|
ANS production down 3.3 percent month-over-month February North Slope crude averages 512,795 bpd, down from 530,208 bpd in January; January Cook Inlet output down marginally Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Alaska North Slope crude oil production averaged 512,795 barrels per day in February, down 3.28 percent from a January average of 530,208 bpd, a drop of 17,413 bpd.
Most major reporting areas were down, with only Endicott and Alpine showing month-over-month increases.
The largest per-barrel drop was at the North Slope’s largest field, BP Exploration (Alaska)-operated Prudhoe Bay, which averaged 293,913 bpd in February, down 4.58 percent, 14,109 bpd, from a January average of 308,022 bpd.
February information comes from the Alaska Department of Revenue’s Tax Division which reports North Slope oil production consolidated by major production centers and provides daily production and monthly averages. More detailed data, including Cook Inlet and individual North Slope fields and pools, is reported by the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission on a month-delay basis.
Prudhoe volumes include satellite production from Aurora, Borealis, Midnight Sun, Orion and Polaris, as well as the Hilcorp-operated Milne Point and Northstar fields.
AOGCC data shows production from Milne Point averaged 19,336 bpd in January, down 6.28 percent, 348 bpd, from a December average of 19,684 bpd, and Northstar averaged 10,581 bpd in January, down 9 percent, 1,047 bpd, from a December average of 11,629 bpd. For January, Milne Point and Northstar volumes accounted for 9.7 percent of the total shown for Prudhoe.
Other production declines The BP-operated Lisburne field, part of greater Prudhoe Bay, averaged 25,434 bpd in February, down 4.56 percent from a January average of 26,650 bpd, a drop of 1,216 bpd. Lisburne production includes Niakuk and Point McIntyre.
The ConocoPhillips Alaska-operated Kuparuk River field, the Slope’s second largest, averaged 135,875 bpd in February, down 1.91 percent, 2,652 bpd, from a January average of 138,527. Kuparuk includes satellite production from Meltwater, Tabasco, Tarn and West Sak, as well as from the Eni-operated Nikaitchuq field and the Caelus Alaska-operated Oooguruk field.
AOGCC data for January shows Nikaitchuq averaged 24,529 bpd, down 3 percent, 764 bpd, from a December average of 25,393 bpd. Oooguruk averaged 9,798 bpd in January, down 13.5 percent, 1,529 bpd, from a December average of 11,327. Combined, those two fields accounted for 24.3 percent of the Kuparuk production total shown by the Department of Revenue in January.
Endicott, Alpine up The Hilcorp Alaska-operated Endicott field and the ConocoPhillips-operated Alpine field both had month-over-month production increases.
Endicott averaged 9,511 bpd in February, up 2.1 percent from a January average of 9,318 bpd, an increase of 193 bpd. Endicott includes production from Eider and Sag Delta, as well as from the Badami field, operated by Miller Energy subsidiary Savant Alaska.
AOGCC data show Badami averaged 989 bpd in January, up 0.1 percent from a December average of 988 bpd.
The ConocoPhillips-operated Alpine field averaged 48,062 bpd in February, up 0.8 percent from a January average of 47,691 bpd, an increase of 371 bpd.
Alpine includes satellite production from Fiord, Nanuq and Qannik, with the majority of production, 68 percent in January, from the main Alpine field, followed by Fiord, 25 percent, and Nanuq and Qannik, 3.5 percent and 3.6 percent.
Cook Inlet down marginally AOGCC data show Cook Inlet production averaged 18,050 bpd in January, down 60 bpd, 0.33 percent, from a December average of 18,110 bpd.
The largest month-over-month increase was at the Hilcorp Alaska-operated Swanson River field, which averaged 2,531 bpd in January, up 10.4 percent, 238 bpd, from a December average of 71,073 bpd.
Cook Inlet’s largest field, the Hilcorp-operated McArthur River field, averaged 5,621 bpd in January, up 1.1 percent, 59 bpd, from a December average of 5,562 bd.
The only other field with a month-over-month increase was Beaver Creek, Cook Inlet’s smallest field, which averaged 120 bpd in January, up 8.25, nine bpd, from a December average of 111 bpd.
The steepest month-over-month decline was at the Hilcorp-operated Trading Bay field, which averaged 2,643 bpd in January, down 5.75 percent, 161 bpd, from a December average of 2,804 bpd.
The West McArthur River field, operated by Miller Energy subsidiary Cook Inlet Energy, averaged 1,578 bpd in January, down 4.95 percent, 82 bpd, from a December average of 1,660 bpd.
The Cook Inlet Energy-operated Redoubt Shoal field averaged 914 bpd in January, down 4.93 percent, 47 bpd, from a December average of 961 bpd.
The Hilcorp-operated Granite Point field averaged 2,705 bpd in January, down 2.37 percent, 66 bpd, from a December average of 2,771 bpd.
The Middle Ground Shoal field, operated by ExxonMobil subsidiary XTO, averaged 1,937 bpd in January, down 0.5 percent, 10 bpd, from a December average of 1,947 bpd.
ANS crude oil production peaked in 1988 at 2.1 million bpd; Cook Inlet crude oil production peaked in 1970 at more than 227,000 bpd.
|
