|
Hilcorp permits new Kenai field gas lines New gathering lines will be larger than existing, provide increased deliverability, help meet peak Southcentral gas supply needs Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Hilcorp Alaska is permitting two new gas gathering flowlines in its Kenai Gas Field. The lines, a 20-inch medium pressure and a 24-inch low pressure line, will run between KGF pad 34-31 and KGF pad 14-6, alongside existing lines, a 12-inch low pressure line and a 16-inch high pressure line.
The Kenai gas field currently accounts for almost 20% of Cook Inlet natural gas production; Ninilchik, also a Hilcorp field, comes in second, accounting for more than 13%.
Hilcorp said the existing lines will continue to be used while the new flowlines are installed and will remain operational after the new flowline installation is complete.
“The purpose of the project is to provide system safeguards and to increase reliability to meet Southcentral Alaska’s gas needs,” the company said in an application filed with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and public noticed by the department June 25.
Hilcorp cited “needle-peak” contractual demands for weeks of high deliverability during winter and said since it supplies the largest volume of gas in Southcentral it is the backstop in the event there was an issue at CINGSA, Cook Inlet Natural Gas Storage Alaska.
Debottlenecking KGF facilities Hilcorp said the new gathering flowlines are the second phase of debottlenecking KGF facilities and said the new flowlines “will provide some critical spare capacity in the event of unplanned compressor maintenance during the winter.” When there is an upset condition at KGF pad 34-31 - such as a compressor fails - “gas deliverability to the Kenai Peninsula is interrupted until the upset condition can be corrected,” the company said, something which typically takes several days but could take as long as 28 days depending on the severity of the event.
“The last time a compressor failed was in the winter of 2020-2021, which led to pulling extremely hard from the gas storage wells and damage to one of the wells,” Hilcorp said.
The company said the project is critical for gas deliverability to Southcentral because an upset during peak 2021-22 winter demand would risk similar gas storage well damage and a shortfall of a few days to weeks in meeting peak demand.
Hilcorp said the project will also allow it to pig and dewater the KGF gas lines, preventing water carryover into compressors.
All lines to be used Hilcorp said the new flowlines will provide increased deliverability.
The existing 12-inch line will continue to be used for gas from Cannery Loop wells, the company said, and the existing 16-inch line will be used as needed for future projects in the Kenai field.
Hilcorp said it has plans within the next one or two years to “upgrade the main KGF gas sales line by installing a pig launcher/receiver, replacing valves, and upgrading/replacing the associated tie-in piping.”
The 16-inch line will be used temporarily for sales gas while those upgrades are being done and will continue to serve as a backup flowline for the life of the field, the company said.
Hilcorp proposes completing the new lines prior to winter gas demand for the 2021-22 season “to avoid potential gas supply issues for Southcentral Alaska.”
Flowline installation is planned to begin this summer, with the exact start depending on receipt of regulatory approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The company said it would monitor ground conditions for construction and begin work “when the ground is sufficiently dry to reduce impacts to wetland areas and allow safe access to equipment,” anticipated to be in the August-September timeframe.
The company said regulatory authorizations may delay the project to the winter of 2021-22, but once begun, the project is expected to take up to 45 days.
The flowline route is some 5,600 feet between the two pads, the company said.
| 