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ANS production levels recover in December After late November, early December downtime at Northstar and Alpine fields, North Slope output returns to normal Kristen Nelson Petroleum News Editor-in-Chief
Following unscheduled downtime at both the Alpine and Northstar fields on Alaska’s North Slope, production had returned to normal rates at both fields by Dec. 9, resulting in a daily average production drop of less than 1 percent for North Slope production between November and December.
North Slope production averaged 981,738 barrels a day for December, down 0.38 percent from the November average of 985,485 bpd.
Northstar production dropped Nov. 27, after a transformer failed. Field operator BP Exploration (Alaska) began ramping up Dec. 7 after bringing a heavy duty helicopter to the state to move a replacement transformer from Prudhoe Bay to Northstar Island. December production at the field averaged 58,973 bpd, down 7.2 percent from a November average of 63,529 bpd (November production was down 15 percent from an October average of 74,969 bpd).
Alpine production, normal through the end of November, began to drop Dec. 1 and stopped totally Dec. 5, was at reduced levels Dec. 6 and 7 and began to ramp up Dec. 8 after field operator ConocoPhillips Alaska completed repairs to an oil separator. December production at the field averaged 88,133 bpd, down 14.4 percent from a November average of 102,999 bpd.
December production at the BP-operated Milne Point field dropped 5 percent due to production slow-down caused by turbine problems. Production averaged 50,489 bpd, down from 53,215 bpd in November.
Production at BP-operated Endicott averaged 28,447 bpd, down 2.34 percent from an average of 29,130 bpd in November. Production up at Prudhoe, Lisburne and Kuparuk Other North Slope fields had increased production.
Prudhoe Bay, operated by BP, averaged 491,620 bpd in December, up 3.3 percent from a November average of 475,845 bpd. Prudhoe production includes satellite fields Midnight Sun, Aurora, Polaris, Borealis and Orion.
BP-operated Lisburne, which includes production from Point McIntyre, Niakuk and West Beach, averaged 62,168 bpd, up 2.95 percent from a November average of 60,385.
And Kuparuk, operated by ConocoPhillips, averaged 201,908 bpd in December, up 0.76 percent from a November average of 200,382 bpd. Kuparuk production includes West Sak, Tabasco, Tarn, Meltwater and Palm.
The North Slope temperature, measured at Pump Station No. 1 on the trans-Alaska Pipeline, averaged minus 3.2 degrees Fahrenheit in December, compared to plus 3.9 degrees F in November.
In Cook Inlet, production for the basin averaged 27,024 bpd in December, down 5.11 percent from a November average of 28,478 bpd.
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