Future uncertain Anadarko finds ‘no commercial hydrocarbons’ at Jacob’s Ladder well Eric Lidji Petroleum News
After reviewing logs and finding “no commercial hydrocarbons,” Anadarko Petroleum plugged its Jacob’s Ladder well this winter, according to a first quarter operations report released on May 6.
The oil prospect sits 10 miles southeast of Prudhoe Bay on Alaska’s eastern North Slope and for years geologists have considered the unique structure of Jacob’s Ladder to be a sign of potentially large reserves.
But with the disappointing news, Anadarko and its partners of the project now plan to use the rest of spring to decide the future of Jacob’s Ladder.
“We’re having meetings trying to decide what we’re doing next year,” said company spokesman Mark Hanley.
Unique geography piqued interest The interest in Jacob’s Ladder stems from the Wahoo formation of the Lisburne Group, a prospect believed to hold between 20 million and 660 million barrels of oil equivalent.
While knowledge of the Lisburne field dates back to the discovery of Prudhoe Bay, the geology at Jacob’s Ladder piqued some interest because of the presence of Karst topography, a type of terrain where near-surface limestone gets eroded by water to form extensive underground caves.
These caves can be excellent for trapping oil and gas, as proven by the similar features within the Yates field in west Texas, one of the most prolific reservoirs in the epic Permian Basin.
The state recognized this back in 2005 upon formation of the Jacob’s Ladder unit, saying a drilling program would help evaluate “a previously unrecognized play type on the North Slope of Alaska.”
At that time, Anadarko publicly spoke of its strategy to “anchor” its operations in Alaska in large oil and gas accumulations.
Jacob’s Ladder also includes a prospect in the Ivishak formation of the Sadlerochit structure that could possibly hold between 50 million and 800 million boe.
On top of those estimated reserves, the field sits just east of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline and the production facilities of Prudhoe Bay, closer to infrastructure than some of the company’s other prospects across northern Alaska.
Anadarko maintains a 50 percent interest in Jacob’s Ladder, with the remaining 50 percent shared by BG Group (40 percent) and the Arctic Slope Regional Corp. (10 percent).
After bringing on those partners in 2006, Anadarko began drilling the Jacob’s Ladder exploration well last year, but didn’t finish by the end of the season and returned this year with a newly winterized Akita 63 rig.
The company started drilling in February and achieved a total depth of 14,416 feet.
The Akita 63 rig is now headed to Canada, after a brief stint in Deadhorse.
|