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January 2011

Vol. 16, No. 1 Week of January 02, 2011

Chevron boosts Granite Point production

Company reports improved platform performance following volcano-induced shut-in; Cook Inlet operators provide unit updates to state

Wesley Loy

For Petroleum News

Chevron is reporting improved performance from its Granite Point platform in Alaska’s Cook Inlet following an unusual shut-in during 2009.

Oil production “actually increased throughout the year” in 2010, rising from 530 barrels per day in January to 662 barrels in October, Chevron recently told the state in an update on the South Granite Point unit.

The increase was the result of two major factors, Chevron said.

First, the Granite Point wells continued to show improvement after being shut-in for over four months due to volcanic eruptions at nearby Mount Redoubt, on the west side of Cook Inlet, in 2009.

Second, a more efficient use of gas lift helped improve well performance, Chevron said.

“The Granite Point gas lift compressor was designed to lift much more fluid than the field is currently producing,” Chevron told the state. “As wells have failed and production has declined over time, the compressor’s output of gas lift gas has exceeded well demand. This has resulted in wells being overlifted which results in reduced fluid production.”

Attempts to reduce gas lift output in the past resulted in unstable compressor performance, Chevron said.

The company overcame the problem by recycling excess gas through the gas lift valves in a pair of wells including GP 31-13, which had been shut-in since 1990.

“The ability to recycle as much as 4 mmcfpd of excess gas thru wells GP 31-13 and GP-50 allowed the gas lift gas volumes to be reduced in the remaining producers,” Chevron said. “Well GP 42-23RD showed the greatest benefit from reduced gas lift. The gas lift volume was reduced by 50% in this well which resulted in an increase in oil production of 70 bopd or a 46% increase over production at the higher gas lift rates. In September the owners agreed to a permanent restage of the compressor to reduce overall output and eliminate the need for cycling excess gas. This project will likely take place in the second quarter of 2011.”

Unocal, a Chevron subsidiary, operates the South Granite Point unit, in which ExxonMobil owns a share. First production from the unit was in 1967.

Chevron’s unit update also said the Hemlock oil reservoir is “a potential target for future development.”

Chevron operates most of Cook Inlet’s offshore platforms. The company announced in mid-October, however, that it plans to sell its Cook Inlet assets as a package.

Cook Inlet unit highlights

Operators of several other Cook Inlet units recently provided updates to the state. Here are some highlights:

• Pioneer Natural Resources reported completing well workover, diagnostic and testing operations at its Hansen 1A-L1 well in the Cosmopolitan unit during the period November 2009 through September 2010. The well was suspended.

“Results of this work enhanced Pioneer’s understanding of the reservoir and will be incorporated into future plans,” Pioneer said.

The Cosmopolitan unit takes in eight state leases and two federal leases in Cook Inlet offshore the west bank of the Kenai Peninsula. Pioneer has talked of a development that could peak at 8,000 barrels a day of oil production.

• Marathon, in its 53rd plan of development and operations submitted Dec. 16, said it has no plans to drill new wells in its Kenai gas unit, but is contemplating other work.

“Several existing wells in the field continue to be evaluated for non-rig remedial activities including the installation of velocity strings, foamer capillary strings and other de-liquefaction methods to assist with water removal, and improve gas production,” Marathon said.

• Chevron reported “on-going efforts to farm-out the Red prospect” in the Nikolaevsk unit on the Kenai Peninsula.

• Marathon said it’s working to “resolve ownership issues” related to the Spurr platform and its associated wells.

“Marathon hopes that a resolution to this situation can be reached in time to facilitate the abandonment of Spurr wells in the 2012/2013 timeframe,” the company said.

The Spurr platform hasn’t produced oil since 1992 and is slated for decommissioning. The question of who will pay the decommissioning costs has been the subject of a court fight.






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