BP in Alaska: Advancing technology maximizes light oil production

Extracting as much oil as possible from Prudhoe Bay and other mature North Slope fields remains a top priority for BP, ConocoPhillips and others. Using advanced imaging technology, BP remapped much of Prudhoe Bay in 2003, and in 2009 completed more 3-D and 4-D seismic surveys.

New data acquired through these surveys has helped the company reach small pockets of oil through sidetrack wells, which are wells drilled directionally with great precision through existing wellbores. BP drills more than 100 new well penetrations each year and the program has significantly reduced production declines at Prudhoe Bay. As summer comes to the North Slope in 2008, a total of 13 drilling rigs were operating in and around Prudhoe Bay.

A key element of sustaining oil production is developing satellite accumulations around the Slope’s major fields. These relatively small oil pools can be produced from existing facilities and could yield millions of barrels of recoverable oil. New drilling technologies, sophisticated enhanced oil recovery programs and new, innovative well maintenance techniques are coaxing more oil from existing fields.

A collaborative effort among the North Slope producers to drive down costs and add hundreds of millions of barrels of recoverable oil is making significant progress.

—Frank Baker