ConocoPhillips proposes 37 new wells at West Sak pilot pad

ConocoPhillips has filed a development plan with the state of Alaska to develop West Sak heavy oil from the 1J drill site in the Kuparuk River unit, formerly known as the West Sak pilot pad, southeast of Kuparuk central processing plant No. 1.

The development includes new pipelines for water injection, miscible injectant and crude oil; a cross-country power line; and on-pad well connections and facilities for heating the produced crude oil.

The company is proposing 37 new wells, 20 producers and 17 injectors for the West Sak reservoir, and three tie-ins of existing production wells. West Sak and Kuparuk wells would share truck and lateral lines and common facilities.

No enlargement of the existing drill site 1J gravel pad is planned.

Pipeline and power line construction would be done from ice roads, which would be put in when tundra travel opens in January, with construction planned for completion by May. On-pad construction would begin by April and be complete by the end of the year. ConocoPhillips said a possible variation would have on-pad construction beginning this spring, but pipeline and power line construction delayed until 2005.

Access will be by existing roads within the Kuparuk River unit, so no new roads will be necessary.

Drilling from the 1J drill site would begin in March or April, and be complete by 2007. One rig would drill at the pad fulltime and a second rig would be on site approximately six months per year.