|
December ANS crude down 1% from November North Slope output averaged 550,893 bpd, down 5,520 bpd from November; Cook Inlet November production down 5% from October KRISTEN NELSON Petroleum News
Alaska North Slope crude oil production averaged 550,893 barrels per day in December, down 1 percent from a November average of 556,413 bpd.
The largest percentage drop, 4.2 percent, was at the ConocoPhillips Alaska-operated Alpine field, which averaged 57,193 bpd in December, down 2,476 bpd from a November average of 59,669 bpd.
This is a fairly minor correction from the big jump Alpine took in November, up 28 percent from 46,598 bpd in October to 59,669 bpd after CD5 came online in early November.
Alpine volumes include the main field - of which CD5 is a part - and satellites at Fiord, Nanuq and Qannik.
Information for December comes from the Alaska Department of Revenue’s Tax Division which reports North Slope oil production consolidated by major production centers and provides daily production and monthly averages. More detailed data, including Cook Inlet and individual North Slope fields and pools, is reported by the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission on a month-delay basis.
November AOGCC data show production from the main Alpine field up 40 percent in November, a gain of 13,026 bpd from October, and totaling 45,647 bpd, 77 percent of overall production from the field, up from 70 percent in October. Fiord averaged 10,656 bpd in November, down 1.1 percent from October; Nanuq averaged 1,477 bpd in November, down 10.3 percent; and Qannik averaged 1,471 bpd, down 0.5 percent.
Prudhoe also down The largest per-barrel month-over-month decline was at the BP Exploration (Alaska)-operated Prudhoe Bay field, which averaged 313,440 bpd in December, down 8,456 bpd, 2.6 percent, from a November average of 321,896 bpd.
Prudhoe volumes as reported by the Tax Division include satellite production from Aurora, Borealis, Midnight Sun, Orion, Polaris, Sag River, Schrader Bluff and Ugnu, as well as from the Hilcorp Alaska-operated Milne Point and Northstar fields.
AOGCC data show Milne Point averaged 18,971 bpd in November, up 0.4 percent from an October average of 18,890 bpd, while Northstar averaged 5,957 bpd in November, down 2.7 percent from an October average of 6,127 bpd.
Increases at other fields Other North Slope production - Lisburne, Endicott and Kuparuk - had month-over-month increases in December.
BP-operated Lisburne, part of greater Prudhoe Bay, had the largest percent increase, up 17.6 percent, averaging 28,637 bpd, a 4,275-bpd increase over a November average of 24,362 bpd.
Lisburne includes production from Niakuk, Point McIntyre and Raven
Volumes shown for Endicott, operated by Hilcorp Alaska, averaged 9,831 bpd in December, up 7.6 percent, 697 bpd, from a November average of 9,134 bpd. Endicott volumes include Eider, Minke, Sag Delta and the Savant Alaska-operated Badami field.
AOGCC data for Badami show the field averaged 879 bpd in November, down 11.4 percent, 113 bpd, from an October average of 992 bpd.
The ConocoPhillips-operated Kuparuk River field averaged 141,792 bpd in December, up 0.3 percent from a November average of 141,352 bpd. Kuparuk volumes include satellite production from Meltwater, Tabasco, Tarn and West Sak, as well as production from the Eni-operated Nikaitchuq field and the Caelus Alaska-operated Oooguruk field.
AOGCC data for November show Nikaitchuq averaged 25,940 bpd, up 0.7 percent, 168 bpd, from an October average of 25,772 bpd. Oooguruk averaged 12,051 bpd in November, up 22 percent from an October average of 9,878 bpd. Oooguruk production has varied considerably, reaching 15,566 bpd in April 2015. The October average was a recent low volume for the field.
Cook Inlet AOGCC data show Cook Inlet production averaged 16,774 bpd in November, down 5.4 percent from an October average of 17,724.
The largest per-barrel drop was at the Hilcorp Alaska-operated McArthur River field, Cook Inlet’s largest, which averaged 5,123 bpd in November, down 543 bpd, 9.6 percent, from an October average of 5,666 bpd.
The largest month-over-month percentage drop, 11.6 percent, was at Hilcorp’s Swanson River field, which averaged 2,114 bpd in November, down 277 bpd from an October average of 2,390 bpd.
Hilcorp’s Trading Bay field averaged 2,811 bpd in November, down 3.7 percent, 108 bpd, from an October average of 2,919 bpd.
Cook Inlet Energy’s West McArthur River field averaged 1,211 bpd in November, down 2.7 percent, 33 bpd, from an October average of 1,244 bpd.
Hilcorp’s Granite Point field averaged 2,532 bpd in November, down 1.2 percent, 29 bpd, from an October average of 2,561 bpd.
Hilcorp’s Middle Ground Shoal field averaged 1,902 bpd in November, down 0.8 percent, 15 bpd, from an October average of 1,917 bpd.
Production at Cook Inlet’s two smallest crude oil producing fields, Beaver Creek and Redoubt Shoal, was up month-over-month.
The Hilcorp-operated Beaver Creek field averaged 123 bpd in November, up 6.6 percent, 8 bpd, from an October average of 115 bpd.
The Cook Inlet Energy-operated Redoubt Shoal field averaged 958 bpd in November, up 5.3 percent, 48 bpd, from an October average of 910 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.
|
