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Aurora Gas plans numerous Cook Inlet exploration projects
Kristen Nelson, Petroleum News editor-in-chief
Aurora Gas has eight exploration projects and one production project planned for the west side of Alaska’s Cook Inlet this summer.
Last year, after two years of work developing natural gas at the Nicolai Creek field, Aurora went out for financing and partnered with Kaiser Francis Oil, which agreed to fund Aurora Gas up to $25 million to acquire properties Aurora had identified and do the work to monetize those opportunities.
In October, Aurora closed on a transaction with ConocoPhillips Alaska to acquire a 50 percent working interest at the Moquawkie field on the west side of Cook Inlet. Aurora announced an agreement with Anadarko Petroleum later in October to acquire Anadarko’s entire Cook Inlet oil and gas lease holdings, including the other 50 percent of the Moquawkie field. That deal closed in January.
Aurora Gas President Scott Pfoff told Petroleum News in October that the company’s capital budget was $11.6 million for 2002 and $13.4 million for 2003.
The 2003 capital, he said, would be spent on seismic, drilling, facilities and pipelines. Five wells from existing pads The company told the state that five gas exploration projects will be from existing pads: Long Lake No. 1, Mobil Moquawkie No. 1, Simpco Moquawkie No. 1, West Moquawkie No. 1 and Simpco Moquawkie No. 2. These five projects appear to be re-entries of wells drilled in the 1960s and 1970s. The Long Lake Unit 1 well, drilled by Texaco in 1973, reached a measured depth of 11,097 feet and a total vertical depth of 11,065 feet from a surface location in section 32, township 12 north range 12 west, Seward Meridian.
The Moquawkie No. 1, drilled by Mobil Oil in 1965, was completed as a gas well. The well had measured and true vertical depths of 11,364 feet and was drilled from section 1-T11N-R12W, SM. The well was plugged and abandoned in 1970.
The Simpco Moquawkie No. 1 and No. 2 wells were drilled by Cook Inlet Region Inc. in the late 1970s; both found gas. The No. 1 was drilled in 1978. It was a 6,166-foot vertical hold drilled in 36-T12N-R12W, SM. The No. 2, drilled in 1979, found gas and was shut-in that same year. Also a vertical hole, it reached a depth of 6,727 feet in section 1-T11N-R12W, SM.
The West Moquawkie No. 1, drilled by Mobil Oil in 1970, was plugged and abandoned. The vertical hole reached 8,015 feet in section 36-T12N-R12W, SM.
The Office of Project Management and Permitting in the Department of Natural Resources said no permits for these five wells are expected to trigger Alaska Coastal Management Program reviews.
Three other projects, however, likely will trigger an ACMP consistency review: Nicolai Creek Unit No. 7, Lone Creek No. 3 and Kaloa No. 2. These three appear to be new wells.
Aurora is also proposing a production facility including installation of a four-inch pipeline near the Shirleyville runway.
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