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January 2016

Vol. 21, No. 5 Week of January 31, 2016

BOEM extends Liberty comment again

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is further extending the public comment period for the scoping of an environmental impact statement for Hilcorp Alaska’s proposed development of the Liberty oil field in federal waters of the Beaufort Sea. In a notice issued on Jan. 26, the agency said that in response to a request from Hilcorp the deadline is being extended an additional 60 days from Jan. 26 to March 28.

BOEM originally announced its intention to prepare an EIS for Liberty on Sept. 25, at which time it initiated a public comment period slated to end on Nov. 24. However, the agency subsequently delayed the deadline for comments to Jan. 26 and has now further extended the period during which comments can be made. The additional time will enable Hilcorp to continue important outreach to North Slope stakeholders regarding the project, BOEM says.

Hilcorp proposes developing Liberty from an artificial gravel island in 19 feet of water about 5 miles from the Beaufort Sea coast. BOEM says that it will not make a decision over whether to approve the development until an EIS has been completed for the project.

In 2014 Hilcorp acquired a 50 percent interest in the field from BP, the previous field operator. BP had originally planned a field development from a gravel island, along the same lines as what Hilcorp is now proposing. However, in 2005 BP switched to a different plan, involving ultra-extended-reach drilling from the satellite drilling island for the Endicott field. BP pursued that plan to the point of expanding the drilling island and installing a massive rig for the drilling of development wells. However, amid safety concerns following the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, in November 2010 BP cancelled the Liberty project.

As the new field operator, Hilcorp has revived the artificial island development concept. The company has said the field is capable of producing between 80 million and 150 million barrels of oil over a 15- to 20-year field life.

- ALAN BAILEY






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