Oil found in two formations at Cosmopolitan — Hemlock, Tyonek

Kristen Nelson

Apparently field operator Phillips Alaska Inc. found what it expected at the Cosmopolitan prospect offshore the southern Kenai Peninsula.

Robert Boswell, president and chief executive officer of Forest Oil Corp., a partner in the Phillips-operated prospect, told an IPAA Investment Symposium April 23 that the prospect is being evaluated for commercial development.

“It tested oil in the Hemlock and in the Tyonek,” he said. The exploration well was an 18,000 foot directional from onshore to an offshore prospect, Boswell said, and the commerciality of the prospect is being evaluated, along with various development possibilities.

Phillips told the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in February that it could be producing from the Starichkof field at the Cosmopolitan unit by late 2003. The Hansen No. 1 is the exploration well Phillips drilled at the prospect.

Two offshore wells were drilled on the Starichkof structure in the late 1960s, one of which discovered hydrocarbons in the Lower Tyonek reservoir sands and produced oil at relatively low rates during a drill stem test, Phillips said.

The company told the commission in February that it was evaluating the Hansen well, which was spud in October and reached total depth in early January.

“Phillips anticipates finding production in the Lower Tyonek and Hemlock reservoir sands that will produce in commercial quantities,” the company said.