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Marathon to move more gas through existing Beaver Creek facilities Five-mile buried pipeline in Kenai National Wildlife Refuge would access 25-50 billion cubic foot reservoir on CIRI land; 20-year production estimated Kristen Nelson PNA News Editor
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has published a draft environmental impact statement for Marathon Oil Co.’s Wolf Lake proposal to build a natural gas pipeline between Marathon’s existing Beaver Creek production facilities and the Wolf Lake and Galena well sites on the Kenai Peninsula northeast of Kenai. Marathon estimates 20 years of production, with pipeline installation operations projected for January 2001.
Marathon reentered the 2 Wolf Lake well in 1998 to test for gas. ARCO Alaska Inc. drilled that well, and the 1 Wolf Lake, in the 1980s in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, on surface estate owned by the United States and managed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
Marathon has an agreement with CIRI to explore, develop and operate the Wolf Lake prospect. CIRI shareholders would receive a royalty on the gas produced by Marathon from the area. The DEIS does not consider a “no action” alternative — which would refuse Marathon permission to develop the gas, which belongs to CIRI — because CIRI is the owner of a valid inholding within the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and is entitled to access.
Alternative pipeline routes all include the same 1.26-mile segment between the Wolf Lake and Galena pads. This segment will be constructed adjacent to the existing road between the pads. Three different routes are considered for the remainder of the pipeline, with the central and north routes principally aligned to avoid stands of old-growth timber and the south route aligned to avoid wetlands.
Pipeline would be buried The proposed natural gas pipeline between Beaver Creek and the well sites would be approximately 5.5 miles long. The primary line would be a 6-inch or 8-inch diameter natural gas gathering line. Marathon might also install additional utilities in the pipeline trench: a 3-inch high density polyethylene line for transport of produced water from Wolf Lake No. 2 to Beaver Creek field; electrical service lines for delivery of power to the Wolf Lake well site; and a 4-inch steel secondary products line for possible use as a redundant gas or water line.
Marathon said in its operation plan that production facilities will be installed at the Wolf Lake No. 2 site only as needed to minimize initial investments, operating cost and surface impacts.
As many as three wells may be located at each of the existing Wolf Lake No. 2 and Galena pads, depending on geologic complexity and well productivity. Wolf Lake No. 2 pad may need to be expanded to accommodate new wells. Existing roads provide access to the well sites. The Wolf Lake No. 2 pad may need to be expanded to accommodate new wells.
Marathon said in its plan that current knowledge of the geologic structure indicates a potential reserve accumulation of 25 billion to 50 billion cubic feet of recoverable gas, which may support three or more wells, depending on reservoir quality.
Initial development at Wolf Lake No. 2 Initial development of the project will center on bringing the Wolf Lake No. 2 well into production. Subsequent activities may include drilling new wells and, or the reentry of abandoned wells at Galena and Wolf Lake pads.
The Wolf Lake pad occupies a well site first constructed by ARCO in 1982. Marathon had to remove vegetation and organics from the pad and place, grade and compact materials on the pad to support its 1998 drilling.
In the winter of 1982-83, ARCO drilled Wolf Lake No. 1, abandoned in late 1983. Marathon may reenter Wolf Lake No. 1, but to do so it would first have to expand the existing Wolf Lake pad by approximately 32,000 square feet. That expansion would occupy an area disturbed by the initial Wolf Lake No. 1 development.
The Galena pad is about 0.7 miles south of the Wolf Lake pad. The last drilling to occur there was by ARCO in 1991-92; the Galena well was plugged and abandoned in 1992. The Galena pad remains in fairly usable condition and is large enough, 250 feet by 500 feet, to support anticipated drilling and production facilities, although it would require some grading and compacting.
New grassroots wells may be drilled at the Wolf Lake and Galena pads. At the Galena pad, drilling activities can be accommodated by the existing pad; drilling at the Wolf Lake pad may require expansion, as described for the reentry of the Wolf Lake No. 1.
There are existing, plugged oil exploration wells at both the Wolf Lake and Galena pads: the Wolf Lake No. 1 and Galena. If the wells are reentered, a drill rig would be mobilized over existing roads. Drill rig work would include reestablishing the casing strings, drilling out cement abandonment plugs in the existing well bore, logging potential gas-pay intervals and installing completion tubing for testing and production. Well reentry work is estimated to take 20-30 days per well, depending on the condition of the existing well bore.
Future exploratory drilling Wolf Lake is east of the existing Beaver Creek facilities. Marathon anticipates drilling an exploratory well farther east in the future. The Mosquito Lake prospect would require a one-quarter mile access road from the Swanson River Road and a drill pad. If Mosquito Lake provides economically recoverable quantities of gas, Marathon would construct and operate a three-mile long pipeline between the Mosquito Lake well site and the Wolf Lake well site. That pipeline would be constructed adjacent to existing roads.
The Mosquito Lake facilities and activities are not included in the right-of-way application now being considered; Marathon would apply for those at a future date.
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