HOME PAGE SUBSCRIPTIONS, Print Editions, Newsletter PRODUCTS READ THE PETROLEUM NEWS ARCHIVE! ADVERTISING INFORMATION EVENTS PAY HERE

Providing coverage of Alaska and northern Canada's oil and gas industry
October 2019

Vol. 24, No.40 Week of October 06, 2019

Steep drop in ANS production in August

Crude, NGL volumes, average 398,850 bpd, down 16% from July; Prudhoe, Milne top volume drops; Milne, Oooguruk top percentage drops

Kristen Nelson

Petroleumn News

Crude oil and natural gas liquids production on Alaska’s North Slope was down in August - a drop of 16% from July - with an average of 398,850 barrels per day, down 75,769 bpd from a July average of 474,619 bpd and down 12.3% from an August 2018 average of 454,602 bpd.

August was warm, and production facilities are less efficient in warm weather. August is also part of the annual turnaround period for North Slope fields, scheduled maintenance which takes advantage of the warmer weather.

NGL production had a larger percentage drop than crude.

Crude production on the Slope averaged 368,387 bpd in August, down 15.2%, 65,775 bpd, from a July average of 434,162 bpd, and down 10.8% from an August 2018 average of 412,870 bpd, while NGL production averaged 30,463 bpd in August, down 24.7%, 9,995 bpd, from a July average of 40,458 bpd and down 27% from an August 2018 average of 41,732 bpd.

Production data reported here is from the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which provides volumes by field and well on a month delay basis.

Prudhoe, Milne, lead drop

The month-over-month ANS production drop was led by the BP Exploration (Alaska)-operated Prudhoe Bay field, which averaged 185,433 bpd (combined crude and NGLs) down 19.5%, 44,892 bpd, from a July average of 230,325 bpd, and down 21.1% from an August 2018 average of 234,986 bpd.

Crude oil production at Prudhoe averaged 156,917 bpd in August, down 18.2%, 35,019 bpd, from a July average of 191,936 bpd, and down 19.8% from an August 2018 average of 195,571 bpd.

Prudhoe NGL production averaged 28,516 bpd in August, down 25.7%, 9,873 bpd, from a July average of 38,389, and down 27.7% from an August 2018 average of 39,415 bpd.

In addition to the primary reservoir, production volumes from Prudhoe include Aurora, Borealis, Lisburne, Midnight Sun, Niakuk, Polaris, Point McIntyre, Put River, Raven and Schrader Bluff.

The Hilcorp Alaska-operated Milne Point field averaged 11,066 bpd in August, down 58.7%, 15,699 bpd, from a July average of 26,765, and down 50.1% from an August 2018 average of 22,172 bpd.

Other fields also dropped

The ConocoPhillips Alaska-operated Colville River field averaged 46,504 bpd in August, down 8.8%, 4,488 bpd, from a July average of 50,991 bpd, but up 11.9% from an August 2018 average of 41,565 bpd.

In addition to oil from the main Alpine pool, Colville production includes satellite production from Fiord, Nanuq and Qannik.

The Eni-operated Oooguruk field averaged 5,918 bpd in August, down 32.1%, 2,802 bpd, from a July average of 8,720, and down 39% from an August 2018 average of 9,699 bpd.

The Hilcorp-operated Northstar field averaged 6,627 bpd in August, down 28%, 2,571 bpd, from a July average of 9,198 bpd, and down 30% from an August 2018 average of 9,447 bpd. Crude oil production at Northstar averaged 5,592 bpd in August, down 29.3%, 2,319 bpd, from a July average of 7,911, and down 29% from an August 2018 average of 7,877 bpd, while NGLs averaged 1,035 bpd in August, down 19.6%, 252 bpd, from a July average of 1,287 bpd, and down 34.1% from an August 2018 average of 1,570 bpd.

Eni’s Nikaitchuq field averaged 17,884 bpd in August, down 11.4%, 2,291 bpd, from a July average of 20,175 bpd, and down 0.3% from an August 2018 average of 17,933 bpd.

ConocoPhillips’s Greater Mooses Tooth, which came online in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska in October 2018, averaged 9,936 bpd in August, down 12.3%, 1,399 bpd, from a July average of 11,335 bpd. The field is producing from three wells, but 86% of production in August was coming from a single well.

