AOGCC OKs Alpine oil pool expansion

Kristen Nelson

The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has approved an application from ConocoPhillips Alaska to expand the Alpine oil pool area to the northwest. Alpine was discovered in 1994. The commission said field operator ConocoPhillips has used data from more than 100 exploration, development and service wells penetrating the Alpine sandstone of the Kingak formation, along with a 3-D seismic survey, to estimate the extent of the oil accumulation, with recent drilling in the northwest portion of the Alpine oil pool indicating thicker sand than originally interpreted.

The commission said that based on all the data it now has, ConocoPhillips has identified an opportunity to increase developed original oil in place with as many as six new wells.

Current estimated original oil in place at Alpine is 650 million to 750 million barrels, of which, the commission said, an estimated 31 million to 55 million barrels are within the proposed addition. Primary production is expected to recover 10-15 percent of original oil in place, and an additional 45-50 percent under miscible water alternating gas injection.

“The development of the pool will continue using horizontal wells arranged in a line-drive pattern,” the commission said, with spacing varying based on drilling and modeled recovery, but with distance between well bores open to the Alpine oil pool to exceed 500 feet.

Wells in the proposed addition will be drilled from the existing CD2-Pad.

ConocoPhillips told the commission in its August application that it will drill wells in the Alpine oil pool expansion area as tract operations, and once production has been established will apply to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources and the Arctic Slope Regional Corp. to expand the Alpine participating area, the area within the Colville River unit from which production occurs.

Alpine came on line in November of 2000 at some 80,000 barrels a day and has been producing at 100,000 to 105,000 bpd, and hit rates above 117,000 bpd in September as the first phase of facility capacity expansion became operational. When facility capacity expansion is completed next year, the facility will have a capacity of 140,000 bpd.