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Feds considering Buccaneer IHA Buccaneer requesting incidental harassment authorization for proposed offshore exploration in the upper Cook Inlet this year Eric Lidji For Petroleum News
Buccaneer Alaska Operation LLC is seeking an incidental harassment authorization for a proposed multiwell offshore exploration program in Cook Inlet starting this summer.
The local subsidiary of Australian independent Buccaneer Energy Ltd. is asking the National Marine Fisheries Service for the authorization, which allows a company to unintentionally harass some marine animals during the course of certain activities. The authorization includes a legal definition of “harassment” ranging from annoyance to injury. The authorization is required for most offshore exploration in the Cook Inlet.
The federal agency is taking comments on the request through May 7.
Buccaneer originally proposed a six-well program when it initially applied for the authorization in August 2013, but subsequently reduced the scope to a four-well program.
The current authorization would only cover 2014 component of a multiyear program.
Buccaneer is proposing to drill as many as two wells during the open water season, which runs from April 15 to Oct. 31, but is occasionally extended when weather permits. It expects each well to take 30 to 75 days to drill with another seven to 15 days of testing.
The potential sources of harassment being considered include: towing the Endeavour jack-up rig to well sites, driving conductor pipe, drilling the exploration wells, conducting vertical seismic profiling in the wellbore and conducting helicopter logistics.
Those activities could disturb a range of seas creatures. “The marine mammal species that is likely to be encountered most widely (in space and time) throughout the period of the planned surveys is the harbor seal,” the federal agency wrote in a public notice.
Other sea creatures in the region include the federally protected beluga whale and stellar sea lion, but Buccaneer is not requesting permission to incidentally harass either species.
The federal agency, though, is considering the impact of the exploration work on killer whales, harbor porpoises, gray whales, minke whales, dall’s porpoises and harbor seals.
Tyonek Deep, Southern Cross The Buccaneer application includes four potential well locations for this coming year: the Tyonek Deep No. 1 and Tyonek Deep No. 2 wells at the North Cook Inlet unit, and the Southern Cross No. 1 and Southern Cross No. 2 wells at the former Southern Cross unit.
ConocoPhillips operates the North Cook Inlet unit, but farmed-out the deep oil rights at the legacy gas field to Buccaneer. Buccaneer previously operated the Southern Cross unit, but relinquished the unit earlier this year after failing to meet work commitments required to cure a previous default that came from missing previous work commitments.
While many of the Southern Cross leases consequently expired, Buccaneer subsequently transferred its working interest in two Southern Cross leases to Hilcorp Alaska LLC. One lease remains active until September and the other rejoined an older “parent lease.”
The application describes the Tyonek Deep wells as the “priority” for this year, but also said that all four well locations are being considered “to allow for operational flexibility.”
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