North Slope production down 1 percent in January

Kristen Nelson

Alaska North Slope production averaged 1.056 million barrels per day in January, down 1.2 percent from 1.069 million bpd in December, despite increased production from Northstar, the slope’s newest field.

The Alaska Department of Revenue said there were two problems on the slope in January: mechanical failure led to a Jan. 22 shutdown at Endicott and high vapor pressure led to a Kuparuk production proration Jan. 26.

The largest percentage drop in production was at Endicott, which averaged 31,150 bpd in January, down 5.1 percent from a December average of 32,820 bpd. Endicott production dropped from 31,477 bpd Jan. 20 to 10,601 bpd Jan. 21, and 28,540 bpd Jan. 22 — the date Revenue said there was a field shutdown. January peaked at 35,348 bpd Jan. 29.

Northstar and Alpine, the newest North Slope fields, both had production increases: Northstar averaged 35,736 bpd in January, an increase of 21.5 percent from a December average of 29,407 bpd. Revenue said Northstar production topped 48,000 bpd Jan. 26. The field is expected to peak at 65,000 bpd in the first quarter. Alpine production averaged 100,817 bpd in January, up 1.2 percent from a December of average of 99,600 bpd.

Prudhoe Bay production averaged 540,037 bpd, down 2.7 percent from a December average of 555,028 bpd. Lisburne production averaged 76,758 bpd in January, down 1.6 percent from a December average of 77,990 bpd. Kuparuk production averaged 218,893 bpd in January, down 1.1 percent from a December average of 221,249 bpd. Milne Point production held almost even, down just 0.3 percent to 52,831 bpd in January compared to 52,985 bpd in January.

Cook Inlet production averaged 32,641 bpd, down 13 percent from a December average of 37,504 bpd.

Prudhoe Bay natural gas liquids production averaged 49,734 bpd in January, down 2.6 percent from an average of 51,037 bpd in December.

The average temperature at Pump Station 1 was -15.1 degrees Fahrenheit in January, compared to -7.4 degrees F in December.