Glacier looks at extended reach drilling versus new pad at Badami
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Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Glacier Oil and Gas, owner of Badami operator Savant Alaska, has been considering a second pad at the unit, which is on the east side of the North Slope between Point Thomson and Prudhoe.
But when David Pascal, chief operating officer of Glacier Oil and Gas, submitted the 21st plan of development for the Badami unit to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources' Division of Oil and Gas on April 12, he indicated that the company is now considering extended reach drilling in lieu of the East Pad.
In reviewing work planned in the 20th POD which did not occur, Glacier said it "has temporarily paused expansion efforts related to the new East Pad development at Badami pending results of the Kennicott B1-33 exploration well." The company said it is keeping options for the new pad open, "but is also evaluating the risk and execution of drilling extended reach wells from the Badami Main pad along with economics that help with the case of tie-in into existing production facilities on the Badami main pad."
Glacier had planned to drill two Badami sands wells from the Badami Main pad, but those wells were postponed because of drilling of the Killian B1-33 exploration well. The company is now calling this well Kennicott B1-33 although permits issued by the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission on Jan. 26 of this year refer to this exploration well as the Badami B1-33.
Glacier is currently drilling the B1-33 and said it expects the well to be brought online around June 15. It will be the longest well drilled at Badami, with a measured depth of some 21,500 feet. Work on the B1-33 involved a 27-mile ice road and ice bridge to mobilize Doyon 19 and support equipment.
21st POD plans The 21st POD covers July 16, 2024, through July 15, 2025.
Glacier said it plans to continue exploration and development for new Badami and Killian sand prospects, "pending favorable economic conditions and the ability to raise capital at reasonable terms," and depending heavily on results from the Kennicott exploration program, with the pilot hole drilled and logged and the well expected to be completed, fractured and brought online around mid-June.
The two Badami sand wells planned for the 20th POD are expected to be drilled during the 21st POD, subject to economic conditions and results from the B1-33 (Kennicott/Badami) well.
Also possible are a workover on the B1-01 Class 1 injection well and a possible conversion or workover on a low productivity well for either gas storage or injection or for conversion to a Class I or II well.
A third Killian exploration well from the Main pad will be evaluated for drilling during the 2025-26 ice road season, targeting a new Killian reservoir sand pod, pending Kennicott well results. Glacier said that well would prove up Killian sand beyond the existing participating area "and aid in securing capital for overall development."
Glacier also said it would keep its options open for a new Badami East pad, considering risks related to extended reach drilling and other economic factors.
The company will also prepare and participate in the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration audit on the Badami Oil Pipeline in the third quarter of 2024.
20th POD work completed During the 20th POD, Glacier progressed planning and development for new Badami and Killian sands, identifying targets which can be drilled from the Badami Main pad and the proposed Badami East pad, along with evaluating options for new processing of seismic data.
In the winter of 2023 the Thunderbird Rig was mobilized via snow road to workover the B1-07 after a stuck fish took the well offline. AOGCC production data show B1-07 was offline between November 2022 and April 2023, and since coming back online has accounted for 38.6% of the field's production.
Preliminary G&G work was done on newly acquired acreage -- 1,280 acres south of the unit; 2,560 acres to the west; and 427 acres to the north.
AOGCC approved an application for downhole commingling of B1-38 Killian and Badami reservoir sands in July 2023, with perforations added and the newly perforated zones expected to add to the reserves base for the well.
Glacier participated in the PHMSA audit of the Badami Gas Pipeline in August 2023 and engaged with DNR in the 30-year renewal of the right-of-way leases for the Badami Oil and Gas Pipelines, also completed in August 2023.
Badami unit production volumes included with the POD show 2021 production of 431,590 barrels, dropping to 282,812 barrels in 2022 and to 281,060 barrels in 2023.
--KRISTEN NELSON
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