Aurora Gas LLC plans to drill at its Nicolai Creek unit this spring.
The Alaska-based independent plans to drill two wells and work over a third at the unit on the west side of Cook Inlet some 10 miles south of the village of Tyonek.
The program follows a “very successful” well the company drilled in 2011.
Aurora is currently permitting the Nicolai Creek No. 14 and No. 13 wells, with plans to start drilling this spring. The program for Nicolai Creek No. 14, the first of the two wells on the agenda, includes plans for a gravel road and pad, and a gathering line to connect to the existing facilities for the Nicolai Creek No. 3 and Nicolai Creek No. 10 wells.
Aurora hopes to bring Nicolai Creek No. 14 online this summer or early fall. Based on previous results, the company expects to see an average production increase of 3 million cubic feet per day from each well, according to Aurora Gas President Ed Jones.
The gas would be transported to existing Nicolai Creek production facilities, where it would be processed and then moved to market on the Cook Inlet Gas Gathering System.
Nicolai Creek No. 14 would be a directional well starting on ADL 391472 and extending to a bottom-hole location beneath ADL 391265, which is outside the current unit boundaries. Aurora anticipates expanding the unit boundary based on the well results.
Gravel road extension
Aurora expects the first well to take nearly three months, including three weeks to build a 700-foot gravel road extension and a 200-foot by 300-foot gravel drilling pad, four weeks of drilling and four weeks of facilities installation. The facilities include a two-phase separator and heater skid, a produced water tank at the pad and a 4-inch gathering line.
The region around Nicolai Creek includes surface lands owned by the state, Cook Inlet Region Inc., Tyonek Native Corp. and the Alaska Mental Health Trust Land Office.
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources is taking comments through May 6.
The Nicolai Creek program also includes a “major workover” of the Nicolai Creek No. 10 well, which Aurora drilled in 2011. The well was “very successful,” producing more than 3 million cubic feet per day, Jones told Petroleum News, but needs sand control.
In recent years, Aurora had also pursued a gas storage project at Nicolai Creek.
Apache holds deep rights
Earlier this year, Aurora transferred 100 percent working interest and a sizable royalty interest in segments of ADL 391472 and ADL 391265 to Apache Corp.
The transaction only concerned the deep exploration and development rights under the leases, according to Aurora. Aurora retained its sole working interest in the shallower development rights at the leases, as well as an overriding royalty on the deeper rights.
Aurora said the current wells are shallow development wells.
—Eric Lidji
