Alaska North Slope production down 3 percent from March

Northstar was down 7.95 percent in April, with some wells shut-in for nearby drilling

Kristen Nelson

Petroleum News Editor-in-Chief

Alaska North Slope crude oil production averaged 922,307 barrels per day in April, down 2.88 percent from a March average of 949,624 bpd.

The Alaska Department of Revenue listed a series of production-related events on the slope in April.

The BP Exploration (Alaska)-operated Northstar offshore field had the largest percentage production drop month-to-month, 7.95 percent, with some wells at the field shut-in March 31 to April 4 because of nearby drilling. The field also had a four-hour shutdown April 18 for repair work. Northstar production averaged 63,960 bpd in April vs. 69,484 bpd in March.

The Prudhoe Bay field, with no noted downtime, had a 5 percent month-to-month production drop, averaging 435,262 bpd in April compared to 458,233 bpd in March. BP-operated Prudhoe, the slope’s oldest and largest field, also had the largest per-barrel drop, almost 23,000 bpd, accounting for the majority of the month-to-month North Slope production decline. Prudhoe produces almost half of the North Slope’s crude oil; it includes satellites Midnight Sun, Aurora, Polaris, Borealis and Orion.

There was planned maintenance at the ConocoPhillips Alaska-operated Alpine field April 3-4, dropping production from that field by 10,000 bpd April 3 and 8,000 bpd April 4. Production ramped back up above 100,000 bpd April 5 and 6 and peaked for the month at 123,943 bpd April 19. Alpine output was prorated April 25 due to high pressure at Pump Station No. 1. Alpine and Northstar, at 40 degrees API, have the lightest crude oil of producing fields on the slope. Alpine production averaged 116,410 bpd in April, down 2.63 percent from a March average of 119,552 bpd.

BP-operated Milne Point also lost production in April, down 1.88 percent from March with planned work at the field April 15-19 when the K-pad flow line was replaced. Milne Point, which includes viscous Schrader Bluff production, averaged 46,204 bpd in April compared to 47,090 bpd in March.

BP-operated Endicott averaged 20,793 bpd in April, up 2.67 percent from a March average of 20,253, in spite of some scheduled maintenance April 23 and April 25.

The ConocoPhillips-operated Kuparuk River field, which includes West Sak viscous oil and satellites Tabasco, Tarn, Meltwater and Palm, averaged 193,365 bpd in April, up 2.29 percent from a March average of 189,045 bpd.

BP-operated Lisburne, which includes Point McIntyre and Niakuk, averaged 46,313 bpd in April, up 0.75 percent from a March average of 45,967 bpd.

The North Slope temperature averaged 6.6 degrees Fahrenheit at Pump Station No. 1, up from a March average of minus 5 degrees F.

Cook Inlet crude oil production averaged 19,715 bpd, up 1.44 percent from a March average of 19,436 bpd.