Conoco steals the show

Drill bits down on seven Alaska North Slope exploration wells so far this season

Kay Cashman

Petroleum News

ConocoPhillips said it planned to drill six to eight exploration and appraisal wells on the North Slope during the current winter season, far more than any other explorer in Alaska this year or for several years. So far, the company has drilled five - two from existing gravel pads and the rest from ice pads. Plus, there are still rigs on two other wells, putting the total well count at seven.

Six of the seven wells are west of the central North Slope; and one was in the Cairn prospect in the southwest corner of the Kuparuk River unit.

ConocoPhillips describes the wells as a mixture of exploration and appraisal, but all seven wells are deemed exploratory by the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which, among other things, issues and tracks drilling permits.

In a presentation about the company’s 2018 earnings strategy early this year, Ryan Lance, chairman and CEO, said ConocoPhillips had already drilled two of the wells in December from existing gravel pads, testing the Cairn well in the southwest corner of the Kuparuk River unit from Drill site 2S, and testing the seismic anomaly in the Putu prospect in a well drilled from CD-4 in the Colville River unit.

In last winter’s off-road season, ConocoPhillips conducted the largest exploration season on the North Slope since 2002.

Using the Doyon 141 rig, the company said four wells were drilled in and near its behemoth Willow discovery at the western end of its recent finds: Tinmiaq 7, Tinmiaq 8, Tinmiaq 9 and West Willow 1.

Using the Kuukpik 5 rig, one slant and vertical well was drilled at the Putu prospect, Putu 2 and Putu 2A, directly south of the Colville unit.

At the Stony Hill prospect, straight south of Putu 2, Stony Hill 1, a vertical exploration well, was drilled with the Arctic Fox rig.

The Putu 2 and 2A wells successfully targeted two distinctive seismic amplitude anomalies, Scott Jepsen, ConocoPhillips Alaska vice president of external affairs and transportation, said in September. There was a third anomaly in the Putu prospect, he said, immediately west of the two tested anomalies, which is the anomaly that was drilled into this winter from CD-4.

Building on last year

As of April 15, AOGCC showed ConocoPhillips having completed three other exploration wells west of the central North Slope, including: Tinmiaq 10, completed March 4 (total depth 7,635 feet and true vertical depth 3,762 feet); Tinmiaq 15, completed Feb. 21 (total depth 4,052 feet and true vertical depth 4,052); and Tinmiaq 16, completed March 7 (total depth 3,950 feet and true vertical depth 3,950).

Again, it appears the company will complete five exploration wells from off-road ice pads, plus the two wells it drilled from gravel pads.

All seven except the Cairn well are in the same trend as the nearby Pikka and Horseshoe finds in the prolific Nanushuk formation that were discovered by Repsol and Armstrong Energy, and are currently operated by their partner Oil Search.