Both Northstar and Alpine back on line
Northstar came back on line yesterday, with full production expected today, and Alpine, where production had dropped by half last week, has resolved its mechanical issues and is ramping up today.
BP Exploration (Alaska)’s Daren Beaudo told Petroleum News this afternoon that the transformer swap at Northstar went well and production rates started coming up Sunday. As of 6 a.m. this morning, Beaudo said, production was at full rates, some 76,000 barrels per day.
ConocoPhillips Alaska spokeswoman Dawn Patience said the mechanical issues at Alpine, a problem with one of the oil separators, had been resolved. Alpine is ramping up today, Patience said, with a target of 100,000 barrels. The field dropped to about 50,000 bpd Dec. 1.
BP had to bring in a helicopter from Oregon to swap out transformers. The helicopter arrived in Anchorage Dec. 4 on its way to the North Slope.
Production began to drop at Northstar Nov. 27 and went to zero on the 28th. Beaudo told Petroleum News that until the replacement transformer could be moved from Prudhoe Bay to Northstar Island, BP would be operating at about 5,000 barrels a day — enough to keep the lines warm.
Lease buyback will be state’s last resort, governor says
| o the people of the North Slope. We will work together to enable efficient oil and gas activity to take place while prioritizing the preservation of the Beaufort Sea marine mammal and hunting areas for the subsistence communities.”
The conflict avoidance agreement forms a major and critical piece of the complex jigsaw puzzle of permits and agreements that Shell needs to start its drilling program. However, several other issues remain to be resolved before the company’s Beaufort Sea operations can begin. The commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources has yet to rule on a determination that Shell’s Beaufort Sea program is consistent with the Alaska Coastal Management Plan. Certification of ACMP consistency is essential for final approval by the Minerals Management Service of Shell’s exploration plan, oil discharge prevention and consistency plan and any drilling permits that the company might require.
The North Slope Borough and several environmental organizations have appealed the air quality permits for the drilling operations. And the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit has placed a temporary hold on drilling, until after an Aug. 14 hearing that relates to an appeal by the North Slope Borough and the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission against MMS approval of Shell’s exploration plan. The court is also processing two other appeals against plan approval.
Shell also needs authorizations for the incidental take of marine mammals from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service.