The ConocoPhillips-operated Kuparuk River field, the second largest on the Slope, averaged 103,016 bpd in August, down 1%, 1,008 bpd, from a July average of 104,024, and down 5.8% from an August 2018 average of 109,407 bpd. In addition to the main Kuparuk pool, the field produces from satellites at Meltwater, Tabasco and Tarn, and from West Sak.

The ExxonMobil Production-operated Point Thomson field averaged 3,345 bpd in August, down 20.4%, 855 bpd, from a July average of 4,201 bpd, but up 3,385% from an August 2018 average of 96 bpd.

Two small increases

The Hilcorp-operated Endicott field averaged 7,602 bpd in August, up 2.9%, 215 bpd, from a July average of 7,387 bpd, and up 1.1% from an August 2018 average of 7,517 bpd. Crude oil at Endicott averaged 6,691 bpd, up 1.3%, 85 bpd, from a July average of 6,606 but down 1.2% from an August 2018 average of 6,770, while NGL production averaged 911 bpd, up 16.6%, 130 bpd, from a July average of 781 bpd and up 22% from an August 2018 average of 747 bpd.

Badami, operated by Savant Alaska, a Glacier Oil & Gas company, averaged 1,518 bpd in August, up 1.4%, 21 bpd, from a July average of 1,497, but down 11.1% from an August 2018 average of 1,708 bpd.

Cook Inlet production down by 5%

Cook Inlet production averaged 13,628 bpd in August, down 4.9%, 708 bpd, from a July average of 14,336 bpd, and down 8.7% from an August 2018 average of 14,929 bpd.

Hilcorp’s Beaver Creek field averaged 362 bpd in August, down 52.1%, 303 bpd, from a July average of 755 bpd, but up 424% from an August 2018 average of 69 bpd. Hilcorp redrilled a well at the field last October, and by November the field was averaging 904 bpd.

Hilcorp’s Granite Point field averaged 2,703 bpd in August, up 6.4%, 162 bpd, from a July average of 2,541 bpd, but down 1% from an August 2018 average of 2,730 bpd.

BlueCrest’s Hansen field, the Cosmopolitan project, averaged 1,230 bpd in August, down 10.3%, 141 bpd, from a July average of 1,371 bpd, but up 79.3% from an August 2018 average of 686 bpd.

Hilcorp’s McArthur River field, Cook Inlet’s largest, averaged 4,394 bpd in August, down 5.5%, 256 bpd, from a July average of 4,650 bpd, and down 11.8% from an August 2018 average of 4,984 bpd.

Hilcorp’s Middle Ground Shoal field averaged 1,379 bpd in August, down 0.8%, 10 bpd, from a July average of 1,389 bpd, and down 11.1% from an August 2018 average of 1,555 bpd.

Redoubt Shoal, operated by Cook Inlet Energy, a Glacier Oil & Gas company, averaged 932 bpd in August, down 9.2%, 95 bpd, from a July average of 1,026 bpd, and down 26.7% from an August 2018 average of 1,271 bpd.

Hilcorp’s Swanson River field averaged 966 bpd in August, up 10.2%, 89 bpd, from a July average of 877 bpd, but down 27.6% from an August 2018 average of 1,335 bpd.

Hilcorp’s Trading Bay field averaged 1,379 bpd in August, up 3.2%, 42 bpd, from a July average of 1,337 bpd, but down 2.7% from an August 2018 average of 1,417 bpd.

West McArthur River, operated by Glacier Oil & Gas company Cook Inlet Energy, averaged 284 bpd in August, down 27.3%, 107 bpd, from a July average of 390 bpd, and down 67.8% from an August 2018 average of 882 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.






Petroleum News - Phone: 1-907 522-9469
[email protected] --- https://www.petroleumnews.com ---
S U B S C R I B E

Copyright Petroleum Newspapers of Alaska, LLC (Petroleum News)(PNA)Š1999-2019 All rights reserved. The content of this article and website may not be copied, replaced, distributed, published, displayed or transferred in any form or by any means except with the prior written permission of Petroleum Newspapers of Alaska, LLC (Petroleum News)(PNA). Copyright infringement is a violation of federal law.