Western Prudhoe Bay satellite development continues with Orion

Kristen Nelson

Petroleum News Editor-in-Chief

The Prudhoe Bay field owners are preparing to move a fifth western Prudhoe satellite into full production and expect to file both participating area and pool rules applications by the end of the year.

Five western Prudhoe satellites are in production or development: Aurora, Borealis, Midnight Sun, Orion and Polaris. June production figures for the North Slope fields, the latest available from the state, show Aurora produced 337,021 barrels for the month, Borealis 1,002,111 barrels, Midnight Sun 109,202 barrels, Polaris 76,094 barrels and Orion — producing as a tract operation — 14,658 barrels.

BP Exploration (Alaska), the Prudhoe Bay operator, asked the Alaska Division of Oil and Gas in March to extend tract operations at the Orion V-201 and V-202 wells through next spring, but the state gave the companies only until the end of November.

BP said it expects to submit a participating area application for Orion in the fourth quarter of the year. A participating area defines the area from which oil is produced.

Schrader Bluff formation

There are two wells at Orion: the V-201 is a vertical well, the V-202 is a horizontal. Both are tied into Borealis facilities on V Pad and are produced through the main facilities at Prudhoe.

Division of Oil and Gas Director Mark Myers, in his response to BP's request for extended tract operations, said the operations are "part of a 2003 work plan effort designed to reduce the uncertainties associated with the Orion development project, leading to the submittal of a participating area application in the fourth quarter of 2003." Myers said the May 1-Nov. 30 approval requires a status report on or before Oct. 1 which will "state whether the V-201 and V-202 wells are capable of sustained commercial production in sufficient quantities to justify development and continued production from the reservoir."

BP is also preparing to apply to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission for pool rules for Orion, and applied Aug. 22 for a waterflood pilot project for enhanced recovery operations. BP said the pilot will use a "wellbore designed for commingled injection with the Borealis field." The pilot project "will assist in design of a waterflood that is expected to preserve reservoir energy and increase ultimate recovery from Orion," BP told the commission.

The company said the existing wells produce from the same geologic fault block, with bottom hole locations approximately 1,000 feet apart. The V-201 well began production in April 2002 and has produced some 160,000 barrels of oil. The V-202 well, which began production in July 2003, has produced approximately 75,000 barrels.

BP said the V-201 is a conventional vertical well that has been fracture stimulated, while V-202 was completed as a horizontal well in a single sand. The injection well was drilled for injection into the Kuparuk formation at the Borealis development, but was completed so that it could be used for injection into both Borealis and Orion. The Orion waterflood project will be conducted from V pad, which was built for Borealis field development.

Orion is at the extreme northwest corner of the Prudhoe Bay unit, where the Prudhoe Bay, Milne Point and Kuparuk River units meet.