Even decades after their discovery, and years past peak production, the Prudhoe Bay unit and Kuparuk River unit continue to be the two most active oil fields in Alaska.
Although oil prices were drastically lower in 2015 than 2014, both units saw greatly increased drilling, according to Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission records.
Those records provide an opportunity to compare the development drilling at the two units between this year and last year - with two disclaimers. First, as Petroleum News went to print, records were only available through mid-December 2015. With two additional weeks, the 2015 totals might be higher than what is reported here. Second, completion reports occasionally lag behind actual activity and are regularly revised, which means these numbers measure administrative filings as of mid-December 2015.
Prudhoe up nearly 30 percent
When BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. sold much of its Alaska holdings to Hilcorp Alaska LLC in 2014, the company said it wanted to devote more resources to Prudhoe Bay.
The development program at the Prudhoe Bay unit in 2015 was larger than the 2014 program in many ways. There was more overall drilling, greater geographic focus, more attention to satellites, a greater mix of well types and a greater mix of well design.
Overall drilling at Prudhoe Bay increased approximately 30 percent between 2014 and 2015, according to the reports. BP completed 48 wells in 2014 and 67 wells in 2015.
The 2014 program was exclusive to the main Prudhoe Bay field. Of the 48 wells BP drilled during the year, three were service wells and the rest were producing wells.
In the eastern half of the unit, the highest density of drilling occurred near the center of the unit, along the coastline. The program included five wells at Drill Site 2 and three wells at Drill Site 18, immediately to the north. The program also included one well at Drill Site 1, one well at Drill Site 3, two wells at Drill Site 6, two wells at Drill Site 9, two wells at Drill Site 11, one well at Drill Site 14 and one well at Drill Site 15.
In the western half of the unit, the highest density of drilling occurred about five miles to the west of the Prudhoe Bay Delta. The program included four wells at Drill Site H and four wells at Drill Site Y immediately to the south. The program also included one well at Drill Site A, three wells at Drill Site B, three wells at Drill Site C, two wells at Drill Site D, three wells at Drill Site E, two wells at Drill Site F, three wells at Drill Site G, one well at Drill Site K, one well at Drill Site N, one well at Drill Site R, one well at Drill Site U, two wells at Drill Site W, one well at Drill Site X and one well at Drill Site Z.
Focus on main field
The 2015 program was mostly focused on the main Prudhoe Bay field, although BP also drilled two Aurora wells, three Lisburne wells and one Midnight Sun well. Of the 67 wells BP drilled during the year, nine were service wells and the rest were producing wells.
In the eastern half of the unit, the highest density of drilling occurred north of Deadhorse with three wells at Drill Site 3 and three wells at Drill Site 9 and a second cluster of four wells at Drill Site 7 south of the Prudhoe Bay Delta. The program also included one well at Drill Site 2, one well at Drill Site 4, two wells at Drill Site 11, one well at Drill Site 14, two wells at Drill Site 15, one well at Drill Site 17 and two wells at Drill Site 18.
In the western half of the unit, the program included three clusters: nine wells at Drill Site F and four wells at nearby Drill Site G, seven wells at Drill Site R and four wells at nearby Drill Site S (two targeting Aurora), and three wells at Drill Site Y. The program also included two wells at Drill Site D, one well at Drill Site E, two wells at Drill Site H, one well at Drill Site J, two wells at Drill Site K, two wells at Drill Site N, four wells at Drill Site P (one targeting Midnight Sun), one well at Drill Site X and one well at Drill Site Z. The company also drilled four wells at Drill Site L (three targeting Lisburne).
And while the 2014 program included only one lateral among 48 wells, the 2015 program appears to have included five lateral wells among 67 wells, according to the reports.
Kuparuk up 36 percent
ConocoPhillips launched a major development program at Kuparuk in recent years, including increased infill drilling, the new Drill Site 2S and plans to expand Drill Site 1H.
Overall drilling at Kuparuk increased some 36 percent between 2014 and 2015, according to the reports. ConocoPhillips completed 45 wells in 2014 and 74 wells in 2015.
The programs from the two years show ConocoPhillips devoted considerable resources in the northern end of the unit, south of Oliktok Point, around Drill Sites 3N, 3Q and 3O.
The 2014 program included 37 wells at the main Kuparuk River field, seven wells at the Tarn satellite and one well at the Tabasco satellite. Of the 47 wells ConocoPhillips completed during the year, 11 were service wells and the rest were producing wells.
At the main Kuparuk River oil field, ConocoPhillips drilled four wells at Drill Site 1G, two wells at Drill Site 2B, five wells at Drill Site 2E, three wells at Drill Site 2G, five wells at Drill Site 2K, six wells at Drill Site 2T, one well at Drill Site 3C, two wells at Drill Site 3G, two wells at Drill Site 3N and seven wells at Drill Site 3Q.
At Tarn, the company drilled four wells at Drill Site 2L and three wells at Drill Site 2N. The single well at the Tabasco satellite was drilled from Drill Site 2T. The program included several multilaterals, including two quadrilateral wells - one at Drill Site 1G and one at Drill Site 3Q.
2015 Kuparuk program
The 2015 program included 56 wells at the main Kuparuk River field, 10 wells at the West Sak satellite, seven wells at the Tarn satellite and one well into an undefined Torok pool. Of the 74 wells, 18 were service wells and the rest were producing wells.
At the main Kuparuk field, ConocoPhillips drilled one well at Drill Site E, two wells at Drill Site F, 11 wells at Drill Site 1G, two wells at Drill Site 1H, three wells at Drill Site 1L, one well at Drill 2E, two wells at Drill Site 2F, two wells at Drill Site 2G, two wells at Drill Site 2H, three wells at Drill Site 2K, three wells at Drill Site 2M, four wells at Drill Site 2S, three wells at Drill Site 2T, three wells at Drill Site 3F, one well at Drill Site 3K, 13 wells at Drill Site 3O. The well reports may fail to reflect the full extent of the drilling at the new Drill Site 2S, which ConocoPhillips brought on line in late 2015.
At West Sak, the program included three wells at Drill Site 1C and seven wells at Drill Site 1D. At Tarn, the program included three wells at Drill Site 2L and four wells at Drill Site 2N. The well into the undefined Torok pool was drilled from Drill Site 3S.
The program also included numerous multilateral, including at least two quadrilateral wells - at Drill Site 1D and Drill Site 1G - and a quint-lateral well at Drill Site 3O.
