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Point Thomson field owners plan to identify base development case for Thomson Sand during next annual work plan If eastern North Slope project found to be economic, it could be brought on line in phases; Brookian would not be in initial development which would focus on gas cycling Kristen Nelson PNA News Editor
Point Thomson unit owners should know by this time next year how they would develop the isolated eastern North Slope gas condensate field — then they will have to determine whether or not it would be economic to do so.
Point Thomson unit operator ExxonMobil Production submitted the unit’s 17th plan of development to the state June 28. Because the unit is not in production, the state’s condition for continuation of the unit, and the leases which comprise it, is an annual work plan to move the unit toward production.
The owners have been evaluating gas cycling for the field and because the injection pressure of 11,000 pounds per square inch is believed to be a world record a compression study was conducted during the 16th plan to look at some of the technical challenges. That study, field owners said, has increased their confidence that technology can be developed to meet the challenge.
Goal to complete base development plan ExxonMobil told the Department of Natural Resources Division of Oil and Gas June 28 that the owners’ main objective during the 17th plan (Sept. 30, 2000, to Sept. 30, 2001) will be to complete the selection of a base development plan for the Thomson Sand, which “will then be used to carry out a preliminary assessment of project commerciality and will be the basis for permitting and environmental review should the commerciality assessment prove positive.”
During the 16th plan, unit owners looked at whether or not to drill more appraisal wells, and determined that an additional appraisal well “will not have a material bearing on our commerciality assessment.” A wide range of potential resource descriptions are being evaluated, ExxonMobil said, and unit owners “may conclude that phased development, rather than further appraisal drilling, is the most cost-effective way to address project scope and layout uncertainties.” A phased development would allow unit owners “to optimally size the project as the resource is more clearly defined during development.” Companies want to align interests, expand unit Owners plan to complete a revision of the unit operating agreement and realignment of unit ownership during the 17th plan of development. Several drafts of a revised unit operating agreement have been exchanged among the owners, and the companies said that work is close to completion, which would produce an agreement conforming more closely to other major North Slope operating agreements.
The companies said that work on the new operating agreement has “produced a significant alignment of interest in the unit that will facilitate the development of resource potential beyond the Thomson gas cap. It has been tentatively agreed that the owners will share the costs and benefits in any potential subsequent development, including any Brookian development, in the same manner that they share in the Thomson Sand development.”
In addition to the Thomson Sand, there are five Brookian accumulations at Point Thomson, and the companies said additional Brookian potential in the western portion of the unit is under review and that maps of the Thomson Sand and the known Brookian accumulations indicate that expansion of the unit is necessary for all potential resources contiguous to the current unit to be included.
The owners said they “believe this is critical to the eventual successful exploitation of the total resource base in the unit area as it will allow a coordinated development of all resources with efficient sharing of infrastructure and facilities,” minimizing development cost and environmental impact, and protecting correlative rights.
The owners said they have initiated discussions with owners of leases that would be included in an expanded unit.
As part of the 16th plan of development, the companies reprocessed selected portions of existing seismic and based on those results plan to reprocess all 3-D seismic over the main portion of the field during the 17th plan. The owners also determined that they did not need to acquire new seismic over the main Thomson sand but are negotiating to acquire existing 3-D over the western portion of the unit area.
The companies estimated that they would spend $3 million over the course of the 16th plan, and commit in excess of 12 staff years of internal technical effort to advancing the effort to commercialize the Point Thomson unit.
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