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State issues 2 seismic permits; Kad River, Horseshoe both 3-D
The Alaska Division of Oil and Gas has approved two North Slope seismic programs.
Global Geophysical Services Inc. will conduct the onshore Kadleroshilik River 3-D seismic survey in the area south of Deadhorse (see map, page 15). The joint venture Kuukpik SAE LLC will conduct the onshore Horseshoe 3-D seismic survey in an area south of Nuiqsut (see above map).
The two permits both run through the end of May 2015.
Kad River survey The Kadleroshilik River program will cover some 228 square miles south of Deadhorse, in a region where Great Bear Petroleum has been leasing and exploring in recent years.
Global Geophysical Services will access the region either from the east along the Kavik Camp winter trail or from the west near milepost 12.5 of the Dalton Highway. The company will likely use a popular staging area at Franklin Bluffs for its program.
The company will collect seismic data using vibroseis, which causes subsurface vibrations by creating an impact on surface lands. The company intends to use 10 to 12 vibrators in fleets of two or three working simultaneously to shorten the overall length of the program. The source lines will run east to west at 550-foot intervals. The receiver lines to record information will run north to south at 880-foot or 900-foot intervals.
Global Geophysical provided a $100,000 performance guarantee to backstop its work.
Great Bear Petroleum commissioned 3-D seismic surveys over various portions of its large leasehold in 2012, 2013 and 2014. The company believes seismic information is crucial for determining “sweet spots” best suited for unconventional oil development of known source rocks in the region, as well as for finding conventional oil accumulations.
Horseshoe survey The Horseshoe 3-D seismic survey will cover some 600 square miles south of Nuiqsut, in a region of the Colville River where Repsol USA E&P Inc. is the largest leaseholder.
Kuukpik SAE will access the region from Deadhorse using existing roads within the Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk River units and a new ice pad near Kuparuk Drill Site 2P.
Kuukpik SAE is a joint venture between SAExploration Inc. and the Kuukpik Corp.
The company will use fleets of three or four vibrators working simultaneously. The source lines will run east to west at 550-foot intervals. The receiver lines will run north to south at 660-foot intervals.
The region in questions includes state lands east of the Colville River and federal lands in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska west of the Colville River. The region included in the survey also includes several small pockets of Native allotments along the river.
Kuukpik SAE provided a $100,000 performance guarantee to backstop its work.
The region is to the south and the west of previous Repsol exploration work, including a three-well program planned for this coming winter. The region covered in the seismic program includes leases held by Royale Energy Inc., ConocoPhillips and Great Bear.
- Eric Lidji
—A copyrighted oil and gas lease map from Mapmakers Alaska was a research tool used in preparing this story.
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