Exxon seeks Point Thomson pipeline right of way
PTE Pipeline LLC, an affiliate of ExxonMobil Pipeline Co., has applied for a right-of-way lease to build a pipeline to carry production from the Point Thomson field on Alaska’s eastern North Slope.
The 22-mile pipeline will link the ExxonMobil-operated Point Thomson field, now under limited development, to the existing Badami pipeline to the west.
The right-of-way application says the 12.75-inch Point Thomson pipeline will cost about $80 million to build, with annual operating and maintenance costs of $12 million. Construction is to begin in late 2011 with completion projected for 2014.
The pipeline will be cross state land along the Beaufort Sea coast, and will be elevated above ground on vertical support members. The line will be designed for a throughput of 70,000 barrels per day.
The pipeline will feature increased wall thickness in areas where a high potential exists for accident bullet strikes from North Slope hunters.
“The estimated commercial life of the pipeline is 30 years,” the application says.
ExxonMobil has drilled, but not completed, two wells at Point Thomson, and has said it intends to begin production of 10,000 barrels a day of natural gas condensate by year-end 2014.
Ultimate control of the Point Thomson field remains the subject of a legal struggle between ExxonMobil and other major lease holders and the state of Alaska.
Editor’s note: See full story in the Aug. 29 issue of Petroleum News, which will be available online to PN subscribers by noon Friday, Aug. 27, at www.petroleumnews.com.
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