Final tasks under way for Point Thomson line Badami connection

Savant Alaska LLC wants to expand its right of way at the Badami Central Production Facility Pad to accommodate an interconnection with the Point Thomson Export Pipeline.

A subsidiary of the Badami unit operator is asking the state to add 0.22 acres adjacent to the pad to make room for construction cranes required to install piping, to include the entire system with acknowledged rights of way and to accommodate future maintenance.

The right-of-way expansion is among the final administrative tasks to accomplishment before ExxonMobil can bring the long-awaited Point Thomson unit into production.

The Regulatory Commission of Alaska certificated the Point Thomson Export Pipeline in November 2012 and approved its connection with the existing North Slope grid in August 2013. ExxonMobil installed the 22-mile pipeline alongside the coastline in 2014.

ExxonMobil expects to bring the field into production this coming winter. The interconnection will allow Exxon to move Point Thomson production to the Badami unit and from there to the Prudhoe Bay unit and to market on the trans-Alaska oil pipeline.

The 12-inch pipeline will be able to move as much as 70,000 barrels per day from Point Thomson, which will become the easternmost producing field on the North Slope.

The capacity is considerably higher than the 10,000 barrel per day Exxon is expecting Point Thomson to produce in its early stages of development. The excess capacity is meant to accommodate future growth - both at Point Thomson and at nearby fields.

The State Pipeline Coordinator’s Office is taking comments through June 24.

- Eric Lidji