Alpine reaches 100 million barrel milestone

ConocoPhillips and Anadarko Petroleum said Nov. 11 that the Alpine oil field has produced its 100 millionth barrel of oil since production began at the field in November 2000.

Originally estimated to produce 80,000 barrels of oil per day, Alpine has maintained an average production of nearly 100,000 barrels of oil per day over the past two years, the companies said. The field was developed exclusively with horizontal well technology and employs enhanced oil recovery. Expected recovery from the field is estimated at 429 million barrels. The Alpine discovery was declared commercial in 1996 and was the largest onshore oil field discovered in the United States in more than a decade. The field is in the Colville River area, 34 miles west of the Kuparuk River field near the border of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, and is the western-most producing oil field on the North Slope.

Phase 1 of the Alpine capacity expansion project is scheduled to start up in late 2004 and increase oil production by 5,000 barrels per day, increasing both the water and gas handling capacities of the plant. The companies said water and gas handling are important for increasing oil production and maintaining reservoir pressure.

In addition to technological advances, Alpine was also designed to meet special environmental challenges because it is in the Colville River delta. The companies noted that the 40,000-acre field was developed on just 97 surface acres, or two-tenths of 1 percent of the field area. Alpine is also a near-zero-discharge facility, with waste generated reused, recycled or properly disposed.

ConocoPhillips Alaska operates the Alpine field, which is owned 78 percent by ConocoPhillips and 22 percent by Anadarko Petroleum.