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Producers 2020: Utqiagvik sees another year of small, steady success
The northernmost city in the United States continues to benefit from local gas production
Eric Lidgi for Petroleum News
In the aftermath of World War II, the federal government sponsored exploration in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska in a bid to improve domestic energy security. But the most lasting impact of that exploration work to date has been local, not national.
Under the operatorship of the North Slope Borough, the Barrow gas fields have been providing affordable energy to the people of the city of Utqiagvik for decades.
Federal contractors discovered the fields on separate expeditions between the late 1940s and the 1980s. The fields have generally required minimal development work, aside from a $92 million rejuvenation program launched in 2011 to combat declining production.
With that effort, the city commissioned the Savik 1 and 2 wells at the East Barrow field and the Walakpa 11, 12, and 13 wells at the Walakpa field. By improving deliverability, the city of Utqiagvik can now rely on natural gas for its energy needs even during cold snaps or during maintenance activities, instead of switching to diesel as an alternative.
South Barrow The U.S. Navy discovered the South Barrow field with the 2,505-foot South Barrow No. 2 well in 1948, during its initial wave of NPR-A exploration following World War II.
Production began the following year. Drilling continued through 1987 with 13 new wells drilled and the one existing well - South Barrow No. 7 - deepened, according to the AOGCC. Production peaked in November 1981 at 3.5 million cubic feet per day.
The South Barrow field produced consistently from 1950 through 1990, at which point operators began to suspend production sporadically. The field was shut-in with increasing regularly through the 2000s, often being used only to increase supplies in winter.
After nearly six years of inconsistent production, South Barrow has now been producing regularly since May 2018. In the year ending June 1, 2020, the field produced nearly 102 million cubic feet, or some 279 thousand cubic feet per day, according to the AOGCC.
Cumulative production at the South Barrow field is 23.96 billion cubic feet, according to the AOGCC. Early geological forecasts estimated some 32 billion cubic feet in lifetime production at the field, suggesting the potential of ongoing production for years to come.
East Barrow The U.S. Geological Survey discovered the East Barrow field with the South Barrow No. 12 well in 1974, during the second wave of oil and gas exploration in the NPR-A.
Production began in December 1981. Drilling continued through 1990, with eight wells total. Gas production peaked in early 1983 at some 2.75 million cubic feet per day.
In the year ending June 1, 2020, East Barrow produced some 137 million cubic feet, averaging 375 thousand cubic feet per day, according to the AOGCC. That was down from some 143 million cubic feet and 391 thousand cubic feet per day in the year prior.
Cumulative production through June 1, 2020, was 9.7 billion cubic feet, well above the 6.2 billion cubic feet in place originally estimated for the East Barrow field. The city of Utqiagvik attributes the productivity to the presence of methane hydrates at the field.
Walakpa Working under a U.S. Navy contract, Husky Oil discovered the Walakpa field with the 3,666-foot Walakpa No. 1 well in the 1980s. Production began in the late 1992. The field has peaked above 5 million cubic feet per day numerous times in the decades since.
Walakpa is the most productive of the Barrow gas fields. In the year ending June 1, 2020, it produced 1.3 billion cubic feet or nearly 3.6 million cubic feet per day, according to the AOGCC, up from 12.8 billion cubic feet or more than 3.5 million cubic feet per day in the year prior. Cumulative production through June 1, 2020, was 34.4 billion cubic feet.
The South Barrow and East Barrow reservoirs have a stratigraphic setting similar to the Alpine oil field. Walakpa is in the Pebble Shale unit, a major North Slope source rock.
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