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North Slope output down 4 percent
Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Alaska North Slope production dropped 3.6 percent in December, averaging 859,838 barrels per day compared to 892,192 bpd in November, a 12.4 percent drop from December 2004, when North Slope production averaged 981,072 bpd.
With the exception of Milne Point, all North Slope fields declined in production from November to December.
The Alaska Department of Revenue estimated ANS production for the current 2006 fiscal year (July 2005 through June 2006) at 865,000 bpd, compared to 917,000 bpd for FY ’05.
Prudhoe Bay had the largest per-barrel drop (23,428 bpd) and the second-highest percentage drop, 5.5 percent, averaging 400,965 bpd in December compared to 424,393 bpd in November. BP Exploration (Alaska)-operated Prudhoe includes the western Prudhoe satellites: Midnight Sun, Aurora, Polaris, Borealis and Orion.
The highest percentage drop, 8.33 percent, was at BP’s Northstar field, which averaged 54,990 bpd in December down from 59,984 bpd in November. Revenue said the field had compressor problems Dec. 2-4 which appeared to be resolved by Dec. 5. Northstar production, which began the month at 60,740 barrels, dropped to 22,873 barrels Dec. 2, and only reached the 60,000 barrel level again Dec. 6; production dropped into the 40,000 bpd range Dec. 25-26, recovering into the 56,000-57,000 bpd range at the end of the month. Milne only field with increase Production from BP-operated Lisburne (which includes Point McIntyre and Niakuk) averaged 38,894 bpd in December, down 4.7 percent from a November average of 40,799 bpd.
BP-operated Endicott averaged 21,072 bpd, down 2.8 percent from a November average of 21,673 bpd.
The ConocoPhillips Alaska-operated Kuparuk River field (including production from West Sak, Tabasco, Tarn, Meltwater and Palm) averaged 169,348 bpd in December, down 1.5 percent from a November average of 171,998 bpd.
Alpine, also operated by ConocoPhillips Alaska, averaged 129,910 bpd down 0.5 percent from a November average of 130,597 bpd.
BP’s Milne Point field was the only one with a month-to-month increase in production, averaging 44,659 bpd, up 4.8 percent from a November average of 42,748 bpd.
The temperature at Pump Station No. 1 on the North Slope averaged minus 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit in December, up from a November average of minus 9.6 degrees F. The three-year December average is minus 3.9 degrees F.
Cook Inlet production averaged 18,893 bpd in December, up 0.6 percent from a November average of 18,790 bpd.
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