ANS production roughly flat from December

North Slope averaged 554,852 bpd in January, down 0.3% from December; Cook Inlet production up marginally December over November

KRISTEN NELSON

Petroleum News

Alaska North Slope production averaged 554,852 barrels per day in January, down 0.33 percent from a December average of 556,681, a drop averaging 1,829 bpd.

The largest month-over-month decline was at BP Exploration (Alaska)-operated Lisburne, which averaged 21,899 bpd in January, down 10.9 percent from a December average of 24,587 bpd, a drop of 2,688 bpd.

Lisburne includes production from Niakuk, Point McIntyre and Raven.

Also down from December was production from the ConocoPhillips Alaska-operated Alpine field, which averaged 59,832 bpd in January, down 1.8 percent (1,095 bpd) from a December average of 60,927 bpd. Alpine volumes include satellite production from Fiord, Nanuq and Qannik.

The BP-operated Prudhoe Bay field, the Slope’s largest, was down marginally, 312,769 bpd in January, off 0.3 percent (936 bpd) from a December average of 313,705 bpd. Prudhoe production includes satellite volumes from Aurora, Borealis, Midnight Sun, Orion, Polaris, Sag River, Schrader Bluff and Ugnu, and from the Hilcorp Alaska-operated Milne Point and Northstar fields.

Information for the most recent month 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.

AOGCC data show Milne Point averaged 21,289 bpd in December, up 6.7 percent (1,345 bpd) from a November average of 19,944 bpd, while Northstar averaged 5,693 bpd in December, up 10.8 percent (554 bpd) from a November average of 5,140 bpd. Prudhoe production as reported by the Tax Division was also up, month over month, from November of December.

Some ANS increases

Hilcorp-operated Endicott averaged 17,585 bpd in January, up 8.7 percent (1,410 bpd) from a December average of 16,175. Endicott includes production from Eider, Minke and Sag Delta, as well as from the Glacier Oil & Gas-operated Badami field and the ExxonMobil Production-operated Point Thomson field.

AOGCC data for Badami show the field averaged 949 bpd in December, up 4.5 percent (41 bpd) from a November average of 909 bpd, while Point Thomson averaged 6,898 bpd in December, up 295.4 percent from a November average of 1,745 bpd.

The Tax Division does not break out Point Thomson production, but daily volumes shown under Endicott for January show ranges from some 9,500 bpd to as high as more than 22,000 bpd. Prior to Point Thomson coming online last April Endicott volumes were routinely in the 8,500 to 9,500 bpd range. Point Thomson was expected to produce at some 10,000 bpd and ExxonMobil’s Steve Butt said in a talk in January that production had reached more than 11,000 bpd of condensate.

Production shown for Kuparuk, operated by ConocoPhillips, averaged 142,767 bpd in January, up 1 percent (1,480 bpd) from a December average of 141,287 bpd. Kuparuk volumes include satellite production from Meltwater, Tabasco, Tarn and West Sak, as well as production from the Eni-operated Nikaitchuq field and the Caelus Alaska-operated Oooguruk field.

AOGCC data show Nikaitchuq averaged 21,289 bpd in December, down 7.8 percent (1,800 bpd) from a November average of 23,088 bpd, while Oooguruk averaged 14,355 bpd in December, down 9 percent (1,429 bpd) from a November average of 15,784 bpd.

Cook Inlet

Production from Cook Inlet’s smallest field, Hilcorp Alaska-operated Beaver Creek, had the largest month-to-month percentage growth, up 141.8 percent, averaging 200 bpd in December up from 83 bpd in November, an increase of 117 bpd.

Hilcorp’s McArthur River, Cook Inlet’s largest field, had the highest per-barrel increase in December, up 141 bpd to 4,595 bpd, an increase of 3.2 percent from 4,455 bpd in November.

Redoubt Shoal, operated by Glacier Oil & Gas, averaged 637 bpd in December, up 8.8 percent, 51 bpd, from a November average of 586 bpd.

Hilcorp’s Middle Ground Shoal averaged 1,829 bpd in December, up 0.9 percent, 16 bpd, from a November average of 1,813 bpd.

Remaining Cook Inlet fields had month-over-month declines in production.

The largest was at Hilcorp’s Trading Bay, which averaged 1,644 bpd in December, down 6.42 percent, 113 bpd, from a November average of 1,757 bpd.

BlueCrest’s Hansen field, the Cosmopolitan project, averaged 158 bpd in December, down 3.8 percent, six bpd, from a November average of 164 bpd.

Hilcorp’s Swanson River field averaged 1,901 bpd in December, down 3.1 percent, 61 bpd, from a November average of 1,961 bpd.

The Glacier Oil & Gas West McArthur River field averaged 1,145 bpd, down 3 percent, 35 bpd, from a November average of 1,180 bpd.

Hilcorp’s Granite Point field averaged 2,455 bpd in December, down 2.3 percent, 59 bpd, from a November average of 2,514 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.