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Hilcorp planning Milne Point revival Development program at North Slope field would include as many as eight new wells, 16 workover projects and a new drilling pad ERIC LIDJI For Petroleum News
Hilcorp Alaska LLC is proposing a major development program at the Milne Point unit over the coming year, including plans for constructing a new drilling pad at the field.
If executed to its full extent, the program would involve drilling eight new wells at five pads targeting three of the four formations present at the North Slope unit, working over as many as 16 existing wells, constructing a new pad in the western end of the unit and expanding other infrastructure to accommodate an expected increase in oil production.
The proposed program represents a shift in focus from 2015 activities, when Hilcorp completed just three new wells in one formation and conducted 54 workover operations.
The current program would run from July 1, 2016, until July 31, 2017, and would be in addition to the three wells Hilcorp has already drilled at the unit this calendar year.
Six Schrader wells drilled The six wells Hilcorp drilled at the Milne Point unit in 2015 and the first quarter of 2016 all targeted the Schrader Bluff formation, specifically the Schrader OA Lower Lobe interval. The program consisted of three production wells and three injection wells. The workover program included 29 projects in the Kuparuk formation, 23 projects in the Schrader Bluff formation and two projects in the Ugnu formation and largely involved changing out the electric submersible pumps used to extract liquid from well bores.
Including the wells drilled earlier this year, the proposed 2016 program includes a producer and injector pair at L pad targeting the Schrader OA Lower Lobe interval, a producer and injector pair at B pad targeting the Schrader ND interval, two producers and two injectors at J pad targeting the Schrader NB interval, one producer at K pad targeting the Kuparuk formation and one producer at C pad targeting the Sag River formation.
Of those, two are already online. Hilcorp completed the Milne Point Unit L-47 well in mid-February and brought the well online at 700 barrels per day of oil and 100,000 cubic feet per day of natural gas. The company completed the Milne Point Unit B-28 well in late March and brought the well online at 2,100 barrels per day of oil, 300,000 cubic feet per day of natural gas and 140 barrels per day of water, according to the company.
Moose Pad development The proposed Moose Pad Development Project would include a drilling pad and access road within leases ADL 25514 and ADL 25515. Those leases are at the western edge of the unit. Previous operator-BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. drilled the Pesado No. 1 well and sidetrack at ADL 25515 and the Liviano No. 1 well and sidetrack at ADL 25514.
“Contingent on market conditions,” Hilcorp also plans to expand existing pipeline, electrical and communications infrastructure to accommodate activity in the area.
The company told state officials it would apply for permits in the second quarter and, pending approval, begin work at the end of this year and at the beginning of next year.
Oil production remained fairly steady with a slight decline over the past year. The unit started 2015 producing 599,423 barrels per month and finished the year producing 579,914 barrels per month. This year, the unit has produced 19,273 barrels per day, down from 19,400 barrels per day at the end of January 2015, according to Hilcorp.
Duck Island and Northstar For the time being, Milne Point is the focus for Hilcorp on the North Slope.
Through a late 2014 acquisition from BP, the Houston-based independent became the operator of the Milne Point, Northstar and Duck Island units and the federal Liberty unit.
At both the Duck Island and Northstar units, Hilcorp has been focusing on working over existing wells over the past year instead of new drilling. The company drilled no new wells or sidetracks at either unit in 2015 and has no plans to do so this year, either.
Hilcorp conducted 11 workover projects at Duck Island between July 2015 and April 2016 and five workover projects at the Northstar unit over the same time. The company is proposing five projects at Duck Island and three at North Star over the coming year.
Duck Island oil production increased to 267,331 barrels per month from 258,350 barrels per month in 2015 and has produced 8,076 barrels per day, on average, in 2016. Northstar oil production decreased to 319,825 barrels per month from 328,019 barrels per month in 2015 and has produced 10,006 barrels per day, on average, in 2016, according to Hilcorp.
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