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Milne S Pad expansion
Hilcorp planned work would upgrade facility, allow for up to 22 new wells
Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Hilcorp Alaska filed an application June 5 with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources' Division of Oil and Gas for a unit plan of operations amendment to expand the Milne Point S Pad by 3.62 acres allowing for the drilling of up to 22 new wells.
The division said in a June 18 public notice that the plan would "upgrade the facility in anticipation of future additional wells and well work" and would include placing some 23,800 cubic yards of gravel to expand the existing pad and allow for "a header expansion, remote shelter, upgrades to the polymer skid, a booster pump module' and drilling of up to 22 additional wells using the Doyon 19 rig.
The division is taking comments on the proposal through July 15.
Earlier proposals In its June 5 request Hilcorp said an S Pad expansion was previously approved in October 2021 and February 2022. The earlier approvals, which have expired, were for smaller expansions and would have included 10 additional wells. The gravel amount requested was smaller, 16,000 cubic yards in the earlier request and 20,000 cubic yards in the later request, and smaller expansion areas, 2.01 acres and 3.1 acres respectively.
Hilcorp took over as Milne Point operator (and initially as 50% working interest owner) from BP Exploration Alaska in 2014. In April of this year, the most recent month for which Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission production data are available, Milne Point S Pad produced 89,925 barrels from nine wells, up from April 2014 production of 61,226 barrels from eight wells. All current S Pad production is from the Schrader Bluff formation.
Three of the currently producing wells are new since Hilcorp became operator and one was an existing well not in production in 2014 but brought back online in 2021. The three new wells came online in 2021.
Hilcorp has more than doubled production from Milne Point since it became operator, from a total of 7.08 million barrels in calendar year 2014 to 16.28 million barrels in calendar year 2024.
Proposed start date July 21 Project milestones would start with installation of vertical support members from July 21 through Aug. 31. Gravel would be placed Aug. 1 through Nov. 30, with the header extension installed in that same time period.
From Dec. 1 through March 31 of 2026, the remote shelter/E Mod would be installed, with preparation for drilling activities in May 2026 and drilling of grassroots wells from June 1, 2026, through Feb. 28, 2030.
Facility piping, electrical lines and instrumentation lines to tie wells into existing production facilities would occur from June 1, 2026, to Feb. 28, 2030.
The polymer skid and booster pump mod would be placed from Sept. 1, 2026, through Dec. 1, 2026.
Work description In its June 5 application Hilcorp told the state: "The facility expansion and associated drill wells are needed to manage increased production at S Pad within the MPU."
The gravel placement will be primarily at the northwest corner of the pad, filling in a large area adjacent to the pad and squaring up that northwest corner, with smaller areas of gravel fill along the northern edge and at the northeast corner of the pad.
Vertical support members include eight 12-inch diameter and 10 14-inch diameter for the header and remote shelter/electric module and no more than 12 12-inch diameter VSMs for the booster pump.
Hilcorp said the VSMs will be driven into place.
The header extension will include 170 feet of each: 14-inch diameter production pipe; 8-inch diameter power fluid pipe; 3-inch diameter polymer pipe; 6-inch diameter source water pipe; and 4-inch diameter test header pipeline.
The remote shelter/E-mod to be placed on VSMs is some 50 feet long by 14 feet wide and 14 feet high, and once the remote shelter is installed an external staircase and landing platform will be constructed, with a transformer installed on the landing.
The booster pump module to be placed on VSMs is some 16 feet wide by 64 feet long.
The polymer skid modification, some 10 feet wide by 40 feet long, will be placed directly on the pad.
"Once placed, associated piping and electrical components will be installed to tie the header, remote shelter/E mod, booster pump module, and polymer skid into facility infrastructure," Hilcorp said.
The 22 drill wells will have conductors and well cellars installed, along with "infrastructure to tie-in the wells to existing production, including additional piping, heat trace, power, and instrumentation cables in cable trays, as necessary; and thermosiphons, as necessary," the company said.
--KRISTEN NELSON
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