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BP won’t drill in NPR-A this winter exploration season Company will further evaluate prospects, look at ARCO’s data after sale closes Kristen Nelson PNA News Editor
BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. won’t be drilling on its National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska acreage this winter.
ARCO Alaska Inc., however, still plans to drill as many as three wells.
The two companies filed 14 notices of staking for exploration wells with the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management this summer. Eight of the notices were from ARCO, six from BP. BLM completed field work on all locations.
BP spokesman Ronnie Chappell told PNA that the company does not plan to drill in NPR-A this winter. The primary reason, he said, is that the company wants more time to evaluate the prospects it has in hand.
“We feel we can improve our well locations and improve our changes for commercial success if we do additional technical evaluation,” he said.
After sale, ARCO’s data will be available Chappell said that there are also “ancillary benefits that flow from that decision.”
The first, he said, is that following the completion of the ARCO acquisition, BP will “have an opportunity to review the extensive work that they’ve done in NPR-A.” BP will then be able, he said, to “look at the broad scope of prospects available across the lease sale area and see exploration ideas used that might apply to our own prospects.”
In addition, he said, the delay will allow BP to clarify what its position will be in NPR-A following the ARCO acquisition.
One of the demands which Gov. Knowles made for state approval of the acquisition was that BP divest itself of some of its NPR-A acreage.
Chappell noted that while BP will not be drilling in NPR-A this winter, “we’re pleased that ARCO is proceeding with plans to drill this year.”
ARCO Alaska spokeswoman Dawn Patience said that ARCO will drill as many as three wells this winter. The eight wells which ARCO staked are at four prospects, all on the eastern side of the NPR-A lease sale area. BP had staked prospects in the north central sale area, southeast of Teshekpuk Lake and some 24 miles within the border of the NPR-A.
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