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Conoco expands Alpine, Nanuq Kuparuk State approves participating area expansions, adding some 9,200 acres to Alpine PA, some 4,400 acres to Nanuq Kuparuk PA Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
The Alaska Division of Oil and Gas has approved expansions of the Alpine and Nanuq Kuparuk participating areas in the Colville River unit on the western side of the North Slope. Participating areas are the portions of a unit from which oil and gas are produced. They are expanded or contracted as the operator becomes more knowledgeable about areas within the unit capable of producing hydrocarbons in paying quantities.
Alpine, the main producing field in the Colville River unit, was expanded by some 9,200 acres — from 28,695 acres to 37,908 acres. Nanuq Kuparuk, one of two participating areas in the Nanuq satellite south of Alpine, was expanded some 4,400 acres — from some 8,157 acres to some 12,574 acres.
The Alpine PA expansion areas are along the north and northeastern edge of the PA and along the entire western and southern boundaries.
Most of Alpine drilling done ConocoPhillips Alaska, the operator and majority working interest owner at the Colville River unit, told the Department of Natural Resources and Arctic Slope Regional Corp. — the unit is on both state and ASRC acreage — that since “drilling of the majority of the reservoir accessible from existing drill sites is complete, Alpine production rate is expected to continue to decline throughout the 2008-2012 time period.”
Production from Alpine began in late 2000. Average monthly production from the Alpine field alone peaked in November 2005 at a monthly average of some 130,600 bpd. Colville River unit production peaked in May 2007 at 138,984 barrels per day and production from the unit has recently been averaging less than 120,000 bpd.
According to October Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission production figures, the latest available from the commission, which provides production figures by pool, less than 60 percent of Colville River unit production is now from the Alpine field; the remainder is from Alpine satellites. Nanuq accounts for 22 percent, Fiord for 18 percent and the newest satellite, Qannik, for 1 percent. All Colville River unit production is processed through the Alpine Central Facility.
Western focus ConocoPhillips said wells planned in the initial Alpine development were completed as of November 2005. “Future development activities are focused on the western extension of the reservoir (accessible only from future drill sites) but other opportunities are being evaluated around the entire periphery of the Alpine PA.”
Through 2012 the company said the drilling plan “will be focused on developing peripheral reserves not previously drilled due to uncertainty associated with reservoir quality and the current floodable area.”
Drilling will be from the existing four pads (CD-1 and CD-2 from which Alpine and Qannik are drilled; CD-3 from which Fiord is drilled; and CD-4 from which Nanuq is drilled).
ConocoPhillips said drilling from future drill sites, beginning with CD-5 to the west (not yet built), is expected to begin in mid-2012 or later.
Nine Alpine reservoir wells were fracture stimulated in 2007 with “appreciable production rate increases,” the company said. Ten wells were scheduled for fracture stimulation in 2008 and ConocoPhillips said it would continue to look for opportunities to fracture stimulate the Alpine reservoir, “contingent on economic viability.”
Nanuq expanded north The Nanuq Kuparuk participating area was expanded to the north and east. The Nanuq field is some four miles south of the Alpine field, with production from the Brookian-aged Nanuq sand and the Lower Cretaceous-aged Kuparuk sand. Initial Nanuq Kuparuk production began in November 2005.
Nanuq is produced from a gravel pad connected by a road and pipelines to the Alpine facilities.
Through October the Nanuq-Kuparuk had produced 13.1 million barrels of crude oil (compared to 280.9 million barrels from Alpine; 12.8 million barrels from Fiord; and almost 187,000 barrels from Qannik).
In its application to expand the Nanuq-Kuparuk participating area ConocoPhillips told the state that the Kuparuk sand at Nanuq “maintains thickness and good reservoir quality over a more extensive area than was originally expected.”
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