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September 2010

Vol. 15, No. 37 Week of September 12, 2010

BP Alaska lays out plans for Northstar field

Island oil field in Beaufort Sea near Prudhoe Bay to get new base camp; no new drilling mentioned in latest development plan

Wesley Loy

For Petroleum News

The Northstar oil field, based on a manmade island in the Beaufort Sea about five miles northwest of Prudhoe Bay, has had a brief production life that’s already in sharp decline.

Operator BP started production in 2001 and output peaked in 2004 at an average of about 68,700 barrels per day. As of May 31, production stood at about 19,000 barrels per day, BP says.

Through 2009, Northstar had produced about 142 million barrels.

The Northstar unit straddles state and federal waters in the Beaufort Sea, with the five-acre production island rising out of a depth of about 39 feet. The island is heavily fortified against sea ice.

Although it wasn’t the first offshore oil production site in the Beaufort, Northstar Island was the first without a causeway connection to the mainland.

BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. owns 98.6 percent of the field, and Murphy Exploration (Alaska) Inc. owns 1.4 percent.

Drilling, construction efforts

On June 25, BP submitted its eighth plan of development for the Northstar unit to the Alaska Division of Oil and Gas and the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement.

Under the prior plan of development, which covered the period Oct. 1, 2008, through Sept. 30, 2010, BP says it completed one additional production well, the NS33A well, to bring the field’s well count to 21 producers, six injectors and two waste disposal wells. Drilling on the NS33A well was completed in May 2009.

BP says it also “initiated work towards relocating and replacing the base camp facilities on the island.”

BP in late 2009 applied for state and federal clearance to place a huge new module on Northstar Island. The module would house a new operations center, living quarters, office and shops, a project description said. The plan also called for a new ramp for an ARKTOS amphibious escape vehicle. Project completion was scheduled for June 2012.

Prudhoe gas plays a role

The new plan of development says “facility capacity” limits production at Northstar.

Dry gas is piped from Prudhoe Bay to the Northstar unit for use as fuel, and for injecting into the Northstar reservoir to enhance oil recovery. BP says it will continue injecting this outside gas to maintain reservoir pressure and to boost recovery. The company also is “evaluating the technical feasibility and economic viability of converting one or more producing wells to injection.”

Northstar produces from the Ivishak and Shublik formations.

BP says it has reprocessed the Northstar 3-D seismic survey and updated the Ivishak reservoir model. In the coming year, the company says it will “continue to appraise other acreage and formations” within the Northstar unit. The company makes no mention of any planned drilling.






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