion with another exploration prospect that was previously permitted by ConocoPhillips that was also called the Titania Exploration Program.”

Titania was a prospect Phillips Petroleum Alaska (now ConocoPhillips Alaska) proposed in 2002 as part of an expansion of the Colville River unit. No well was drilled at Titania and the unit was contracted. The proposed Titania surface location was in section 23, township 10 north, range 5 east, Umiat Meridian.

The BRPC Tofkat surface location is in section 11-T10N-R5E, UM, on state oil and gas lease ADL 391013, an AVCG LLC-held lease. BRPC, a wholly owned subsidiary of AVCG, is the operator for the exploration program.

This lease is east-northeast of the Village of Nuiqsut on Kuukpik Native Corp. surface land. In a Sept. 27 plan of operations BRPC said one or two wells will be drilled from an ice pad. Subsurface ownership is split between the State of Alaska and the Arctic Slope Regional Corp., the company said.

An ice road to Tofkat will be off the annual Kuparuk to Alpine ice road. BRPC said it “proposes to utilize and/or construct the eastern portion of the annual Alpine ice road to access the vicinity of the proposed surface location” and then build a relatively short winter ice-road system from that. The ice road to Alpine is built each year to move supplies to the Colville River unit, which is not on the North Slope road system.

The Alpine ice road begins at the end of the gravel road system at drill site 2L in the Kuparuk River unit. “The eastern portion of the Alpine ice road travels approximately 12 miles west to the east bank of the Colville River, where the proposed BPRC ice pad is located,” BRPC said, and then crosses the Colville River and turns north to connect with existing infrastructure at the Colville River unit.

The company said it will also build short spur ice roads to access water bodies permitted for water withdrawal.

The 35-foot-wide ice road will be a minimum of 6 inches thick and will be built to accommodate Nabors drilling rig 27E, which will be used to drill Tofkat.

BRPC said it is “actively working” with ConocoPhillips Alaska on an agreement for construction and maintenance of the eastern portion of the Alpine ice road. ConocoPhillips is the Colville River unit operator.

BRPC plans to begin pre-packing and clearing snow for ice road construction toward the end of November and begin ice road construction in early December. The camp and drill rig would be mobilized at the beginning of January; drilling is expected to begin Jan. 10, according to the company’s proposed winter exploration schedule.

“After the test well has been drilled and flow tests are performed, as determined to be appropriate in the field, the camp and drill rig will be moved and the second test well will be drilled and a flow test performed, as deemed appropriate,” the company said in its plan of operations.

BRPC said “the well may be tested to confirm flow rates and reservoir characteristics” if “significant hydrocarbons” are found in drilling. Testing would be done with a portable test separator and storage tanks. “Upon a successful test well, a vertical seismic profile may be performed.”

The state said proposed wells will be drilled from State of Alaska lease ADL 391013 into ADL 390676.

The site is approximately 80 miles west of Prudhoe Bay in the Colville River Delta.