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Production up at western satellites Aurora, Borealis, Midnight Sun, Orion, Polaris present bright spot for BP at Prudhoe Bay unit; production up at all but Borealis ERIC LIDJI For Petroleum News
After across-the-board declines last year, BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. is reporting increased oil production at four of the five western satellites at the Prudhoe Bay unit.
The increases came from a combination of drilling activity at a few fields and maintenance activities at most of the others. Whether those activities can continue at a time when the company is reducing both its workforce and its drilling plans in response to depressed oil prices remains to be seen. The longer-term projects required for maintaining growth at the western satellites appear to be on hold for another year.
The plans of development for the five satellites in the western half of the unit - Aurora, Borealis, Midnight Sun, Orion and Polaris - are the third and final collection that BP submits each year for the Prudhoe Bay unit. The company submitted its plans for the Initial Participating Areas in April and the Greater Point McIntyre Area in June.
As has been the case for years, the plans offer little progress on several big projects, such as construction of a proposed I pad or an expansion of the existing S pad and M pad.
The proposed I pad project at the overlapping Borealis and Orion fields was originally slated for 2006 and later postponed until 2010 and now until as late as 2020.
Constructing the pad would require a major investment, which is one reason lawmakers have regularly hauled the project into debates over state fiscal policy. In its previous plan, BP said the future project depended on results of sand control technology being deployed in the Schrader Bluff formation. In its current plan, the company said a trial of the technology at Z pad was being deferred “due to the current business climate.” The expansion of M pad and S pad also depends on the results of the sand control trial.
Additionally, BP is continuing to search for ways to improve the sand handling capacity of Gathering Center 2, which was created to handle lighter oil than is currently produced.
Aurora Aurora reported increased production over the past year. The field produced 6,303 barrels of oil per day on average between July 2015 and June 2016, up from 4,305 bpd during the 2014-15 cycle and 4,655 bpd during the 2013-14 cycle, according the company.
The growth came primarily from drilling activities in late 2015, before BP instituted its cuts. In the final months of last year, the company drilled the S-42A producer to replace the abandoned S-108 producer and the S-44A producer north of the S-101 injector. The company listed both of those projects in its 2015 and its current 2016 development plans.
This year, BP undertook two major development projects at Aurora.
In the first quarter, the company hydraulically fractured the S-135 well. The well produced 3,587 barrels of oil per day after the operation, compared to 836 bpd in the most recent test before the operation, according to the company. In the second quarter, the company drilled the S-112L1 lateral to support the S-42A producer. The lateral failed to reach its target. BP converted the parent well and a portion of the lateral to injection.
BP provided no specific development program for the coming year, aside from mentioning plans to continue well work as needed and considering future drilling targets.
Borealis Borealis production fell this year, although the declines slowed from the year before.
The field produced 8,517 barrels of oil per day during the 2015-16 cycle, down from 8,768 bpd during the 2014-15 cycle and 9,932 bpd during the 2013-14 cycle, according to the company. The 2.8 percent decline in oil production between this year and last was far less than the 11.7 percent decline between last year and the year before.
Borealis is developed from three pads - L, V and Z.
BP focused its development work on L pad and Z pad this year. The company hydraulically fractured the L-123 injector and L-124 producer in late 2015 and early 2016. The L-123 well was returned to injection. The L-124 well produced an initial rate of 1,758 bpd after the operation, and “stabilized at a lower rate that was well in excess” of a rate of 83 bpd recorded before the operation. The company also brought the Z-114 injector into operation in early 2016 and repaired the Z-504A and Z504B wells.
BP suspended production and injection at V pad in June 2016 “due to piping over stress findings from an engineering study.” The company launched the study after noticing subsidence at the pad. While BP is currently modifying the piping and support system, and told the state it is expected to resume operations by the end of the year, any activities undertaken in the coming months would only be a short-term solution combined with ongoing monitoring. The company expects a long-term solution to take until early 2018.
Aside from mentioning vague plans for well work and new drilling as needed, BP provided no details for drilling and maintenance work at Borealis for the coming year.
Midnight Sun Midnight Sun production rose during the year.
The field produced 1,134 barrels of oil per day during the 2015-16 cycle, up from 964 bpd during the 2014-15 cycle and 1,106 bpd during the 2013-14 cycle.
The only major activities at the field this year were repairs to the offline P1-122i injection well drilled in early 2015. The work restored the well to injection. The company said it was not planning any additional drilling work at Midnight Sun over the coming year.
Orion Orion production rose during the year.
The field produced 4,747 barrels of oil per day during the 2015-16 cycle, up from 4,693 bpd in the 2014-15 cycle and down from 5,483 bpd in the 2013-14 cycle.
While the company did not drill at the field over the past year, it conducted considerable maintenance activities, such as changing the waterflood regulation valves of 15 injection wells. The field also produces from V pad and experienced down time similar to Borealis.
Aside from mentioning vague plans for well work and new drilling as needed, BP provided no details for drilling and maintenance activities at Orion for the coming year.
In addition to I pad, BP is looking for ways to reduce downtime at viscous wells in the northwest portion of the field, near the proposed I pad. Over the past year, the company considered whether to sidetrack the L-200 and L-205 producers. “In their current states, both wells have little to no remaining value. A plan to re-drill both multi-lateral producers as vertical wells with frac-pack completions is being evaluated,” the company wrote. A similar evaluation is underway at the Borealis field, which lies beneath the Orion field.
Polaris Polaris production rose during the year.
The field produced 4,306 barrels of oil per day during the 2015-2016 cycle, up from 3,890 bpd during the 2014-15 cycle and 4,080 bpd during the 2013-14 cycle.
As with Orion, BP did not drill at Polaris over the past year but performed considerable maintenance work such as changing waterflood regulation valves on eight injection wells.
The company listed no specific drilling plans for the coming year.
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