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State of Alaska approves 2025 PBU Greater Point McIntyre Area POD
Kay Cashman Petroleum News
On Sept. 4, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources' Division of Oil and Gas Director Derek Nottingham sent division landman Michael Schoetz of Hilcorp North Slope notice that Hilcorp's Prudhoe Bay Unit Greater Point McIntyre Area 2025 plan of development, or POD, had been approved.
The 2025 POD was effective Oct. 1, 2025, through Sept. 30, 2026
Hilcorp provided a technical review to the division on Aug. 27.
The Greater Point McIntyre Area, or GPMA, consists of six participating areas, or PAs as follows: Combined Niakuk, Lisburne, North Prudhoe Bay, Point McIntyre, Raven, and West Beach. Initial production in the GPMA began with the Lisburne PA on Dec. 15, 1986, which currently produces from the Wahoo and Alapah formations. The Combined Niakuk, West Beach, North Prudhoe Bay, and Point McIntyre PAs all began sustained production between 1993 and 1994. Aside from the West Beach PA briefly producing in 2009, the West Beach and North Prudhoe Bay PAs have been shut-in since 2000 and 2001, respectively.
The Point McIntyre PA and the Combined Niakuk PA continue to produce from the Cretaceous Kuparuk River formation.
The most recently formed PA, Raven, commenced sustained production from the Ivishak and Sag River formations in October 2005.
On Aug. 26, 2019, the Standard Oil Company and Hilcorp Alaska entered into a purchase and sale agreement for the sale by Standard Oil to Hilcorp Alaska for all the issued and outstanding shares of stock of BP Exploration Alaska, or BPXA.
As a result of this stock sale, which closed on June 30, 2020, Hilcorp Alaska indirectly, through its ownership of BPXA, owns and controls all BPXA's oil and gas interests in Alaska.
On July 1, 2020, the entity BPXA underwent a name change to Hilcorp North Slope.
Through June 2025, the GPMA PAs and tract operation wells have produced 858.34 million barrels of hydrocarbon liquids.
From July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025, the GPMA PAs produced 9.11
million barrels of oil and NGLs, a decrease from 10.06 million barrels of oil and NGLs produced during the same time period over the previous year.
2024 POD period In the proposed 2024 POD period, Hilcorp committed to drilling two rotary wells in the Raven PA.
Hilcorp proposed additional drilling candidates during the POD period, which included four coil-tube drilling, or CTD, sidetracks within the Point McIntyre PA, one rotary well targeting the Lisburne PA, and two rotary wells targeting the Brookian formation. Hilcorp did not commit to any well workovers or facility projects during the 2024 POD period.
During the POD period, Hilcorp attempted to drill one rotary well within the Raven PA. After two sidetrack attempts, however, the well was unable to reach its intended target. No other wells were drilled in GPMA during the 2024 POD period due to the time spent drilling multiple sidetrack attempts and the rig having commitments in other areas within the Prudhoe Bay Unit.
No workovers or facility projects were completed during the 2024 POD period.
2025 POD period During the 2025 POD period, Hilcorp committed to drilling one rotary sidetrack well near the Raven PA targeting the Sag River or Ivishak formation. Additionally, Hilcorp committed to drilling three rotary grassroots wells, all within the Prudhoe Bay Unit, or PBU, expansion area acreage approved approved in 2023.
Two CTD wells could also potentially be drilled within the Point McIntyre PA. Hilcorp did not commit to any workovers or facility projects
The approval of the 2025 POD was only for a general plan of development. Specific field operations required separate approval under the Unit Plan of Operations.
The 2026 POD is due July 2, 2026, 90 days before the 2025 POD expires.
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