September ANS production up marginally
Crude, NGLs at 482,194 bpd, up 0.7% from August, up 1.4% from 2019; Cook Inlet at 11,483 bpd, up 3% from August, down 15% from 2019 Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Alaska North Slope crude oil and natural gas liquids production averaged 482,194 barrels per day in September, up 0.7%, 3,554 bpd, from an August average of 478,640, and up 1.4% from a September 2019 average of 475,648 bpd.
In both cases the increases came from Prudhoe Bay, the Slope’s largest field, and from NGL production - reflecting the increasingly gassy nature of ANS production. NGLs averaged 51,942 bpd in September, up 12.4%, 5,739 bpd, from an August average of 46,204 bpd and up 30.6% from a September 2019 average of 39,770 bpd.
ANS crude averaged 430,251 bpd in September, down 0.5%, 2,185 bpd, from an August average of 432,436 bpd, and down 1.3% from a September 2019 average of 435,878 bpd.
In September 2019, crude accounted for 90.7% of ANS production with NGLs accounting for 9.3%; this September, crude accounted for 89.2%, and NGLs 10.8%.
Three North Slope fields produce NGLs: Endicott, Northstar and Prudhoe Bay, with Prudhoe accounting for the majority of ANS NGLs, 47,461 bpd in September - 18.3% of Prudhoe production, compared to 17.6% a year ago.
Production data reported here are from the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which provides volumes by field and well on a month delay basis.
Prudhoe up 7% The largest month-over-month per-barrel increase was at the Hilcorp North Slope-operated Prudhoe Bay field, which averaged 259,693 bpd in September, up 7%, 17,005 bpd, combined crude and NGLs, from an August average of 242,688 bpd, and up 16.5% from a September 2019 average of 222,911 bpd.
Crude oil at Prudhoe averaged 212,232 bpd in September, up 5.6%, 11,289 bpd, from an August average of 200,944 bpd and up 14.6% from a September 2019 average of 185,163 bpd, accounting for 81.7% of Prudhoe production, compared to 82.45% a year ago. NGL production averaged 47,461 bpd in September, up 13.7%, 5,717 bpd, from an August average of 41,744 bpd and up 25.7% from a September 2019 average of 37,749. NGLs accounted for 18.3% of Prudhoe production this September, compared to 17.55% a year ago.
In addition to the primary reservoir, production volumes from Prudhoe include Aurora, Borealis, Lisburne, Midnight Sun, Niakuk, Polaris, Point McIntyre, Put River, Raven and Schrader Bluff.
Eni’s Oooguruk field also had a month-over-month increase, averaging 7,631 bpd in September, up 9.7%, 677 bpd, from an August average of 6,954 bpd but down 18.6% from a September 2019 average of 9,379 bpd.
Milne down marginally Production from other North Slope fields was down from August to September, with the smallest month-over-month decline at Hilcorp Alaska’s Milne Point field, which averaged 33,038 bpd in September, down 0.1%, 31 bpd, from an August average of 33,069, but up 5.9% from a September 2019 average of 31,192 bpd.
Hilcorp Alaska’s Northstar averaged 8,996 bpd in September, down 1.32%, 120 bpd, from an August average of 9,116 bpd and down 0.4% from a September 2019 average of 9,035 bpd.
Crude oil production at Northstar averaged 5,554 bpd in September, 61.7% of the field’s production, down 1.67%, 94 bpd, from an August average of 5,648 bpd and down 25.5% from a September 2019 average of 7,452 bpd when crude accounted for 82.5% of production. NGL production at Northstar averaged 3,442 bpd in September, 38.3% of the field’s production, down 0.8%, 26 bpd, from an August average of 3,468 bpd, but up 117.4% from a September 2019 average of 1,583 bpd, when NGLs accounted for just 17.5% of the field’s production.
Endicott, also operated by Hilcorp Alaska, averaged 7,006 bpd in September, down 1.9%, 138 bpd, from an August average of 7,144 bpd, but up 47.8% from a September 2019 average of 4,742 bpd. Crude production at Endicott averaged 5,967 bpd in September, down 3%, 185 bpd, from an August average of 6,153, but up 38.7% from a September 2019 average of 4,304 bpd. Crude represented 85.2% of Endicott production in September, compared to 90.8% last September. Endicott NLG production averaged 1,039 bpd in September, 14.8% of the field’s production, up 4.8%, 48 bpd, from an August average of 991 bpd and up 137.2% from a September 2019 average of 438 bpd when NGLs represented just 9.2% of the field’s production.
Larger declines at other fields The Kuparuk River unit, the Slope’s second largest, operated by ConocoPhillips Alaska, averaged 98,719 bpd in September, down 0.3%, 253 bpd, from an August average of 98,973 bpd and down 10% from a September 2019 average of 109,628 bpd.
In addition to the main Kuparuk pool, Kuparuk produces from satellites at Meltwater, Tabasco and Tarn, and from West Sak.
Eni’s Nikaitchuq averaged 16,304 bpd in September, down 4.1%, 691 bpd, from an August average of 16,995 and down 21.1% from a September 2019 average of 20,652.
Point Thomson, operated by ExxonMobil Production, averaged 7,505 bpd in September, down 8.6%, 708 bpd, from an August average of 8,213 bpd, but up 49% from a September 2019 average of 5,038 bpd.
ConocoPhillips’ Greater Mooses Tooth in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska averaged 1,828 bpd in September, down 31.3%, 832 bpd, from an August average of 2,660 bpd and down 75% from a September 2019 average of 7,316 bpd.
ConocoPhillips’ Colville River averaged 41,473 bpd in September, down 11,355 bpd, 21.5%, from an August average of 52,827 bpd, and down 23.6% from a September 2019 average of 54,271 bpd.
In addition to oil from the main Alpine pool, Colville production includes satellite production from Fiord, Nanuq and Qannik.
Cook Inlet up 3% Crude oil production from Cook Inlet averaged 11,483 bpd in September, up 3%, 255 bpd, from an August average of 11,144 bpd but down 15% from a September 2019 average of 13,514 bpd.
Hilcorp’s Beaver Creek averaged 183 bpd in September, up 18.8%, 29 bpd, from an August average of 154 bpd but down 18.3% from a September 2019 average of 224 bpd.
Hilcorp’s Granite Point averaged 3,005 bpd in September, up 2.1%, 61 bpd, from an August average of 2,944 bpd and up 32.3% from a September 2019 average of 2,271 bpd.
BlueCrest’s Hansen field, the Cosmopolitan prospect, averaged 1,045 bpd in September, up 2.3%, 23 bpd, from an August average of 1,022 bpd but down 17.1% from a September 2019 average of 1,261 bpd.
Hilcorp’s McArthur River, Cook Inlet’s largest field, averaged 3,933 bpd in September, up 3.9%, 146 bpd, from an August average of 3,787 bpd but down 9% from a September 2019 average of 4,321 bpd.
Hilcorp’s Middle Ground Shoal averaged 1,161 bpd, down 0.7%, 101 bpd, from an August average of 1,153 bpd, and down 14.5% from a September 2019 average of 1,358 bpd.
Hilcorp’s Swanson River averaged 833 bpd in September, up 7.8%, 60 bpd, from an August average of 773 bpd but down 0.6% from a September 2019 average of 838 bpd.
Hilcorp’s Trading Bay averaged 1,323 bpd in September, up 0.9%, 37 bpd, from an August average of 1,311 bpd and up 2.1% from a September 2019 average of 1,296 bpd.
ANS crude oil production peaked in 1988 at 2.1 million bpd; Cook Inlet crude oil production peaked in 1970 at more than 227,000 bpd.
|