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Hilcorp expanding Seaview to the north
Addition of Whiskey Gulch will double size of southern Kenai Peninsula unit; Whiskey Gulch has pad, line will connect production Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Hilcorp Alaska has applied for expansion of its Kenai Peninsula Seaview unit to include its Whiskey Gulch prospect to the north, doubling the size of the existing unit. The Alaska Department of Natural Resources' Division of Oil and Gas said in an Aug. 15 public notice that the unit expansion application was filed Feb. 27 and deemed complete Aug. 8. Comments on the proposal are due by 4:30 p.m. Sept. 16.
(See map in the online issue PDF)
The proposed expansion would add some 2,929 acres to the existing Seaview unit, approved by the state Oct. 7, 2020, and currently containing some 2,983 acres. The expansion consists of two state leases, ADL 392666 and ADL 393959.
The division said the proposed hydrocarbon accumulations in the expansion area are in the Tyonek and Beluga reservoirs, accessible from the existing Whiskey Gulch and Seaview pads, with additional pad plans being developed.
Earlier exploration There were three early exploration wells in the area, Hilcorp said in its application: Standard Oil Company of California No. 1 Anchor Point, drilled to a depth of 14,705 feet in the Cretaceous in 1962; Union Oil Company of California's No. 1 Griner, drilled to 6,880 feet in the Middle Tyonek in 2002; and Aurora Gas LLC's No. 1 Endeavor, drilled to a depth of 9,225 feet in the Cretaceous in 2006.
The division said one zone in the Griner flowed noncommercial gas rates; no zones were tested in the Anchor Point No. or the Endeavor No. 1.
Hilcorp's work in the area Hilcorp had an aerial survey done over the southern Kenai Peninsula in 2015, the company said in its unit application, "in an attempt to delineate anticlinal closures associated with the Griner #1 wells, and that survey identified the Seaview Prospect lying adjacent and to the west of the Griner #1 well."
In 2016 the company shot 20.54 miles of dynamite 2D "but unfortunately due to shallow gravel, gas, culture, and the transition zone nature of the area" usable seismic could not be processed.
Hilcorp began permitting and drilling shallow stratigraphic test holes in 2017, with 56 drilled to date, helping to lead to the Seaview and Whiskey Gulch shallow gas discoveries.
In 2021 Hilcorp drilled Whiskey Gulch-01 to 10,277 feet measured depth in the West Foreland. Deeper oil targets were wet but the Tyonek looked to be gas charged, the company said, with four zones perforated, although only one zone had producible quantities of gas.
Exploration work In its exploration plans for the expanded Seaview unit Hilcorp listed its activities prior to the Seaview unit formation, beginning with an aerial gravity and magnetics survey in 2015, followed by 2D seismic in 2016 and seven stratigraphic test holes in 2017.
In 2018 Hilcorp drilled Seaview 8, an exploration well drilled to 10,621 feet MD resulting in a Tyonek gas discovery.
Hilcorp applied to form the Seaview unit and Clark participating area in 2020 and put in pipeline and facilities.
In 2021 the company drilled and tested Whiskey Gulch 1, and began flowing Seaview gas to sales, also drilling and testing Seaview 9.
In 2022 Hilcorp drilled and tested Whiskey Gulch 14.
The company drilled seven stratigraphic test holes in 2024 from Whiskey Gulch south towards the Seaview Pad; drilled and tested Whiskey Gulch 15. Also in 2024 Hilcorp "performed injectivity tests on coal seams in WG-14 and attempted to flow from coal seams in WG-15," along with acquiring multiple 2D seismic lines "to confirm presence of a deeper structure."
2025 plans Hilcorp said that in 2025 it is installing facilities at the Whiskey Gulch pad and tying Whiskey Gulch 1 into a sales pipeline.
It plans to complete additional testing of coalbed methane potential at Whiskey Gulch and/or Seaview.
The company is evaluating installing facilities to tie Seaview 8 into a low-pressure sales line. "The well is currently too low of pressure to flow into the main distribution line," Hilcorp said.
One exploration well may be drilled.
In its July 2 approval of the current plan for Seaview the division said only Seaview 8 has been produced, with production ceasing as of September 2022 with cumulative production of 181.8 million cubic feet of gas. Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission data show the field began producing in June 2021 and produced for just bit more than a year, with the last production recorded in August 2022.
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