Mustang still on pace for late 2017

Brooks Range Petroleum Corp. describes ‘very high level’ timeline for bringing North Slope Southern Miluveach unit online

ERIC LIDJI

For Petroleum News

Brooks Range Petroleum Corp. remains on pace for a late 2017 startup at Mustang.

The subsidiary of a multiparty joint venture recently told state officials it expects to begin oil production from the Southern Miluveach unit between October and December 2017, which supports a November 2017 startup the company proposed earlier this year.

BRPC had previously expected to bring the Mustang field into production by the end of this year but slowed its development schedule because of technical delays encountered during the initial drilling campaign. In a new plan of development released in late September, the company described its current timeline as a “very high level” assessment based on its current understanding of the field and current economic conditions within Alaska.

A major cause of delay was high pressure encountered at the field. A root-cause analysis of the drilling program convinced the company of the need for enhanced drilling equipment. BRPC told the state it was currently discussing its needs with contractors and would schedule the retrofitting project with an eye toward the late 2017 startup date.

Roads and pads for the project were completed in 2013 and most of the above ground pipeline supports were installed in early 2015. Engineering work on the Mustang Operations Center No. 1 processing facilities was about 65 percent complete when BRPC slowed its timeline in the third quarter of last year. Before the slow down, BRPC contractors in Canada completed fabrication of the oil train modules, the gas compression train and gas conditioning train. The modules are currently staged in Calgary and Nisku, Alberta, according to the company. BRPC also finished procuring much of the long-lead engineering equipment that it had ordered before it slowed down the project. The equipment is currently being stored at three facilities in Anchorage, according to BRPC.

Another reason for the slowdown, according to BRPC, was that the downturn in oil prices made it difficult to attract capital. If funding comes through before the end of this year, the company expects to resume the engineering and procurement activities that were stalled last year and begin the process of finding fabrication and installation contractors.

According to the most recent timeline, BRPC will install communication infrastructure toward the end of this year and build early operations centers and camps early next year.

Prior to the expected arrival of the first Alaska-fabricated modules in April 2017, the company plans to complete pipeline installation and interconnection and some remaining pad work. The last Alaska-fabricated modules are expected in September 2017, with the Canadian-fabricated modules arriving in August 2017 and installed by October 2017, providing two-to-three months for conducting the final system-wide review of facilities.