AOGCC activity report: January 2017

•On Jan. 12, the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission approved a series of rule changes governing the Middle Ground Shoal unit. As described in the Jan. 22 issue of Petroleum News, operator Hilcorp Alaska LLC requested the changes as part of its efforts to consolidate operations at the three Middle Ground Shoal fields into a single unit.

•On Jan. 25, the AOGCC approved (Area Injection Order No. 3.024 Amended) a request from BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. to continue water-alternating-gas injections at the Prudhoe Bay Unit R-11A well. The company shut in the well in 2016 after a workover operation made outer annulus pressure unmanageable. A subsequent non-state witnessed Mechanical Integrity Test convinced the commission of the integrity of the well.

•On Jan. 25, the AOGCC also approved (Area Injection Order No. 24B.005 Amended) a request from BP to continue WAG (water alternating gas) injections at the PBU L-105 well. A state witnessed Mechanical Integrity Test convinced the commission of the integrity of the well.

•On Jan. 25, the AOGCC provided second notice about its intention to make several changes to its regulations. The commission has scheduled a hearing on March 21.

•On Jan. 26, the AOGGC approved (Docket Number: CO-16-021) a request from BP to reconsider Conservation Order No. 341F.003. The order had rejected a request from BP for a waiver of the neutron logging requirements of Conversation Order No. 341F at the Prudhoe Bay Unit 15-16C well. After the denial, BP attempted to run a neutron log on the well but “received no useful data due to tool failure,” according to the AOGCC. Running the tool again, according to the AOGCC, “would be a large burden with little benefit.”

•On Jan. 26, the AOGCC approved a request from BP to make a gas-cap water injection pilot project at the Lisburne Oil Pool a permanent project for enhanced oil recovery at the Prudhoe Bay unit field, but added an administrative action rule for “proper oversight.” According to the order, the pilot project “has shown that the concept is feasible and that overall it has increased daily production rates and should increase ultimate recovery.”

The commission authorized the three-year pilot project in June 2008 and extended it for an additional five years in 2011. Over the course of the project, BP injected 22.1 million barrels of water into the PBU L5-29 well, raising reservoir pressure by some 300 psi.

Results were mixed. “Some wells saw increased production or suppressed decline and lowering of the gas oil ratio, while other wells that have seen water breakthrough have experienced decreased production due to increased water cut or production downtime associated with formation of gas hydrates,” according to the commission.

According to BP, the project resulted in a net increase of 100 to 350 barrels of oil per day and 0.5 to 3 million stock tank barrels increase in ultimate recovery. The working interest owners had expected better results. While the program did not justify expanding the project to other wells, the companies believe it continues to be useful at PBU L5-29.

•The AOGCC is considering taking enforcement action against NordAq Energy Inc. for failing to permanently abandon the Shadura No. 1 and the Tiger Eye Central No. 1 exploratory wells. The commission has scheduled a public hearing for April 4, 2017.

•The AOGCC has scheduled a second hearing on a request from Cook Inletkeeper Executive Director Bob Shavelson to require a public hearing for any company seeking permission to conduct hydraulic fracturing operations. The change would require the AOGCC to post such applications online. The meeting is scheduled for March 23.

•The AOGCC has tentatively scheduled a public hearing about a request from BlueCrest Energy Ltd. for a spacing exemption for the Hansen H-14 well and Hansen H-14L1 lateral at the Cosmopolitan unit. The company is proposing to drill the well and the lateral in the same governmental quarter sections as the existing Hansen 1AL1 and Hansen H-16 wells at the offshore Cook Inlet unit. The hearing tentatively scheduled for March 2. A member of the public must request the hearing by Feb. 14 for it to proceed.

- ERIC LIDJI