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ANS production down 5% for April
Kristen Nelson, Petroleum News editor-in-chief
Alaska North Slope average daily production dropped 5.4 percent in April, pulled down by planned maintenance at Point McIntyre and a compressor seal replacement at Northstar.
ANS production averaged 988,945 barrels per day in April, down from 1,044,921 bpd in March.
Lisburne production dropped 32.6%
Lisburne production — which includes Point McIntyre and Niakuk — dropped 32.6 percent from March to April, averaging 46,042 bpd in April compared to 68,323 bpd in March. The Alaska Department of Revenue said there was planned maintenance in the greater Point McIntyre area April 4-17.
Lisburne production began the month at more than 69,000 bpd, dropped as low as 20,189 bpd during maintenance, and only got back up to rates in the 60,000-bpd range beginning April 25.
At Northstar, down for compressor seal replacement April 14-25, average production was 45,156 bpd in April, down 28.3 percent from a March average of 62,966 bpd. The field toped 72,000 bpd several days during the month, but had zero production for five days and much lower than average production prior to the shutdown and as production ramped up following the work.
Prudhoe Bay dropped 3.5% from March Production also dropped at Prudhoe Bay (which includes satellites Midnight Sun, Aurora, Polaris, Borealis and Orion), averaging 494,795 bpd in April, a drop of 3.5 percent from March’s 512,570 bpd.
Alpine dropped just under 1 percent, averaging 104,047 bpd in April compared to 105,032 bpd in March. Milne Point had a similar decline, averaging 52,448 bpd in April, down from 52,916 bpd in March. Weather is factor in spring decreases Weather is a factor in spring production decreases because compressors are more efficient when it is colder. The April temperature averaged 11 degrees F at Pump Station 1, compared a March average of -11 F.
The production increased from March to April at two North Slope fields, Kuparuk River and Endicott. Kuparuk, which includes production from West Sak, Tabasco, Tarn, Meltwater and Palm, averaged 213,175 bpd in April, up less than half a percent from a March level of 212,393 bpd.
Endicott was up 8.34 percent, averaging 33,282 bpd compared to 30,721 bpd in March when the field had a 10-hour shutdown due to failure of a pig launcher.
Cook Inlet production averaged 29,255 bpd in April, up 4.9 percent from a March average of 27,882 bpd.
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