State OKs 480-acre Kuparuk PA addition

The Alaska Division of Oil and Gas has approved a 480-acre addition to the Kuparuk participating area in the Kuparuk River unit, the 10th such expansion. The acres added are around the KRU 1D-30L1 lateral, the 1D-32L1 lateral and the proposed 1D-34L1 lateral wells. Data submitted by unit operator ConocoPhillips Alaska “indicate that the proposed expansion acreage is capable of producing or contributing to the production of hydrocarbons in paying quantities,” the division said in an Aug. 15 findings and decision. The expansion acres are in state oil and gas lease ADL 28248; working interest owners in the lease are ConocoPhillips, BP Exploration (Alaska) and ExxonMobil. The area is on the eastern edge of the unit.

The expansion is in the Kuparuk reservoir within the unit; the expansion acreage was within the unit, but outside the participating area.

The KRU 1D-30L1 and 1D-32L1 are producing 1,087 and 513 barrels per day of oil, respectively; development plans include the drilling of a third lateral, 1D-34L1, during September, and future conversion of 1D-32L1 from a producer to an injector.