Sidebar: Cook Inlet gas production up 12%

Kristen Nelson

Petroleum News

Natural gas production in Cook Inlet averaged 222,532 thousand cubic feet per day in September, up 11.9%, 3,648 mcf, from an August average of 218,883 mcf, and up 3.6% from a September 2019 average of 214,904 mcf per day.

This data is from the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which reports production on a month-delay basis. For natural gas AOGCC reports measurements in thousands of cubic feet, mcf.

Eight large gas fields accounted for 86.7% of Cook Inlet production 192,852 mcf per day in September.

Hilcorp Alaska’s Kenai gas field averaged 39,845 mcf per day in September, 17.9% of inlet production, up 4.6%, 1,765 mcf, from an August average of 38,079 mcf, and up 29.9% from a September 2019 average of 30,667 mcf per day.

Hilcorp’s McArthur River, the inlet’s largest oil producer, averaged 29,458 mcf per day of natural gas in September, up 14%, 3,612 mcf, from an August average of 25,846 mcf and up 36.3% from a September 2019 average of 21,615 mcf per day.

Hilcorp’s Ninilchik field averaged 29,241 mcf per day in September, down 8.3%, 2,639 mcf, from an August average of 31,879 mcf and down 19.3% from a September 2019 average of 36,225 mcf per day.

Hilcorp’s Swanson River averaged 23,585 mcf per day in September, up 1.1%, 251 mcf, from an August average of 23,334 mcf but down 34.3% from a September 2019 average of 35,908 mcf per day.

The Hilcorp-operated Beluga River field averaged 21,713 mcf per day in September, down 1%, 227 mcf, from an August average of 21,940 mcf, and down 0.1% from a September 2019 average of 21,734 mcf per day.

Hilcorp’s North Cook Inlet field averaged 17,891 mcf per day in September, down 0.5%, 86 mcf, from an August average of 17,976 mcf, but up 29.9% from a September 2019 average of 13,769 mcf per day.

Hilcorp’s Beaver Creek field averaged 16,370 mcf per day in September, up 31.9%, 3,957 mcf, from an August average of 12,413 mcf, and up 124.2% from a September 2019 average of 7,302 mcf per day.

HEX’s Kitchen Lights averaged 14,749 mcf per day in September, up 6.1%, 841 mcf, from an August average of 13,098 mcf, but down 9.7% from a September 2019 average of 16,327 mcf per day.

Smaller inlet gas fields

Hilcorp’s Cannery Loop field averaged 4,823 mcf per day in September, down 7.8%, 407 mcf, from an August average of 5,230 mcf, and down 5.2% from a September 2019 average of 5,088 mcf per day.

AIX’s Kenai Loop field averaged 4,604 mcf per day in September, down 9.5%, 483 mcf, from an August average of 5,087 mcf and down 6.2% from a September 2019 average of 4,911 mcf per day.

Hilcorp’s Granite Point averaged 3,661 mcf per day in September, up 1.6%, 56 mcf, from an August average of 3,605 mcf and up 34.8% from a September 2019 average of 2,717 mcf per day.

Hilcorp’s Deep Creek averaged 3,455 mcf per day in September, down 9.8%, 376 mcf, from an August average of 3,831 mcf and down 23.8% from a September 2019 average of 4,535 mcf per day.

Cook Inlet Energy’s North Fork averaged 3,296 mcf per day in September, down 1.3%, 45 mcf, from an August average of 3,341 mcf and down 12.8% from a September 2019 average of 3,778 mcf per day. CIE is a Glacier Oil and Gas company.

BlueCrest’s Hansen field averaged 3,052 mcf per day in September, down 10.8%, 371 mcf, from an August average of 3,423 mcf and down 44.9% from a September 2019 average of 5,538 mcf per day.

Hilcorp’s Trading Bay averaged 2,456 mcf per day in September, down 17.6%, 525 mcf, from an August average of 2,981 mcf and down 7.4% from a September 2019 average of 2,652 mcf per day.

Hilcorp’s Ivan River averaged 2,396 mcf per day in September, down 39.4%, 1,555 mcf, from an August average of 3,950 mcf, but up 491.6% from a September 2019 average of 405 mcf per day.

Hilcorp’s Lewis River averaged 1,066 mcf per day in September, down 0.3%, 3 mcf, from an August average of 1,069 mcf, but up 145.9% from a September 2019 average of 434 mcf per day.

Hilcorp’s Nikolaevsk averaged 372 mcf per day in September, down 4.5%, 17 mcf, from an August average of 389 mcf, and down 23.5% from a September 2019 average of 486 mcf per day.

Amaroq’s Nicolai Creek averaged 266 mcf per day in September, down 33%, 131 mcf, from an August average of 397 mcf, but up 15.9% from a September 2019 average of 229 mcf per day.

Hilcorp’s Middle Ground Shoal averaged 233 mcf per day in September, up 13.6%, 28 mcf, from an August average of 205 mcf and up 4.2% from a September 2019 average of 223 mcf per day.

Cook Inlet natural gas production peaked in the mid-1990s at more than 850,000 mcf per day.

- KRISTEN NELSON