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North Slope production clears 1 million barrels for November
Kristen Nelson PNA Editor-in-Chief
Continued stronger than expected production at Phillips Alaska Inc.’s Alpine field — plus new production from BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc.’s Northstar field and the addition of the Borealis satellite at Prudhoe Bay — boosted North Slope production above the 1 million barrel a day level for November, with the daily average for the month at 1,044,047 barrels per day, up 15.6 percent from average ANS October production of 903,463 bpd. North Slope production was curtailed for several days in early October after the trans-Alaska pipeline was punctured by a bullet.
Production this November topped the average 1.014 million bpd for last November.
Prudhoe Bay had the largest increase, averaging 547,075 bpd, up 21.25 percent from an average 451,209 bpd in October. The Department of Revenue said Prudhoe Bay satellite Borealis came online Nov. 13 with peak production estimated at 20,000 barrels per day.
Alpine still growing A big part of the North Slope production story continues to be Phillips Alaska Inc.-operated Alpine, where production began in mid-November last year. Production this November averaged 101,453 bpd, up 10.85 percent from an average of 91,523 bpd in October. Phillips Alaska President Kevin Meyers told analysts Nov. 27 that Alpine was originally expected to make 70,000 bpd, later revised to 80,000 bpd with enhanced oil recovery. Production at the field averaged 108,997 bpd on Nov. 15.
The newest field on the North Slope, Northstar, came online Nov. 2 at 270 bpd. Revenue said that as of Nov. 6, production was 15,763 bpd and with the addition of another well Nov. 24, production reached 24,522 bpd. Average for the month was 11,498 bpd. Lisburne production (Lisburne, Point McIntyre, Niakuk) was up 8.5 percent, averaging 78,292 bpd in November compared to 72,179 bpd in October.
Kuparuk River production (Kuparuk, West Sak, Tabasco, Tarn) averaged 216,961 bpd in November, up 6.8 percent from an October average of 203,192 bpd. Meltwater, the newest Kuparuk River satellite, came online Nov. 29 with initial production of 3,000 bpd.
Milne Point production averaged 55,086 bpd in November, up 6.6 percent from an average 51,668 bpd in October.
Endicott was the only field with declining production, down a marginal 0.03 percent, to 33,681 bpd in November compared to 33,692 bpd in October.
Cook Inlet averaged 34,143 bpd in November, up 1.6 percent from an average of 33,661 bpd in October. Prudhoe Bay natural gas liquids production averaged 50,894 bpd in November, up 41 percent from an October average of 36,081 bpd.
The average temperature for November at Pump Station No. 1 was 3.3 degrees Fahrenheit, compared to a four-year average for November of 8.3 degrees F.
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