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Phillips begins permitting for Meltwater development Pad will be built in existing Kuparuk River unit, but unit will be expanded to south to include all of new reservoir Kristen Nelson PNA News Editor
Phillips Alaska Inc. plans to begin construction this year of a new drill site and access road to develop the Meltwater discovery in the southwest corner of the Kuparuk River unit west of Prudhoe Bay on the North Slope. The company said in applications to the state that it is also preparing an application to extend the Kuparuk River unit boundaries south to include the entire Meltwater reservoir.
The 50 million barrel Meltwater discovery was announced May 2. Phillips Alaska and BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. said the 1 Meltwater North well about 10 miles south of the Tarn oil field tested at 4,000 barrels per day of 37 degree API gravity oil. A second well and sidetrack, 2 and 2A Meltwater North, confirmed a northern portion of the reservoir.
The 1 Meltwater North discovery well was drilled on acreage south of the Kuparuk River unit purchased in June 1998 at the first areawide lease sale conducted by the state. Phillips Alaska holds a 58.46 percent interest and BP Exploration holds a 41.54 percent interest in the 1 Meltwater North well. Fourth Kuparuk satellite The companies said in May that Meltwater had the potential to be the fourth Kuparuk satellite to begin production. Production began from the West Sak field in 1997, and from the Tarn and Tabasco fields in 1998.
Mike Richter, Phillips Alaska vice president of exploration, said in the company’s discovery announcement that state areawide leasing and the application of advanced 3-D seismic technology made the Meltwater discovery possible in less than one year.
F. X. O’Keefe, BP Exploration (Alaska) exploration business unit leader, said in the same statement that Meltwater would move production infrastructure farther south than ever before and that the goal of the companies was to bring the new field on production as quickly as possible.
In addition to the new drill site, designated 2P, the development will include pipelines, a power line, a mine site, an access road and associated facilities. Construction to start in mid-December Phillips said it plans to begin construction in mid-December with the drill site and access road, both of which will be within the existing Kuparuk River unit.
The drill site will be about 10.1 miles from drill site 2N. The drill site and access road will require an estimated 641,650 cubic yards of gravel and will cover 77.9 acres.
Oil from Meltwater will go to Kuparuk central production facility 2 for processing. The drill site will not be manned 24 hours a day, but the access road will allow a daily operator check, Phillips said.
Construction of the drill site and road are slated to be completed in January 2001, with pipelines and power lines to be constructed in the first and second quarters of 2001. Drilling is slated to begin in the second or third quarter of 2001.
Construction is expected to be complete by the fourth quarter 2001 and drilling will be complete by the second quarter of 2002.
Drill site 2P will be sized for 25 to 30 wells on 40-foot spacing. Twenty-six development wells are planned.
Three pipelines will be built: a 24 inch produced crude line; a 12 inch produced water injection line; and an 8 inch miscible gas injection line.
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