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2020 ninth year of CINGSA operations
Natural gas storage facility allows for injection/withdrawal, with largest volume of withdrawals in January, injections in August Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
The seasonal demand for natural gas in Southcentral Alaska, with weather-driven demands for home heating and electricity, is facilitated by the Cook Inlet Natural Gas Storage, CINGSA, facility on the Kenai Peninsula.
CINGSA completed its ninth calendar year of operation in 2020, the company said in its latest plan of development, for 2021, submitted to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Oil and Gas Jan. 31.
The storage facility in 2020 “provided critical deliverability to its firm and interruptible customers,” the company said, pursuant to service agreements and anticipates continuing to meet its customers’ needs in 2021, it said in the POD.
CINGSA provides storage facilities from the depleted Sterling C1 and C2 sands - the Sterling C gas pool - at the Cannery Loop unit. Production from the Sterling C totaled some 23 billion cubic feet of natural gas before the gas pool was shut-in in 2012, with the reservoir estimated to have originally held 26.5 bcf of gas in place.
The CINGSA storage lease, ADL 391627, within the Sterling C gas pool, is vertically bounded at the top by the base of the B5 coal formation and at the base by the top of the Upper Beluga formation.
Cannery Loop is in active gas production by working interest owner Hilcorp Alaska from the deeper Beluga and Upper Tyonek gas pools. Hilcorp also retains WIO in any zones above the Sterling C.
Injections began in 2012 Storage injections began by free flow of gas on April 1, 2012, with injection using compression beginning April 28, 2012. Initial withdrawal of gas was on Nov. 9, 2012.
Contracted maximum storage volume at the CINGSA storage reservoir is 18 bcf, 11 bcf of working gas and 7 bcf of base, and CINGSA’s contracts allow it to inject approximately 68% of the initial gas-in-place.
The company drilled five injection/withdrawal service wells in 2011, perforating and completing the wells in January and February 2012.
Initial injection capability was below expectations, determined to be caused by near-wellbore completion damage and all five wells were re-perforated to correct the condition, significantly improving injection/withdrawal capability “and after eight storage cycles, performance on average is now consistent with design capability,” CINGSA said.
In 2020 normal maintenance and operations included semi-annual shut-ins in April and October and an overhaul of Engine A at 25,000 hours. Well pad test separator and test header were installed and commissioned and work was started on velocity string install on well No. 5, work which will continue into 2021.
CINGSA injected 6,802,306 thousand cubic feet of natural gas and withdrew 6,017,018 mcf in 2020 using five injection/withdrawal wells and two 2,520 horsepower natural gas engine driven reciprocating compressors.
Monthly injection/withdrawal volumes show the heaviest withdrawals in January 2020 and the heaviest injections in August.
In 2021, work on the well No. 5 velocity string install will continue.
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