BP wants to file fewer Prudhoe logs

Prudhoe Bay operator BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. has requested a waiver from the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission for filing mechanical logs.

The request is for the commission to administratively waive the filing of a number of listed mechanical logs. BP said it runs some 600-800 of these mechanical logs on wells at Prudhoe each year, producing “a significant amount of both paper and electronic data.”

The company said the mechanical logs “do not significantly add to the geologic knowledge of the area in light of other logs and records” it is already filing with the commission for Prudhoe Bay wells.

BP said providing these mechanical logs benefits neither the commission nor the public, but “this filing requirement does impose a significant administrative burden on the Prudhoe Bay Unit operator and increases the cost of unit operations.”

The commission has tentatively scheduled a public hearing on the application at 9 a.m. March 22 at its Anchorage offices, but said that if it receives no requests for a hearing, it may consider issuance of an order without a hearing.

The commission said it would take written comments on the application through March 17, or, if a hearing is held, through the conclusion of the hearing.

- Petroleum News