Phillips, BP announce discovery at Palm field, a new Kuparuk satellite

Mike Richter expects Palm to help keep company’s Alaska production at 375,000 to 400,000 barrels of oil per day for the next several years

Petroleum News Alaska

Phillips Alaska Inc. and BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. announced a discovery May 18 at their Palm No. 1 exploration well. The accumulation is estimated to contain an additional 35 million barrels of recoverable reserves.

Palm No.1, drilled by Nabors Alaska 19E, found 30 feet of oil-saturated Kuparuk formation sandstone at approximately 5,800 feet sub-sea. A sidetrack well, Palm No. 1A, tested at an unstimulated rate of about 2,500 barrels per day of 26-degree API gravity oil.

The Palm accumulation is located about three miles west of the Kuparuk field in the Greater Kuparuk Area.

The Palm discovery will be developed as an extension of the Phillips-operated Kuparuk field by expanding the existing Kuparuk participating area and Kuparuk River unit. Production from the satellite field, which is expected to begin in 2003, will be processed through existing Kuparuk field facilities and will help extend the life of that field, Mike Richter, Phillips Alaska vice president of exploration and land development, told PNA May 18.

“Putting this discovery in perspective, Palm is just another example of the kind of success we have had with satellites,” Richter said. “Later this year another satellite field, Meltwater, will come on line. Southwest of Kuparuk, Meltwater is estimated to contain about 50 million barrels of recoverable reserves. (See Meltwater story on page B3.)

Kuparuk, which began production in 1981, is the second largest oil field in North America. At start-up it was estimated to hold recoverable reserves of 2.8 billion barrels of oil. Approximately 1.8 billion barrels have been drawn from Kuparuk so far.

The Greater Kuparuk Area, which includes four satellite fields, currently produces approximately 225,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Phillips expects the Palm field will help the company keep its Alaska production at 375,000 to 400,000 barrels of oil per day for the next several years.

Phillips Alaska, which operates the Kuparuk field, holds a 55 percent interest. BP Exploration holds 39 percent. Unocal, ExxonMobil and Chevron USA each hold minor interests.