Sag Delta No. 1 rehabilitation planned for this winter

Petroleum News Alaska Staff

BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. is permitting remediation work at the Sag Delta No. 1 exploratory well site in the Sagavanirktok River delta, a special condition of its U.S. Army Corps of Engineering permit for expansion of Milne Point G, H and I pads.

The corps said the work will rehabilitate the well site to tidal flats at an elevation similar to surrounding tidal flats and with no hydrocarbon contamination.

The Sag Delta No. 1 well was drilled in 1975. A breach occurred in the reserve pit in 2001 and was repaired April 26, 2001, with 14 loads of gravel from a gravel stockpile on site.

The site covers approximately nine acres and includes a gravel pad, two reserve pits and two smaller pits within the pad, and an adjacent bermed flare pit.

Preliminary results of a survey of the pad done earlier this year indicated that approximately 10 percent of the gravel may be contaminated with hydrocarbons.

Gravel removal at Sag Delta No. 1 is scheduled for this winter using an ice road which will run offshore from East Dock to the Sag Delta No. 1 site. All drilling wastes, reserve pit water and hydrocarbon-contaminated gravel will be removed for off-site disposal.

The gravel pad and berms will be removed completely so that the site is left at an elevation similar to the surrounding tidal flat. Contaminated gravel will be hauled off-site for disposal and any clean gravel not used to fill the reserve pits removed for off-site reuse.

The site will not be seeded or fertilized as it will be below tidal level and is intended to become visually integrated with the natural tidal flats, which is a mostly un-vegetated, irregularly flooded tidal flat of the Sagavanirktok River.