|
North Slope production leveling out September production started below 650,000 bpd, hit 750,000; October production starts above 750,000, nicks 800,000 mark Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
October Alaska North Slope crude oil production averaged 737,141 barrels per day, continuing a rally from August.
In spite of an Oct. 10 shut-in of Prudhoe Bay due to severe weather and an electrical outage, ANS production is starting to look more like normal following several months of reduced production caused by planned maintenance in July, the partial Prudhoe shutdown in August after corrosion was found and a two-day September pipeline corrosion-risk shutdown at Alpine.
ANS average production in October was up 10 percent from a September average of 669,051 bpd.
The low was in August, when ANS production averaged just 621,418 bpd, down 9 percent from a July average of 683,417 bpd — a 13.8 percent drop from the June average of 792,592 bpd.
ANS production was above 800,000 bpd 14 days in October, and probably would have topped the June average but for the shut in early in the month due to severe weather which caused an electrical outage. Production, which started the month at 809,677 bpd, dropped to 408,304 bpd Oct. 10, and didn’t get above 700,000 bpd until Oct. 15 when the Flow Station 2 bypass began operation, allowing transport of some 32,000 bpd of Prudhoe Bay oil through the Endicott pipeline.
Other October incidents affecting production include an inadvertent plant shutdown at Alpine Oct. 21, dropping production from 121,261 bpd Oct. 20 to 103,256 bpd Oct. 21, followed by two days of production below 120,000 bpd. Oct. 21-23
Turbines washed at Northstar Revenue said Northstar had “water washed turbines,” dropping production from above 50,000 bpd to 41,302 bpd Oct. 21; Northstar production was below 50,000 bpd for three days.
BP Exploration (Alaska) spokesman Steve Rinehart said Northstar uses jet turbines to drive its gas compressors, pumps and generators. “The turbines draw in a lot of air which will also contain dirt and dust that will build up on the fan blades and internal components. Most facilities wash their turbines twice per year, and Northstar is no different.” For the two jet turbines driving Northstar’s gas compression machines, “water washing requires a shutdown of the machine and typically takes about 12 hours per machine.” Rinehart said BP also performs other maintenance during these outages. In this case it took more than 24 hours to complete. And, since shutting down the gas compressors requires shutting down the wells, production was impacted.
Lisburne handled extra barrels Prudhoe Bay production averaged 312,962 bpd in October, up 25 percent from a September average of 249,610 bpd, as field operator BP Exploration (Alaska) brought production back online after the August partial shutdown. Prudhoe production got above 380,000 bpd three days late in the month and dropped to as low as 38,240 bpd Oct. 11 when the field lost power.
Lisburne, which produces from the west side of the field, including Point McIntyre and Niakuk, averaged 18,654 bpd in October, down 29 percent from a September average of 26,317.
Rinehart said the change in Lisburne production was due to the work at Prudhoe.
While the eastern side of Prudhoe Bay was shut down in August and September, BP needed to keep processing facilities at Flow Stations 1, 2, and 3, and at Gathering Center 3, warm, or producing. “So we trucked oil from those plants to the Lisburne Production Facility. This ‘Pipeline on Wheels’ project completed approximately 4,000 truckloads over two months totaling almost 1 million barrels,” he said. There were some 8,000 fluid transfers, all “completed with zero spills.”
“Keeping these facilities warm during the EOA pipeline shutdown allowed faster restart and ramp up,” Rinehart said.
Endicott back in full production Endicott had the largest September to October increase, averaging 36,413 bpd in October compared to 7,693 bpd in September (and 7,644 bpd in August) as the field came back to full production following plant overhaul and compressor repair which began in August. By the end of October Endicott was producing more than 50,000 bpd, including Endicott, Sag Delta, Eider, Badami and 32,000 bpd of Prudhoe Bay FS-2 oil.
Milne Point averaged 33,095 bpd in October, down 14.7 percent from a September average of 38,791 bpd.
The Kuparuk River field averaged 163,439 bpd in October, down 4.5 percent from a September average of 171,188 bpd.
Northstar averaged 50,883 bpd in October, down 4.3 percent from a September average of 53,178 bpd.
Production at Alpine averaged 121,695 bpd in October, down 0.5 percent from a September average of 122,274 bpd.
The Pump Station No. 1 temperature averaged 27.6 degrees Fahrenheit, compared to a five-year average for October of 21.1 degrees F. The September temperature averaged 40.8 degrees F.
Cook Inlet production averaged 16,768 bpd in October, up 25 percent from a September average of 13,049 bpd.
|
