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All North Slope fields up all month ANS September production up 15.8% over August as summer maintenance completed; all fields run every day, first time since May Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Alaska North Slope crude oil production averaged 626,357 barrels per day in September, up 15.8 percent from an August average of 540,947 bpd, driven primarily by completion of summer maintenance at North Slope fields.
All North Slope oil fields were in production every day of September, the first time all fields have been in production every day of any month since May. Over the summer fields were down for maintenance work and production was prorated during the two scheduled trans-Alaska oil pipeline maintenance shutdowns.
Numbers are from the Alaska Department of Revenue’s Tax Division, which tracks oil production by major production centers on a monthly basis.
The BP Exploration (Alaska)-operated Northstar field had the largest percentage increase, up 179.2 percent. The field was down for maintenance most of August, returning to production Aug. 21. Northstar averaged 17,137 bpd in September, up from an average of only 6,137 bpd, based on partial-month August production.
The BP-operated Lisburne field averaged 26,575 bpd in September, an increase of 42.1 percent from August production of 18,699 bpd, as the field ramped back up from lower-than-normal production in the early part of August. Lisburne production includes Point McIntyre and Niakuk.
The BP-operated Prudhoe Bay field averaged 309,173 bpd in September, up 22.4 percent from an August average of 252,529 bpd. Prudhoe was ramping up in August after the second of two scheduled maintenance shutdowns for the trans-Alaska oil pipeline and field maintenance scheduled around those shutdowns, reaching production levels above 300,000 on Aug. 18; the field produced above the 300,000-bpd-level during the majority of days in September. Prudhoe production includes satellite production from Aurora, Borealis, Midnight Sun, Orion and Polaris.
Kuparuk up 6.9 percent The Kuparuk River field, operated by ConocoPhillips Alaska, averaged 142,789 bpd in September, up 6.9 percent from an August level of 133,527 bpd. Kuparuk includes production from Tabasco, Tarn, Meltwater and West Sak, and from the Pioneer Natural Resources-operated Oooguruk field. The Department of Revenue does not report Oooguruk production separately. The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission reports Oooguruk production, but the most recent figures available from the commission are for August, when Oooguruk averaged 9,606 bpd.
The ConocoPhillips-operated Alpine field averaged 91,712 bpd in September, up 2.1 percent from an August average of 89,810 bpd. Alpine includes production from Fiord, Nanuq and Qannik.
BP’s Milne Point field averaged 27,459 bpd in September, down 1.7 percent from an August average of 27,931 bpd. Milne Point includes Schrader Bluff production.
The BP-operated Endicott field averaged 11,512 bpd in September, down 6.5 percent from an August average of 12,314 bpd.
The temperature at Pump Station 1 on the North Slope averaged 38.8 degrees F in September, compared to 46.1 degrees in August.
All Cook Inlet production averaged 8,938 bpd in September, down 3.9 percent from an August average of 9,305 bpd.
ANS crude oil production peaked in 1988 at 2.1 million bpd; Cook Inlet crude oil production peaked in 1970 at more than 227,000 bpd.
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