|
Plan to expand Seaview
Hilcorp proposing merger into Seaview of Whiskey Gulch discovery to north
Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Hilcorp Alaska is in the process of applying to expand its lower Kenai Peninsula Seaview unit to include its Whiskey Gulch gas discovery to the north, where Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission records show the company drilled 20 stratigraphic test wells and three exploratory gas wells. At Seaview AOGCC records show two exploratory gas wells, only one of which has produced, and seven stratigraphic test wells.
In a decision on the Seaview unit plan of development issued July 2, Alaska Department of Natural Resources' Division of Oil and Gas Director Derek Nottingham said because the Seaview unit will expire Oct. 7 and Hilcorp's application to expand Seaview to include Whiskey Gulch is not yet complete, the division can only approve the Seaview POD for Aug. 1 through Oct. 7.
He advised Hilcorp to apply for a unit term extension for Seaview no later than Sept. 1.
"Upon approval of either the SVU expansion application or SVU term extension, whichever occurs before October 7, 2025, Hilcorp may provide either (1) a written request to extend the POD period as set forth herein or (2) an proposed amended POD for the period covering October 8, 2025 through July 31, 2026." Aug. 1 through July 31, 2026, was the POD period for which Hilcorp applied in its POD.
Hilcorp has 10 days to notify the division whether it accepts the proposed modification.
Seaview unit The Seaview unit was approved in August 2020, the division said, consisting of "hundreds of individual tracts and owners" including the state, with Hilcorp Alaska the only working interest owner and the unit operator.
The company has produced gas from one well, Seaview 8.
AOGCC production data show that well produced from June 2021 through August 2022, a total of 181.84 million cubic feet of natural gas.
2024 POD During the 2024 POD, the division said, Hilcorp conducted shallow stratigraphic test drilling "to better understand the structural relationship between the SVU and Whiskey Gulch" to the north. The company evaluated the potential for a test well to assess shallow sands which could not be reached from existing wellbores, but "elected not to drill a test well, citing the assessed risk and limited resource potential of the shallow sand objectives."
Hilcorp said it would evaluate additional perforations in Seaview 8 and Seaview 9, but the division said it chose not to add new perforations, "opting instead to wait for production results from deeper intervals before moving to shallower zones."
The company did flow test the Seaview 8 producing zone, and the test "indicated that the interval is no longer productive."
Hilcorp had proposed evaluating coalbed methane potential at Seaview.
"While no CBM data was collected at Seaview, coal injectivity and production tests were conducted at Whiskey Gulch," the division said.
2025 POD The division said Hilcorp is in the process of providing additional information to support its application to expand Seaview to the north to include Whiskey Gulch leases.
For the 2025 POD, Hilcorp will:
*Evaluate drilling a well at Seaview to test a potential structural high to the north;
*Evaluate addition of perforations in Seaview 8 and Seaview 9;
*Evaluate data collection and coalbed methane testing at Seaview 8 and Seaview 9, work which "may include conducting a workover, perforations, injectivity test and production assessments"; and
*Pursue facility improvements.
| 