North Slope production up 2.5% in March

ANS averaged 546,520 bpd, led by 4.8% increase at Kuparuk River; Cook Inlet averaged 16,567 bpd in February, down 0.1% from January

Kristen Nelson

Petroleum News

Alaska North Slope crude oil production averaged 546,520 barrels per day in March, up 2.48 percent from a February average of 533,298 bpd, an average difference of 13,222 barrels.

Daily figures for March — provided by the Alaska Department of Revenue’s Tax Division — show fairly steady day-to-day production for the month. The division provides daily production and monthly averages by major production centers. More detailed data, including Cook Inlet and individual North Slope fields and pools, is reported by the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission on a month-delay basis.

The largest percentage increase was at the ConocoPhillips Alaska-operated Kuparuk River field, which averaged 139,810 bpd in March, up 4.82 percent (6,433 barrels) from a February average of 133,377 bpd. Kuparuk production includes satellite production from West Sak, Northeast West Sak, Tabasco, Tarn and Meltwater, as well as production from the Eni-operated Nikaitchuq field and the Pioneer Natural Resources-operated Oooguruk field.

AOGCC February production figures for Nikaitchuq show an average of 19,087 bpd, down 2.17 percent (424 barrels) from a January average of 19,511 bpd. Oooguruk production averaged 6,141 bpd in February, down 6.35 percent (417 barrels) from a January average of 6,557 bpd.

Production at the BP Exploration (Alaska)-operated Lisburne field was up 4.35 percent month-over-month (1,228 barrels), averaging 29,471 bpd in March compared to 28,243 bpd in February. Lisburne production includes Point McIntyre, Niakuk and Raven.

The BP-operated Prudhoe Bay field averaged 313,529 bpd in March, up 2.57 percent from a February average of 305,679 bpd (7,850 barrels). Prudhoe Bay production includes satellite production from Aurora, Borealis, Midnight Sun, Orion, Polaris Sag River and Schrader Bluff, as well as production from the BP-operated Milne Point and Northstar fields.

Most other production down

The BP-operated Endicott field averaged 10,094 bpd in March, down 6.42 percent (692 barrels) from a February average of 10,786 bpd. Endicott production includes Sag Delta, Eider and Minke, as well as production from the Savant Alaska-operated Badami field. AOGCC data for February shows that Badami averaged 1,178 bpd in that month, up 1.6 percent (19 barrels) from a January average of 1,159 bpd.

Cook Inlet down marginally

The largest month-over-month percentage increase was at Hilcorp Alaska’s Beaver Creek field, the inlet’s smallest, which averaged 175 bpd, up 14.57 percent (22 barrels) from a January average of 153 bpd.

Hilcorp also had the largest month-over-month increase in barrels at its McArthur River field, the inlet’s largest, which averaged 4,379 bpd in February, up 14 percent (538 barrels) from a January average of 3,841 bpd.

The Middle Ground Shoal field, operated by ExxonMobil-subsidiary XTO, averaged 2,046 bpd in February, up 3 percent (60 barrels) from a January average of 1,986 bpd.

The only other inlet field with a month-over-month increase in production, Hilcorp’s Granite Point field, averaged 2,433 bpd in February, up 1.64 percent (39 barrels) from a January average of 2,394 bpd.

The steepest decline, down 14.39 percent, was at Cook Inlet Energy’s Redoubt Shoal field, which averaged 1,186 bpd in February, down from 1,385 bpd in January (a drop of 199 barrels).

Hilcorp’s Trading Bay field averaged 2,834 bpd in February, down 9.51 percent (298 barrels) from a January average of 3,132 bpd.

Cook Inlet Energy’s West McArthur River field averaged 1,101 bpd in February, down 9.35 percent (114 barrels) from a January average of 1,214 bpd, while Hilcorp’s Swanson River field averaged 2,414 bpd in February, down 2.67 percent (66 barrels) from a January average of 2,481 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.