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Commingling approved at Granite Point
AOGCC OKs Hilcorp requests for establishment of new Hemlock oil pool, commingling of Hemlock, Middle Kenai at Cook Inlet field Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has approved commingling of production, revised pool definitions for the Granite Point Middle Kenai Oil Pool and defined a new Granite Point Hemlock Oil Pool at Hilcorp Alaska’s Cook Inlet Granite Point unit.
In a May 20 order, the commission said retaining the vertical extent of the Granite Point Middle Kenai Oil Pool, GPMKOP, and defining the new Granite Point Hemlock Oil Pool, GPHOP, “is appropriate and will lead to better development of the field and maximization of the ultimate recovery.” In the order the commission revised the pool definition so there is no vertical gap between the oil pools, with the GPMKOP the accumulation that correlates to Mobil’s Granite Point No. 1 well between 7,725 feet and 10,885 feet measured depth, and the GPHOP defined as the accumulation between 10,885 feet and 11,280 feet MD in Mobil’s Granite Point No. 1 well.
Among the changes Hilcorp requested was elimination of interwell spacing requirements for wells in the affected area and authorization of downhole commingling of production in wells open to both the GPMKOP and the GPHOP.
The commission approved commingling, subject to a production log or geochemical analysis being obtained within 30 days of beginning of commingled production. It also required periodic production logging or geochemical analysis of wells with downhole commingled production (at least every 24 months), with copies of logs and analyses used to determine allocation of production submitted to the commission within 30 days. The order also eliminates well spacing restrictions for the GPMKOP and GPHOP, “except that no oil well shall be completed within 500 feet of an exterior property line where ownership or landownership is not the same on both sides of the line.”
Development history Hilcorp is the operator and sole working interest owner of the Granite Point unit. The Granite Point field was discovered in 1965 by the Mobil-Union Granite Point No. 1 well and three production platforms were installed in 1965 and 1966 - from north to south, the Bruce, Anna and Granite Point platforms.
Production began from the GPMKOP in 1967 and peaked at more than 49,000 barrels per day in 1968; cumulative oil production is more than 150 million barrels, the commission said, with current production of some 2,600 bpd from approximately 31 active production wells, supported by four injection wells.
Regular production from the Hemlock formation within the field began in 1992 and peaked at some 1,900 bpd that same year. Cumulative production from the Hemlock oil pool at Granite Point is some 2.2 million barrels; current production is some 15 bpd from a single well.
Hilcorp requested When Hilcorp requested amendments to the conservation order for Granite Point it noted that commingling production between the Hemlock and Middle Kenai pools in the GP 11-13RD well was approved by the commission in 2014, extending the economic life of the well and reducing waste.
That approval extended the economic life of the well and reduced waste, the company said.
Allowing commingled production from the GPMKOP and the GPHOP would allow some of the remaining 164,000 barrels of reserves in the Hemlock to be recovered, Hilcorp told the commission.
The request to eliminate spacing restrictions would allow horizontal wells to “be drilled in the stacked sands of the Middle Kenai Oil Pool,” Hilcorp said in its request. The company also noted a reduction in administrative burdens for both the company and commission staff.
The company had an operations plan approved by the Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Oil and Gas on May 20 for as many as four Granite Point sidetracks (see story in this issue).
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