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Production doubled at Kitchen Lights after drilling of new wells
Alan Bailey for Petroleum News
Following the completion in July of two new wells in the Kitchen Lights gas field from the offshore Allegra Leigh Platform in the Cook Inlet using the Spartan 151 jack-up rig, gas production from the field has doubled, John Hendrix, president and CEO of HEX Cook Inlet, has told Petroleum News.
Field production has increased from about 12 million cubic feet per day to about 25.5 million cubic feet per day, Hendrix said, adding that this increased production rate has now been sustained for more than a month.
Continuing development In addition to drilling the two new wells, Furie Operating Alaska, the field operator, re-perforated a number of the existing wells in the field, Hendrix said.
The reservoir for the Kitchen Lights field consists of a number of variably sized lenses of productive sands that need to be penetrated by wells and sidetracks. A full understanding of the subsurface geology can only be achieved through the drilling of wells, Hendrix said.
Since acquiring the field, Furie has increased the drilling capacity from the drilling platform from six wells to 12 wells and is considering increasing the capacity further to 14 wells, Hendrix said. Currently, the field only has six producing wells, he added. And while the company's current focus is on drilling new wells, there will probably be a well per year that needs to be sidetracked, he said.
Cook Inlet gas potential The successful Kitchen Lights drilling illustrates that there is additional gas to be developed in the Cook Inlet basin, Hendrix said.
However, while the limited local market for gas in the region does place constraints on how much gas can viably be produced, the gas and electric utilities want firm long-term gas supply contracts. At the same time the possibility of a gas pipeline being constructed from the North Slope has raised questions for Cook Inlet gas producers over the economics of Cook Inlet gas drilling. But, if the companies do not drill, the Cook Inlet will be faced with having to import gas.
And, while it would be great to have a North Slope gas line for the export of LNG from Alaska, a pipeline that is only used to supply gas in Southcentral Alaska could not compete with Cook Inlet gas production, Hendrix said.
Plan of development filed According to Furie's plan of development for 2026, recently filed with Alaska's Division of Oil and Gas, the company plans to drill two new wells in 2026, contingent on a number of factors including the availability of a jack-up rig and the required support services.
The company also plans to continue its efforts to maximize production from the existing wells, monitoring well production and identifying additional options for extending economic gas production.
Activity successfully carried out as part of the 2025 plan of development included the drilling in July of the two new wells, the KLU A-5 and A-6 wells, work to deal with gas flow issues from the KLU A-2a well, and adding further perforations to three other wells.
Furie also said that since August it has been testing gas production from the Sterling formation using the KLU 3 well. The Kitchen Lights field holds gas in both the Beluga and Sterling formations.
-ALAN BAILEY
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