State approves PODs for 4 Cook Inlet units
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Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Oil and Gas has approved annual plans of development from Hilcorp Alaska for four Cook Inlet units: Cannery Loop, Deep Creek, Granite Point and Ninilchik.
The Cannery Loop unit was formed as a federal-state unit in 1978, division Director Tom Stokes said in a June 14 approval letter, and the federal Bureau of Land Management waived its administration in 2010 because BLM no longer held any oil and gas interest in the unit.
In the 41st POD, Hilcorp completed multiple operations to enhance production, with gas production of 1.86 billion cubic feet in 2020, up from 1.77 bcf in 2019.
The company re-drilled the CLU 06, now the CLU 06RD, not originally planned for the 41st POD, completing the well in the Sterling A and B sands, but production was water and sand and the company is evaluating future utility for the well.
For the 42nd POD, Hilcorp is evaluating opportunities to enhance production through wellwork operations and is considering sidetracking CLU 10, a suspended well that last produced - from the Beluga sands - in 2006 to target the Deep Tyonek sands. That project is dependent on economic and operational conditions.
Hilcorp will use information from the CLU 06RD to aid in evaluation of future opportunities.
The 42nd POD is for the period Aug. 1 through July 31, 2022.
The Deep Creek unit was formed in 2001, Stokes said in a June 9 decision, and is jointly managed by the division and Cook Inlet Region Inc. In November 2004 sustained unit production began from the Happy Valley participating area.
Production at Deep Creek was 1.41 bcf of gas in 2020, down 0.25 bcf from 2019.
Under the 2020 POD, Hilcorp attempted several workovers and was successful in the upper Tyonek in Happy Valley B No. 17; workovers were also planned for the HVB 13 and HVB 16 wells but those were not completed.
The 2021 POD, the unit’s 18th, is approved for the period Aug. 1 through July 30, 2022, “subject to concurrent approval by CIRI,” the division said.
For the 2021 POD, Hilcorp may drill the HVB 18 into the Tyonek formation with potential follow-on wells depending on results from the HVB 18.
Opportunistic workovers are possible, and the division said Hilcorp is “specifically evaluating” recompletions in the HVB 14 and HVB 16 wells.
Hilcorp said in its POD that timing of the HVB 18 “is dependent upon current risked resource and economics, market demand, pipeline capacity, and competitiveness within Hilcorp’s gas project portfolio.”
The company said it continues to evaluate the Deep Creek unit exploratory drilling program, but said contraction of the unit (see story in July 14, 2019, issue of PN) “has limited Hilcorp’s ability to explore and drill outside the unit, due to leases being contracted out of the unit and expiring.”
Granite Point The South Granite Point unit was expanded in 2015 to include the Granite Point field and renamed the Granite Point unit, which produces from six offshore state oil and gas leases in Cook Inlet, some 15,411 acres, from the Hemlock and Granite Point sands participating areas. Production is from the Granite Point, Anna and Bruce platforms, with production processed at the Granite Point production facility, Stokes said in a May 26 approval letter.
Production began from Granite Point in 1967 and through 2020 cumulative production was 140.48 billion standard cubic feet of natural gas and 156.38 million stock tank barrels of oil.
The division said that in its 2020 POD Hilcorp had proposed to install electrical upgrades and a production separator on the Bruce Platform and while the company did not complete the Bruce Platform upgrades it completed workovers at the Granite Point State 18742 20RD and the Granite Point State 18742 46 wells, resulting in an increase of 0.178 million barrels of oil and an increase of 0.301 bcf of natural gas over 2019 production levels.
In its 2021 POD Hilcorp anticipates sidetracking the GPP 031-23 well, and, long term, continuing to evaluate opportunities for additional rotary drilling and coil tubing opportunities.
The newly approved Granite Point unit POD covers July 1 through June 30, 2022.
Ninilchik Hilcorp’s 17th plan of development for the Ninilchik unit was approved by Stokes on June 10, covering Aug. 1 through July 31, 2022.
There are three participating areas at the Ninilchik unit: Falls Creek, Grassim Oskolkoff and Susan Dionne-Paxton. The unit was formed by Marathon Oil in 2001 and acquired by Hilcorp in 2013.
Hilcorp applied to expand the unit and the Falls Creek PA in November 2016, expansions approved in 2017. The Falls Creek PA expansion is pending appeal before the DNR commissioner over whether a specific lease should be included in the PA (see story in April 18, 2021, issue of PN).
Mandatory contraction of the unit has been delayed several times, most recently until May 31, 2022.
Through April 30 the Ninilchik unit cumulatively produced 240.7 bcf of gas; in 2020, the unit produced 12.1 bcf of gas, 1.63 bcf less than in 2019.
In the previous, 16th POD, Hilcorp had planned to possibly drill the Kalotsa 5, Pearl 2A and Blossom 1 wells.
The company did complete the Kalotsa 5 and brought that online, along with both rate-adding and unsuccessful workovers, with several additional workovers planned for the remainder of the 16th POD.
Facility upgrades included addition of compression at the Susan Dionne pad and conversion of the Susan Dionne 8 to disposal well status - a project the division said is underway.
Hilcorp also completed two unplanned wells, Paxton 10 and Kalotsa 7, both currently producing.
In the 17th POD the company “continues to highlight future delineation plans” with the proposed Pearl 2A and Blossom 1 wells, and the “Abalone prospect to the north of the Falls Creek PA.”
“Production will be maintained and enhanced for the 17th POD period, through potential lift enhancement, carryover workovers from the 16th POD and opportunistic project as they arise,” the division said.
A workover is also planned at the Grassim Oskolkoff 8 well.
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