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State approves Aurora PA Initially, participating area will be smaller than that requested; addition of development wells to those already planned would expand it Kristen Nelson PNA News Editor
In November the state approved lease/tract production for the Prudhoe Bay Aurora participating area through the end of the year, and in December it conditionally approved formation of a participating area retroactive to Nov. 1.
However, the state approved a smaller participating area and a smaller expansion of the Prudhoe Bay unit than that requested by Prudhoe Bay unit operator BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc.
BP’s application proposed a Prudhoe Bay unit expansion of approximately 3,840 acres within two leases and an Aurora participating area of approximately 10,740 acres.
The state’s Dec. 20 approval is for a Prudhoe Bay expansion of approximately 2,480 acres and an initial Aurora participating area of approximately 3,920 acres.
The Aurora participating area surrounds wells drilled and completed in the Kuparuk geologic formation by ARCO Alaska Inc. in 1999/2000 (the V-200 exploration well) and delineation wells drilled by BP (the S-100, S-101 and S-102) in 2000.
The division said the geologic, well and production data that BP submitted indicate the Kuparuk accumulation within the Aurora reservoir is capable of producing or contributing to the production of hydrocarbons in paying quantities. But the division said the data did not justify including the entire area proposed for the Aurora participating area at this time and said it “considered the three identified development wells insufficient to drain the entire area proposed” for the participating area. The division approved a smaller initial Aurora participating area “with provisions for automatic expansions as additional Aurora wells are drilled” and begin producing. Three development wells drilled The ARCO Alaska discovery well, the V-200, tested at 1,915 barrels per day of 29.6 API gravity oil. The company estimated that the accumulation, named the Aurora field, holds 20 to 35 million barrels of recoverable oil.
The V-200 was plugged and abandoned in 1999.
In 2000, BP drilled the three Aurora reservoir development wells from S-Pad. Production from the Aurora wells began in November.
The division said BP plans to drill between 15 and 20 production and injection wells within the next three years, all from S-Pad. Production from Aurora will be commingled with production from other Prudhoe Bay reservoirs on S-Pad and processed through shared fluid separation and processing facilities at Gathering Center No. 2.
BP plans to initiate a waterflood program by the first quarter of 2001, with conversion of the S-101 well to water injection service. Separate fault blocks in area The state said technical data submitted by BP indicates that most of the area within the proposed participating area “is reasonably known to be underlain by hydrocarbons, but due to extensive faulting and the limited number of proposed wells, it may not be reasonably estimated that the entire area will contribute to production.” The Aurora reservoir is broken up into fault blocks, probably with separate oil-water contacts and varying thickness, similar to the Kuparuk formation in the Milne Point unit, the division said.
Consistent with the practice in the Milne Point unit, the state will expand the Aurora participating area as BP drills additional wells in the individual fault blocks and ties those wells into production facilities as injectors or producers.
Four expansion areas have been identified.
The state said that allowing automatic expansion of the participating area “allows for efficient development of the reservoir and reduces the administrative burden of processing numerous expansion applications.
“The conditions for automatic expansion encourage exploration and development of the entire Aurora reservoir, rather than concentrated development in the core area,” the division said. Six development wells identified The state said BP identified six development wells in the Aurora plan of development and BP is required to drill qualified wells in the expanded Prudhoe Bay unit area prior to the expiration dates of leases or acreage will contract out of the unit. The total Prudhoe Bay expansion approved by the state is approximately 2,480 acres.
The state approved an initial Aurora participating area of approximately 3,920 acres.
The state approved BP’s initial Aurora plan of development for a one-year period, Nov. 1 through Oct. 31, 2001.
Subject to drilling of qualified wells within each area, four expansion areas are specified for Aurora, containing 1,280 acres, 1,040 acres, 640 acres and 1,360 acres. Qualified wells may be either producers or injectors completed in the Kuparuk formation at Aurora, and the area will be automatically expanded when the state receives required notification information for the wells.
Wells must be drilled in expansion Area 3 and expansion Area 4 by Sept. 30, 2002, or the area without a well will not be included in the Aurora participating area and any part of the Prudhoe Bay unit expansion area not held by production will contract out of the unit.
Automatic expansion for Area 1 and Area 2 expires Nov. 1, 2005, if BP has not drilled qualified wells.
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