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ConocoPhillips: Kuparuk DS 2S is in production ahead of schedule
ConocoPhillips said Oct. 12 that Kuparuk River unit Drill Site 2S, the first new drill site at the field in more than 12 years, is on production - under budget and ahead of schedule.
When the project was approved for funding in October 2014 production was expected to start this December.
“Drill Site 2S is one of the key projects that we announced after passage of tax reform,” ConocoPhillips Alaska President Joe Marushack said in a statement. “The $475 million project created about 250 jobs during construction with numerous contractor companies and trades involved,” he said.
ConocoPhillips said that at peak production the field will produce some 8,000 barrels of oil per day. Other Kuparuk owners include BP Exploration (Alaska), ExxonMobil and Chevron.
14 wells planned In its Oct. 12 announcement ConocoPhillips said the project includes 14 new development wells, a new gravel road and a new drilling pad capable of handling 24 wells. The project also includes power lines, pipelines and other new surface facilities.
DS 2S is the development of a late 1980s ARCO Alaska discovery that was appraised by ConocoPhillips in 2012 with the Shark Tooth No. 1 well. The new drill site is near the DS 2K pad, 1.5 miles east of the Tarn road.
The ARCO discovery was made with the KRU 21-10-8 exploration well in the late 1980s but there was no further drilling in the area until ConocoPhillips drilled Shark Tooth No. 1 in 2012.
In permitting documents for the project, ConocoPhillips said it considered developing the field from many of the existing drill sites nearby, including 2K, 2L and 2M, but “determined that the reach of the current drilling technology would not allow for wells from these locations to extend far enough to adequately develop this area of the reservoir,” and also said the existing drill sites currently had no slots available to accommodate the 2S wells.
Kuparuk sands When ConocoPhillips reported results from the Shark Tooth No. 1 appraisal well in 2012, the company said the well “discovered hydrocarbons in the Kuparuk sands, in accordance with expectations, and confirmed mapped volumes.”
ConocoPhillips had used Doyon rig 14 to drill the “appraisal step-out well” in early 2012 from an ice pad in the southwestern portion of the Kuparuk River unit.
The company said of results: “This area is being evaluated to assess further development potential.”
Prior to drilling the well, ConocoPhillips said Shark Tooth would “provide additional reservoir information in this area and narrow uncertainty around reservoir description parameters including oil-water contact, sand quality and thickness, and oil viscosity,” and was “critical for any future development of this part of the Kuparuk reservoir.”
Current activity ConocoPhillips began permitting wells at DS 2S this summer, and completed a development well in July and a service well in August. Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission records show two other wells permitted.
In discussing other work at Kuparuk, the company said in its press release that since 2013 it has added two drilling rigs at Kuparuk. Two more new-build rigs are on order for delivery next year.
The company is also finishing work on Alpine drill site CD5, has announced plans for viscous oil development at 1H NEWS, North East West Sak, also at Kuparuk, and has received permits for the Greater Mooses Tooth No. 1 development in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, with a funding decision on GMT1 expected later this year.
Marushack said DS2S, CD-5, GMT1, the increased rig count and NEWS have an estimated gross cost of some $3 billion and could add 40,000 to 50,000 gross bpd to North Slope production by 2018. He noted that the passage of tax reform has been an important factor in ConocoPhillips’ decision to invest on the North Slope.
- KRISTEN NELSON
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