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Alaska North Slope October crude production up 6% from September
Alaska North Slope crude oil production averaged 884,080 barrels per day in October, up 6.4 percent from a September average of 830,571 bpd. September production was down 2 percent from August due primarily to a shutdown at Gathering Center 2 at Prudhoe Bay early in the month, taking 90,000 bpd offline for several days, so the October increase is partly a reflection of the lower September figures and partly a reflection of cooler temperatures which increase compressor efficiency.
BP Exploration (Alaska)’s Northstar field had the largest month-to-month increase, averaging 61,402 bpd in October, up 25.7 percent from a September average of 48,845 bpd. Northstar was down the first part of September for compressor work, with no production at all for several days, reducing its September average sharply.
Production from BP-operated Prudhoe Bay (including Midnight Sun, Aurora, Polaris, Borealis and Orion) averaged 417,436 bpd in October, up 11.4 percent from a September average of 374,671.
BP-operated Endicott (which includes some 2,000 bpd from Badami) averaged 20,970 bpd in October, up 6.1 percent from a September average of 19,759. The Department of Revenue said Badami came back online Oct. 2 at an average of about 2,000 bpd. There was a 10,000 bpd drop in production at Endicott Oct. 8-9 for turbine washing, the department said. Lisburne production up BP-operated Lisburne averaged 40,953 bpd in October, up 2.1 percent from a September average of 40,123 bpd. Lisburne includes Point McIntyre and Niakuk.
The ConocoPhillips Alaska-operated Alpine field averaged 128,114 bpd in October, up 0.7 percent from a September average of 127,195 bpd.
BP-operated Milne Point averaged 41,191 bpd in October, down 9.8 percent from a September average of 45,653 bpd. Revenue said there were gas compressor problems at the field Oct. 22-23 and production dropped into the 28,000-37,000 bpd range for several days.
Production from ConocoPhillips-operated Kuparuk (including West Sak, Tabasco, Tarn, Meltwater and Palm) averaged 174,014 bpd in October, down 0.2 percent from a September average of 174,325 bpd.
The temperature at Pump Station 1 on the North Slope averaged 21.7 degrees Fahrenheit in October, down from an average of 39.9 degrees in September. Revenue said the average October three-year temperature at Pump Station 1 is 23.5 degrees.
Cook Inlet production averaged 19,693 bpd in October, up 2.8 percent from a September average of 19,151 bpd.
—Kristen Nelson
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