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Hilcorp plans greenfield well at Ivan River on west side of inlet
Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Hilcorp Alaska is planning to drill a new well at the Ivan River gas field in the fourth quarter, the first new well at that field in more than 10 years.
The Alaska Division of Oil and Gas said in an Aug. 25 approval of an amendment to the company’s 2021 plan of development for the Ivan River unit that the company originally proposed to do no grassroots drilling at the field during the 2021 POD.
Hilcorp told the division it had identified sufficient gas reserves in the Sterling and Beluga formations to support drilling of a grassroots well and plans to drill the IRU 241-01 well in the fourth quarter of this year to target the identified reserves.
Ivan River is an onshore west side Cook Inlet gas field. The unit was formed in 1967 by Standard Oil Company of California, the original operator, and initially included 24,439 acres. Hilcorp took over as operator Jan. 1, 2012, the division said. The unit currently has two participating areas, the Sterling-Beluga Gas PA and the Tyonek Gas PA, on 2,595.34 acres.
As of July, the field was producing from three wells, with production averaging 8,517 thousand cubic feet per day in that month. Hilcorp has done a lot of work at the field in recent years.
In its 2019 POD Hilcorp told the division that during the 2018 POD it “worked on a comprehensive field study that would lead to possibly enhancing production.” The field study “evaluated the Sterling, Beluga and Tyonek reservoirs for further development,” the company said, and “included pursuing efficiencies through various well, infrastructure and facility repairs, including evaluation of shut-in wells for potential return to service or utility.”
Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission records show the most recent drilling at the field, the IRU 11-06, was completed in 2009.
Increased production The company has already achieved improved production results.
Comparing production in July, the field produced 3,222 mcf per day in 2012, the year Hilcorp took over as operator, and gradually declined, dropping to 444 mcf per day in July 2019.
But by July 2020, Hilcorp had increased production to 2,449 mcf per day, and this year, the July volume was 8,517 mcf per day, down from a recent peak of 11,358 mcf per day in June.
In the 51st POD for the field, for 2021, submitted March 1, Hilcorp reviewed work from the 2020 POD. It told the division it completed “three intervention jobs” during the 2020 POD period:
In the IRU 11-06 the Tyonek sands were isolated and the Sterling A5 was perforated in July 2020. In the IRU 44-36, the company isolated the Sterling C1 sand and the Sterling B2 was perforated in September 2020. In the IRU 41-01 the Sterling B1 was perforated in February 2021.
In approving the 2020 POD the division noted that Hilcorp increased annual production at Ivan River by nearly 429% during the 2020 calendar year and said the “drastic increase” could be primarily attributed to work at the IRU 11-06 and IRU 44-36 wells.
The IRU 44-36, the division said, had been shut-in since 2008.
In the plan proposed for 2021, Hilcorp was evaluating a rig workover on the IRU 11-06. “The current completion in the well does not allow for zonal isolation if producing perforations were to begin producing significant water and/or sand. The RWO would replace the current tubing configuration and allow for future isolation of perforations within the well,” the company said.
- KRISTEN NELSON
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