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May ANS production down 2% from April
Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Alaska North Slope crude oil production averaged 705,724 barrels per day in May, down 1.7 percent from a 718,032 bpd average in April.
There was a substantial drop following a May 9 power outage at Prudhoe Bay, with production at that field falling from more than 320,000 bpd to less than 50,000 bpd May 9. Production levels began to come back up the next day, but didn’t top the 300,000-bpd level until May 18.
Production from the BP Exploration (Alaska)-operated Prudhoe field, which averaged 305,860 bpd in April, averaged only 293,161 bpd in May. Prudhoe production includes western satellite production from Midnight Sun, Aurora, Polaris, Borealis and Orion; some Lisburne and Point McIntyre production also comes through Prudhoe.
Lisburne — part of Greater Prudhoe Bay — also had a substantial drop, down 11.9 percent from April, averaging just 34,849 bpd in May compared to 39,568 bpd in April. Lisburne production dropped below 20,000 bpd May 9, although it got back above 30,000 bpd May 11. Lisburne production includes Point McIntyre and Niakuk.
Greater Prudhoe Bay, which includes some 33,000 bpd of oil currently moving through the Endicott pipeline, averaged 361,010 bpd in May, down 4.6 percent from an April average of 378,408 bpd.
Other fields saw increases Production from other North Slope fields was up in May compared to April.
The ConocoPhillips Alaska-operated Alpine field averaged 115,152 bpd in May, up 3.6 percent from an April average of 111,189 bpd. Alpine production includes satellite production from Fiord and Nanuq.
BP’s Milne Point field averaged 35,644 bpd in May, up 1.7 percent from an April average of 35,048 bpd. Milne point includes Sag River and Schrader Bluff production.
The BP-operated Northstar field averaged 29,036 bpd in May, up 1 percent from an April average of 28,739 bpd.
The ConocoPhillips-operated Kuparuk River field averaged 149,640 bpd in May, up 0.1 percent from an April average of 149,441 bpd. Kuparuk includes satellite production from Tabasco, Tarn and Meltwater, as well as West Sak production.
The BP-operated Endicott field, which includes some 33,000 bpd of Prudhoe Bay Flow Station 2 crude, averaged 48,242 bpd in May, marginally above April production of 48,207 bpd. Endicott includes Sag Delta and Eider production.
The May temperature at Pump Station No. 1 on the North Slope averaged 29.9 degrees Fahrenheit, compared to 12.6 degrees F in April.
Cook Inlet crude oil production averaged 12,839 bpd in May, up 1.1 percent from an April average of 12,697 bpd.
ANS crude oil production peaked in 1988 at about 2 million barrels a day; Cook Inlet crude oil production peaked in 1970 at more than 227,000 bpd.
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