|
Whiskey Gulch lease POO out for comment
Hilcorp plans gravel pad, two exploration wells north of Anchor Point; construction proposed for March, drilling to begin in June Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Hilcorp Alaska has applied to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Oil and Gas for a lease plan of operations for exploration at the Whiskey Gulch prospect near Anchor Point.
The project is some 3 miles northeast of the community of Anchor Point, north of Hilcorp’s Seaview unit, which lies west and south of Anchor Point.
Like Seaview, Whiskey Gulch is targeting natural gas, although one of the two proposed exploration wells also has an oil target.
Hilcorp began drilling stratigraphic tests in the Whiskey Gulch area in 2019, drilling four stratigraphic test wells at Whiskey Gulch that year, followed by more test wells in 2020.
The proposed exploration phase of the project includes construction of a 2.75-acre gravel pad on private surface lands at the end of Cape Ninilchik Avenue, about 1 mile east of the Sterling Highway.
The company plans to drill one gas-only exploration well and one gas/oil exploration well into state oil and gas lease ADL 392666 to total depths of some 10,000 feet.
The proposed construction phase would begin in mid-March, followed by drilling beginning about June 1, with drilling and testing possibly extending until early September.
Comments on the proposal, which is available on the division’s website at http://dog.dnr.alaska.gov/Library/, are due by 4:30 p.m. March 4.
Pad construction Hilcorp said in its application that a new pad is required to reach potential targets in the Anchor Point area. The company is proposing building a 300-foot by 400-foot gravel pad, to be called the Whiskey Gulch Pad, within section 23, township 4 south, range 15 west, Seward Meridian. Hilcorp said the pad “is proposed on partially improved private lands,” with access from existing Kenai Peninsula Borough roadways to the intersection of Cape Ninilchik Avenue and Opportunity Lane. Access roadway improvements will be over an existing driveway at the intersection and extend west to the pad.
One gas/oil combination exploration well, Whiskey Gulch 1, would be drilled to some 10,000 feet measured depth to the southwest of the pad. The first 7,700 feet of the wellbore, ADL 392666, would be perforated to evaluate gas zones and the bottomhole location, also on ADL 392666, would be evaluated for oil resources.
The second well, Whiskey Gulch 14, would extend some 10,000 feet measured depth to the northeast of the pad and is a gas only exploration well. The company said “no oil exploration targets have been identified” for the second well.
Drilling activities Drilling would be done using a Hilcorp owned rig, either rig 169 or rig 147.
Hilcorp said major components required for drilling include the rig and pipe, completion rig, mud tanks and mud pumps, boilers, drilling foreman/toolpusher trailer, light plants, generators, cement silo(s) and other miscellaneous equipment.
Approximately 30 days of testing would be conducted for each well, with temporary testing equipment including a line heater, liquids/gas separator, flare and 400-barrel water storage tank.
Hilcorp said permanent improvements to the eastern portion of Cape Ninilchik Avenue would remain in place, along with the gravel access road and pad located on private lands.
Seaview Hilcorp already has a confirmed gas discovery at its nearby Seaview unit.
The Seaview unit and Clark participating area were approved by the division in October and November, and in January the division said required refinement of the exhibits in the unit agreement had been approved.
An approval from the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in October for production from Seaview 8, the gas field’s first well, said that well: “encountered commercial quantities of gas in four zones in the Tyonek formation.” The commission said the company identified several additional prospective gas zones.
Hilcorp has not yet brought Seaview online.
| 