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March production down 9 percent due to shut-in Gathering Center 2 restarted April 2 with 20,000 bpd moving through 24-inch bypass line as BP begins to restart production Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
March Alaska North Slope production was down 9.2 percent from February due to shut-in of some 100,000 barrels per day at Prudhoe Bay following the March 2 Gathering Center 2 oil spill and clean-up.
Prudhoe Bay production, which averaged 400,383 barrels per day in February, averaged only 318,515 bpd for March, a 20.5 percent drop. On March 1, prior to discovery of the spill at the BP Exploration (Alaska)-operated field, Prudhoe Bay produced 416,479 barrels. Production dropped to 323,365 barrels March 2, then to 272,799 barrels March 3 before stabilizing at volumes above 300,000 bpd for the remainder of the month.
BP told The Daily News April 3 that some 20,000 bpd of production were restored April 2 through a smaller line bypassing the corroded line.
The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation said cleanup operations at the GC-2 spill site are nearly complete. The agency said April 3 that all free-flowing oil, contaminated snow and contaminated vegetation have been trimmed or removed from the main area of the spill. The agency said BP restarted GC-2 the evening of April 2 and is using a 24-inch bypass line to “slowly return production from the GC-2 operating area over the coming weeks.”
Prudhoe Bay production includes several satellite fields: Midnight Sun, Aurora, Polaris, Borealis and Orion.
Alaska North Slope production averaged 768,498 bpd in March compared to 846,127 bpd in February.
Milne production up March production at BP’s Milne Point field averaged 41,640 bpd, up 13.5 percent from a February average of 36,684 bpd. Milne had reduced production in February caused by the planned repair of a gas compressor Feb. 19-26.
BP’s Northstar field also had increased month-to-month production, averaging 52,527 bpd in March, up 1.7 percent from a February average of 51,662 bpd.
The ConocoPhillips Alaska operated Alpine field averaged 126,665 bpd in March, up 0.4 percent from a February average of 126,141 bpd. Revenue reported a 13,000 bpd reduction at Alpine caused by a plant automation issue.
Production held steady at the Kuparuk River field, also operated by ConocoPhillips Alaska, with an average of 171,786 bpd produced in March, down only 0.01 percent from February production of 171,804 bpd. Kuparuk production includes satellite production from West Sak, Tabasco, Tarn, Meltwater and Palm.
Production at the BP-operated Endicott field averaged 19,531 bpd in March, down 3.42 percent from a February average of 20,222 bpd. Endicott production includes Sag Delta, Eider and Badami.
The BP-operated Lisburne field averaged 37,834 bpd in March, down 3.56 percent from a February average of 39,231 bpd.
The North Slope temperature at Pump Station No. 1 averaged minus 13.8 degrees Fahrenheit in March, compared to a three-year average of minus 10.1 degrees F and a February temperature averaging minus 3.9 degrees F.
Cook Inlet production averaged 17,341 bpd in March, down 0.3 percent from a February average of 17,394 bpd.
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