Phillips stakes five more wells in National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska

Kay Cashman, PNA publisher

Phillips Alaska Inc. staked five more wells in mid-August in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, bringing its total NPR-A stakings this year to seven.

The well locations and lease numbers are as follows:

• Summit No. 2, lease AA081857

SENW Sec. 29 T11N R1E, UM

• Grandview No. 2, lease AA081808

NENE Sec. 9 T10N R1W, UM

• Kokoda No. 1, lease AA084129

NWNW Sec. 27 T11N R5W, UM

• Kokoda No. 2, lease AA081831

NWSE Sec. 10 T11N R5W,

• Powerline No. 1, lease AA081793

SESW Sec. 5 T9N R2W

Phillips told the state earlier in August that it might also drill at its NPR-A Carbon prospect, but BLM officials have not yet received a staking for Carbon.

Phillips has done most of its drilling some four to 30 miles inside the eastern boundary of NPR-A and the Kokoda stakings are about 35 miles farther west, southwest of BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc.’s Trailblazer wells. The Summit staking is six to seven miles west-northwest of the area Phillips has been active in. Grandview is 10 miles west of the Spark well, and the Powerline well is about 20 miles west-southwest of the Spark/Lookout area.

BLM received stakings in July for two other wells: Puviag No. 1, NWNW Sec. 35 T16N R10W, UM, on lease AA081854, and Puviag No. 2, SESW Sec. 9 T15N R10W, UM, on lease AA081851. Phillips stacked a rig over the summer on an insulated pad at Puviag south of Smith Bay, considerably farther west than the company’s August stakings.