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BP submits development plans to state for ARCO’s Aurora discovery Proposal will expand Prudhoe Bay’s S pad, making room for 14 wells to develop satellite field discovered at last year’s V-200 well Kristen Nelson PNA News Editor
BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. has submitted plans to the state to develop the Aurora accumulation — a Prudhoe Bay satellite oil pool — on behalf of ARCO Alaska Inc., which made the discovery last year with the V-200 well.
The project involves a 210 foot by 260 foot expansion of the northwest area of S pad in the Prudhoe Bay unit to allow drilling 14 new wells to develop Aurora reserves. BP applied for the application on behalf of ARCO because BP is the S pad operator.
ARCO, Exxon Company USA, Mobil Alaska E&P Inc. and Phillips Petroleum Co. said in a discovery announcement in March that the V-200 well encountered a 58-foot vertical section of oil-bearing sand in the Kuparuk formation. The V-200 well was drilled from an ice pad in the 1998-99 winter season.
The accumulation tested more than 1,900 barrels per day of 30 degree API gravity oil and 1.3 million standard cubic feet of gas per day. The discovery well was located on a lease in which ARCO and Exxon each own a 50 percent interest.
BP told the state that ARCO estimates that the accumulation contains approximately 30 million recoverable barrels of oil. In March, ARCO put recoverable reserves in a range of 20 million to 35 million recoverable barrels. Aurora extends to adjacent leases held by ARCO, Exxon, Mobil and Phillips.
ARCO said in March that the Aurora field extends the recent string of successful Prudhoe Bay satellite discoveries. Eight other wells were drilled within the past 18 months to discover and delineate the nearby Midnight Sun, Sambuca, Northwest Eileen Kuparuk, and S- and W-Pad Schrader Bluff satellites.
Pad expansion required Originally, BP told the state, the Aurora development plan called for construction of a new pad and road west of S pad. This concept called for using the new pad for development of a portion of the Schrader Bluff reservoir. The results of the V-200 exploration well, however, significantly reduced the Schrader Bluff development potential in that area, and it was then decided to access the Aurora reserves by expanding existing facilities.
The expansion of S pad is required, BP told the state, to allow room for the 14 Aurora wells, which will be on 15-foot centers. Development of the Aurora reservoir will begin before the proposed S pad expansion is completed and will include drilling two wells from the existing pad, starting in the fourth quarter of 1999, with reservoir production scheduled to begin in January 2000.
Pad expansion construction is scheduled to start in February. Under this plan, BP said, gravel will be placed in the expansion area, then regraded and compacted in the summer. Development drilling from the expanded pad will begin in November 2000. The drilling program is expected to continue through 2002.
Initial Aurora production will be sent to Prudhoe Bay gathering center two for processing via the existing S pad pipeline. Existing S pad gas lift, water injection and miscible injectant pipelines will be used for Aurora wells.
BP said those pipelines have enough capacity to also handle S pad production using a compact separator and Coriolis meters. Individual wells will have separate multiphase meters for reservoir management purposes.
Existing gravel roads and the pad surface will be sued to access the expansion area. No ice pads, ice roads or off-pad travel will be necessary to construct the project.
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