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Western Satellites bump
BP reports notable production increases at four of the five fields in the region
Eric Lidji for Petroleum News
BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. is reporting production growth at four of the five fields that make up the Western Satellites at Prudhoe Bay, after reporting declines last year.
In a plan of development submitted to the state Division of Oil and Gas in late September, the Prudhoe Bay operator reported increased oil production at the Borealis, Midnight Sun, Orion and Polaris fields at the west end of Prudhoe Bay. The company reported a slight decline at the Aurora field that essentially constituted flat production.
The increases follow a trend in place before the year ending June 30, 2017, furthering the sense that the previous development year was something of an outlier for the company.
BP files three plans of development each year for the Prudhoe Bay unit - one for the Initial Participating Areas early in the year, one for the Greater Point McIntyre Area in the middle of the year and one for the Western Satellites toward the end of the year.
Aurora BP made no firm drilling commitments at the Aurora field for the coming year but said it expected to continue its existing workover regimen. The company is evaluating potential infill drilling targets identified from its geological models, including recent well results.
The company performed 55 workover operations on existing producers and injectors at the satellite. The projects included tree change out, gas lift optimization, hot oil treatments, safety valve work and vertical support member work. Fourteen of the 55 jobs added production. The remainder either sustained production or were for maintenance.
In the plan, the company listed several projects: It sidetracked the S-200A well in mid-2017 and brought the well into production before the end of that year. It performed hydraulic fracturing on the S-129 well in May 2018 and the S-113B well in June 2018.
As part of a tertiary recovery process underway at the field over the past 15 years, the company also injected miscible injectant into five water-alternating-gas injectors.
The Aurora field came online in November 2000 after several months of initial development drilling. As of the end of June 2018, Aurora had 33 active wells from S pad (18 producers and 15 injectors) with oil processed at Gathering Center No. 2.
Aurora field produced 4,609 barrels per day in the year ending June 30, 2018, down from 4,696 bpd the previous year. Cumulative production reached 45.1 million barrels.
Borealis BP made no firm drilling commitments at the Borealis field for the coming year but said it expected to workover wells and cycle high gas-to-oil ratio wells “as needed.”
“The Borealis owners will continue to evaluate the optimal number of development wells and their locations throughout the life of the reservoir,” the company wrote. “The dynamic model for the Borealis field will be used to evaluate potential drilling targets.”
The company performed 37 workover operations at Borealis in the year ending June 30 for purposes similar to those at the Aurora field. Nine of those operations added production, while the remainder sustained production or addressed maintenance issues.
BP drilled the V-137 grass roots well in the fourth quarter of 2017 but ultimately suspended drilling operations “due to structure coming in deep.” The company drilled the L-118L1 lateral in the first quarter of 2018 and brought the well online in the third quarter. The company also plugged and abandoned the V-119 well during the year.
As part of its tertiary recovery program begun at the Borealis field in June 2004, the company also injected miscible injectant into seven water-alternating-gas injectors.
The Borealis field came online in November 2001, following several months of initial drilling. As of the end of June 2018, Borealis had 49 active wells: 22 wells at L pad (13 producers and nine injectors), 19 wells at V pad (11 producers and eight injectors) and eight wells at Z pad (four producers and four injectors) and was processed at GC-2.
Borealis produced 7,914 bpd during the year ending June 30, up considerably from 6,040 bpd the previous year. Cumulatively, the field had produced 86 million barrels through the end of June, according to figures from BP.
Midnight Sun BP is not planning new wells at the Midnight Sun field for the coming year, although it plans to convert the E-100 injector to an Ivishak producer and could begin sidetracking maturing wells at the field as the benefits of water-alternating-gas injection are realized.
Midnight Sun was initially developed in 1997. As of the end of June the field had six active wells: the E-101 and E-102 producers, the E-100, E-103 and E-104 water injectors and the P1-122 water-alternating-gas well. The most recent was drilled in early 2015. Oil production is comingled at E pad and processed at Gathering Center No. 1.
Midnight Sun produced 1,158 bpd in the year ending June 30, up from 983 bpd the previous year. Cumulatively, the field had produced 21.6 million barrels through the end of June, according to figures provided by the company.
Orion BP made no firm drilling commitments for the Orion field for the coming year but said it would continue its workover program and would evaluate sidetrack options at L pad.
The company performed 75 workover jobs at Orion in the year ending June 30 for purposes similar to those at other satellites. Eleven of those jobs added production, while the remainder either sustained existing production or addressed maintenance issues.
The company changed out waterflood regulating valves on 13 injection wells. The company also started drilling the L-205A sidetrack in the fourth quarter of 2017 and brought the well into production in the second quarter of this year. The well is the first vertical frack packed producer in the Orion participating area, according to the company.
BP is planning several near-term projects at Orion, some of which have been on the agenda for years. Several of these projects address sand production at the field.
The company is studying possible improvements to sand-handling technology installed at GC-2 in 2012 and 2013. The technology was intended to address sand-laden viscous oil from Orion but, so far, has failed to yield the level of improvement desired by BP.
Additionally, BP is looking for ways to address the significant downtime affecting viscous wells in the northwest portion of the Orion participating area. Those wells have been down nearly half the time in recent years due to sand production, matrix bypass events and downhole equipment failures. The company is studying alternate well designs.
In the recently completed development year, BP tested some alternate well designs on the L-200 and L-203 producers, which have often been hampered by sand production.
One of the longest-desired and longest-delayed projects at Orion is the proposed I pad, which the company claims is dependent “upon the results of sand control technology deployed in the Schrader Bluff Formation and the business environment.” Work on the recent L-205A project provided some information in that regard, according to BP.
The Orion field came online in April 2002, following several months of initial development drilling dating back to December 2001. As of the end of June, the field had 33 active wells: 12 wells at L pad (four producers and eight injectors) and 21 wells at V pad (five producers and 16 injectors). Orion oil production is processed at GC-2.
Orion produced 3,900 bpd in the year ending June 30, up from 3,469 bpd the previous year. Cumulatively, the field had produced 35.1 million barrels through the end of June, according to figures provided by the company.
Polaris BP made no firm drilling commitments for the Polaris field for the coming year but said it would continue its workover program with an eye toward mitigating declines.
The company did not drill or complete any new wells at Polaris during the year ending June 30 but performed 27 workover jobs on existing producers and injectors to minimize declines in oil production. Twelve of those jobs added production, while the remainder either sustained existing production rates or addressed maintenance issues.
Many of the projects occurring at Polaris and planned for the immediate future, particularly those involving viscous oil and sand control, overlap with those at Orion.
BP is studying ways to use existing well designs as M pad and S pad to access areas at Polaris with good oil mobility. The company began evaluating two new waterflood enhanced oil recovery patterns at S pad during the reporting year ending June 2018.
“If proven to be viable, development of additional areas at S pad with good oil mobility would be limited to the number of donor wellbores and surface slots available that are able to reach the target without anti-collision issues. The modeling and completions studies work at S pad will transfer to other areas in both the Orion (participating area) and Polaris (participating area),” the company wrote in its plan. A wider viscous oil development at M pad and S pad is contingent on sand control in the Schrader Bluff.
The Polaris field came online in November 1999, after two years of development drilling.
As of the end of June 2018, the field had 24 active wells: four wells at S pad (one producer and three injectors) and 20 wells at W pad (seven producers and 13 injectors).
Polaris oil production is processed at GC-2.
Polaris produced 4,158 bpd in the year ending June 30, up from 3,891 bpd the previous year. Cumulatively, the field had produced 23.2 million barrels through the end of June, according to figures provided by the company.
- ERIC LIDJI
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