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ANS production up 16% in August over July
Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Alaska North Slope crude oil production rose in August with the completion of scheduled maintenance projects. The August volume averaged 537,275 barrels per day, up 16.2 percent from a July average of 462,407 bpd.
The BP Exploration (Alaska)-operated Lisburne field had the largest month-over-month percentage increase, almost 200 percent, averaging 25,792 bpd in August compared to 8,683 bpd in July, when the field was completely down for continuing scheduled maintenance work more than half of the month. That work, which began in mid-June, was scheduled to run for more than a month. Lisburne, part of greater Prudhoe Bay, includes production from Point McIntyre and Niakuk.
The BP-operated Prudhoe Bay field had the highest per-volume increase, averaging 247,921 bpd in August, up 21.2 percent or 43,429 bpd, from a July average of 204,492 bpd. In July Flow Station 2 at Prudhoe Bay was down for about a week following a release of produced fluids in the primary flare containment. A planned maintenance shutdown of Flow Station 3 at Prudhoe Bay began at the end of July.
Prudhoe Bay includes production from Aurora, Borealis, Midnight Sun, Orion and Polaris.
Except where noted, volumes are from the Alaska Department of Revenue’s Tax Division, which tracks oil production by major production centers and provides daily production and monthly averages.
Endicott also up Production from the BP-operated Endicott field averaged 12,558 bpd in August, up 93.5 percent from a July average of 6,489 bpd. Endicott includes production from the Badami field to the east. Production figures for Badami are only available from the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, with the most recent figures for July, when Badami production averaged 1,280 bpd.
The ConocoPhillips Alaska-operated Alpine averaged 81,849 bpd in August, up 13.2 percent from a July average of 72,338 bpd. Alpine includes satellite production from Fiord, Nanuq and Qannik. July production figures from AOGCC show that the majority of production, some 49,804 bpd in that month, was from the original producing area, Alpine, followed by 19,789 bpd from Fiord, 1,723 bpd from Qannik and 997 bpd from Nanuq.
BP’s Milne Point field averaged 22,413 bpd in August, up 8.8 percent from a July average of 20,599 bpd. AOGCC figures for July show that the majority of Milne production, some 12,821 bpd, came from Kuparuk River formation oil, but the second-largest volume at the field was Schrader Bluff viscous oil, some 6,880 bpd.
The BP-operated Northstar field averaged 13,597 bpd in August, up 6.4 percent from a July average of 12,779 bpd.
Kuparuk production down While ANS production continues to decline on an annual basis, only one North Slope field had decreasing production from July to August.
The ConocoPhillips-operated Kuparuk River field, the second largest on the North Slope, averaged 133,145 bpd in August, down 2.8 percent from a July average of 137,027 bpd. There was considerable variation in field production through the month, with a peak of 144,482 barrels Aug. 3, dropping to a low of 100,291 barrels on Aug. 20. Output was above the 140,000 bpd mark later in the month, but had dropped to under 130,000 by Aug. 31.
Kuparuk also includes production from the Eni-operated Nikaitchuq field and the Pioneer Natural Resources Alaska-operated Oooguruk field. In July, AOGCC figures show that Nikaitchuq averaged 6,796 bpd while Oooguruk averaged 7,044 bpd.
The average temperature at Pump Station 1 on the North Slope was 45.9 degrees F in August, compared to 49.7 F in July.
Cook Inlet production averaged 11,991 bpd in August, up 28.9 percent from a July average of 10,017 bpd.
ANS crude oil production peaked in 1988 at 2.1 million bpd; Cook Inlet crude oil production peaked in 1970 at more than 227,000 bpd.
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