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ANS production up 3% month over month North Slope crude oil averages 537,644 bpd in November; Cook Inlet crude averages 18,836 bpd in October, up 2.3% from September Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Alaska North Slope crude oil production averaged 537,644 barrels per day in November, up 2.98 percent from an October average of 522,094 bpd, but down 3.38 percent year-over-year from 556,470 bpd in November 2013.
The largest month-over-month change was at the BP Exploration (Alaska)-operated Lisburne field, which averaged 23,155 bpd in November, up 214 percent from an October average of 7,363 bpd. The field was completely offline for almost two weeks in October as planned maintenance was wrapped up before the onset of winter. The field was still ramping up at the beginning of November, but after the first two days of the month production was consistently more than 20,000 bpd. Lisburne production includes Point McIntyre, Niakuk and Raven.
Information for November comes from the Alaska Department of Revenue’s Tax Division which reports North Slope oil production consolidated by major production centers and provides daily production and monthly averages. More detailed data, including Cook Inlet and individual North Slope fields and pools, is reported by the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission on a month-delay basis.
Most other fields up The BP-operated Prudhoe Bay field, the Slope’s largest, averaged 313,705 bpd in November, up 0.9 percent from an October average of 310,950 bpd, but down 2.3 percent year-over-year from a November 2013 average of 321,125 bpd. Prudhoe volumes include satellite production from Aurora, Borealis, Midnight Sun, Orion, Polaris, Sag River and Schrader Bluff, as well as the Milne Point and Northstar fields. Hilcorp Alaska took over operation of Milne Point and Northstar from BP in November.
AOGCC data shows Milne Point averaged 18,177 bpd in October, down 6.76 percent from a September average of 19,494 bpd. Northstar averaged 8,735 bpd in October, down 0.6 percent from a September average of 8,787 bpd.
The BP-operated Endicott field averaged 9,098 bpd in November, up 5.73 percent from an October average of 8,605 and up 10.2 percent from 8,255 bpd in November 2013. Endicott includes Sag Delta, Eider, Minke and the Savant Alaska-operated Badami field.
AOGCC data for October shows that the Badami field averaged 1,036 bpd, basically level with September production of 1,037 bpd.
The ConocoPhillips Alaska-operated Alpine field averaged 49,306 bpd in November, up 0.85 percent from an October average of 48,891, but down 17.6 percent year-over-year from a November 2013 average of 59,837 bpd. Alpine production includes satellite production from Fiord, Nanuq and Qannik.
The ConocoPhillips-operated Kuparuk River field averaged 142,400 bpd in November, down 2.66 from an October average of 146,285, but up 3.5 percent year-over-year from a November 2013 average of 137,555.
Kuparuk production includes satellite production from Meltwater, Northeast West Sak, Tabasco, Tarn and West Sak, as well as from the Eni-operated Nikaitchuq field and the Caelus Alaska-operated Oooguruk field.
October data from AOGCC shows that Kuparuk and its satellites averaged 108,923 bpd, while Nikaitchuq and Oooguruk combined averaged 38,493 bpd, accounting for 26 percent of the volume summed under Kuparuk in Department of Revenue figures.
Nikaitchuq averaged 24,163 bpd in October, down 3.86 percent from a September average of 25,133, but up 60.6 percent from an October 2013 average of 15,044 bpd, while Oooguruk averaged 14,330 bpd in October, up 14 percent from a September average of 12,568, but up 121.7 percent year-over-year from an October 2013 average of 6,463 bpd.
Cook Inlet up 2.3 percent October crude oil production from Cook Inlet averaged 18,836 bpd, up 2.3 percent from a September average of 18,413 bpd. At 14,138 bpd, Hilcorp-operated fields account for the majority of Cook Inlet production, followed by Cook Inlet Energy at 2,693 bpd and ExxonMobil subsidiary XTO at 2,005.
AOGCC figures show the largest month-over-month increase at the Cook Inlet Energy-operated West McArthur River field, which averaged 1,662 bpd in October, up 21 percent from a September average of 1,373 bpd.
Hilcorp-operated Trading Bay field averaged 3,303 bpd in October, up 19.45 percent over September production averaging 2,765 bpd.
Cook Inlet Energy-operated Redoubt Shoal averaged 1,031 bpd in October, up 6.37 percent from a September average of 969 bpd, followed by XTO-operated Middle Ground Shoal, which averaged 2,005 bpd in October, up 4.68 percent from a September average of 1,916 bpd.
The Hilcorp-operated Granite Point field averaged 2,800 bpd in October, up 0.4 percent from a September average of 2,788 bpd.
The largest month-over-month decline was at the Hilcorp-operated Swanson River field, which averaged 2,300 bpd in October, down 11.6 percent from a September average of 2,602 bpd.
The Hilcorp-operated McArthur River field, Cook Inlet’s largest, averaged 5,617 bpd in October, down 4.5 percent from 5,879 bpd in September, followed by the area’s smallest field, Hilcorp’s Beaver Creek, which averaged 118 bpd in October, down 2 percent from a September average of 120 bpd.
ANS crude oil production peaked in 1988 at 2.1 million bpd; Cook Inlet crude oil production peaked in 1970 at more than 227,000 bpd.
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