Conoco postponing exploration well

ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc. is postponing its Putu exploration well.

“After meeting with leadership from the community of Nuiqsut in December, ConocoPhillips was asked to postpone the Putu exploration drilling program until next winter,” company spokeswoman Natalie Lowman told Petroleum News by email on Feb. 22. “This decision was a collaborative process with Nuiqsut leaders that recognized the need to balance the drilling opportunity with the needs and support of the community.”

The company had planned to drill the exploration well this winter on leases south of the Colville River unit, on leases formerly associated with the Tofkat unit, near Nuiqsut.

In a decision dated Feb. 17, Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Andrew T. Mack denied a related request from ConocoPhillips to expand the Colville River unit to include leases to the south associated with the Putu prospect. The denial included a series of conditions under which the state would agree to the expansion in the future.

See the full story in March 5 issue.

- ERIC LIDJI