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Providing coverage of Alaska and northern Canada's oil and gas industry
September 2019

Vol. 24, No.36 Week of September 08, 2019

July ANS production down 3% from June

Largest month over month increases at Kuparuk, Oooguruk units, biggest drop at Prudhoe Bay; Cook Inlet production up 8% from June

Kristen Nelson

Petroleum News

Alaska North Slope crude oil and natural gas liquids production averaged 474,619 barrels per day in July, down 3% (14,524 bpd) from a June average of 489,144 bpd, but up 14% from a July 2018 average of 416,357 bpd. Crude averaged 434,162 bpd, down 1.7% from June, 7,275 bpd, while NGLs averaged 40,458 bpd, down 15.2% from June, 7,248 bpd. Both volumes are up from July 2018, crude by 14.3% from 379,830 bpd and NGLs by 10.8%, from 36,526 bpd.

Production data reported here is from the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which provides volumes by field and well on a month delay basis.

Kuparuk up 2.1%

The ConocoPhillips Alaska operated Kuparuk River field had the largest month over month production increase, averaging 104,024 bpd in July, up 2,147 bpd, 2.1%, from a June average of 101,878, and up 1.7% from a July 2018 average of 102,274 bpd.

In addition to the main Kuparuk pool, the field produces from satellites at Meltwater, Tabasco and Tarn, and from West Sak.

Oooguruk, operated by Eni, averaged 8,720 bpd in July, up 1,109 bpd, 14.6%, from a June average of 7,611, but down 10% from a July 2018 average of 9,696 bpd.

The Hilcorp Alaska operated Northstar field averaged 9,198 bpd, up 8.8%, 741 bpd, from a June average of 8,457 bpd, but down 1.6% from a July 2018 average of 9,351 bpd. Northstar production for July included 7,911 bpd of crude, up 1,191 bpd, 17.7%, from a June average of 6,720 bpd (and down 3.1% from a July 2018 average of 8,167) and 1,287 bpd of NGLs, down 450 bpd, 25.9%, from a June average of 1,737 bpd, but up 8.7% from a July 2018 average of 1,184 bpd.

Nikaitchuq, operated by Eni, averaged 20,175 bpd in July, up 4%, 781 bpd, from a June average of 19,394 bpd, and up 9.3% from a July 2018 average of 18,454 bpd.

The Hilcorp operated Endicott field averaged 7,387 bpd in July, up 1.4%, 98 bpd, from a June average of 7,289 bpd and up 1.6% from a July 2018 average of 7,268 bpd. Endicott’s July production included 6,606 bpd of crude oil, up 1.4%, 94 bpd, from a June average of 6,512 bpd, but down 0.2% from a July 2018 average of 6,619 bpd, and 781 bpd of NGLs, up 0.6%, 4 bpd, from a July average of 777 bpd and up 20.4% from a July 2018 average of 649 bpd.

Prudhoe down 6.5%

All other North Slope fields, led by the BP Exploration (Alaska) operated Prudhoe Bay field, had month over month production declines.

At Prudhoe, July production averaged 230,325 bpd, down 15,939 bpd, 6.5%, from a June average of 246,265 bpd, but up 1.9% from a July 2018 average of 226,020 bpd. Prudhoe July production included 191,936 bpd of crude oil, down 4.5%, 9,137 bpd, from a June average of 201,073, but up 0.3% from a July 2018 average of 191,327 bpd, and 38,389 bpd of NGLs, down 6,803 bpd, 10.7%, from a June average of 45,192 bpd, but up 10.7% from a July 2018 average of 34,693 bpd.

In addition to the primary reservoir, production volumes from Prudhoe include Aurora, Borealis, Lisburne, Midnight Sun, Niakuk, Polaris, Point McIntyre, Put River, Raven and Schrader Bluff.

The Hilcorp operated Milne Point field averaged 26,765 bpd in July, down 8.3%, 2,433 bpd, from a June average of 29,198, but up 54.3% from a July 2018 average of 17,346 bpd.

Point Thomson, operated by ExxonMobil Production Co., averaged 4,201 bpd in July, down 622 bpd, 12.9%, from a June average of 4,823 bpd, but up 5,734.5% from a July 2018 average of 72 bpd. Production from Point Thomson, where facilities are rated at 10,000 bpd, was down below 100 bpd for three months last summer. The company has had technical challenges at the high pressure field and production has bounced around considerably. In a 2017 development plan the company told the state that “production to date has been impacted by gas injection compressor availability and reliability.”

ConocoPhillips Alaska’s Greater Mooses Tooth in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, which came online last October, averaged 11,335 bpd in July, down 161 bpd, 1.4%, from a June average of 11,496 bpd.

ConocoPhillips’ Colville River averaged 50,991 bpd in July, down 144 bpd, 0.3%, from a June average of 51,136 bpd, but up 112.4% from a July 2018 average of 24,013 bpd. The July 2018 volumes were due to what the company described as a major maintenance shutdown at the field, which began in mid July last year and lasted a month. In addition to oil from the main Alpine pool, Colville production includes satellite production from Fiord, Nanuq and Qannik.

Badami, operated by Savant Alaska, a Glacier Oil & Gas company, averaged 1,497 bpd in July, down 6.3%, 101 bpd, from a June average of 1,598 bpd, and down 19.6% from a July 2018 average of 1,862 bpd.

Cook Inlet up 7.6%

Cook Inlet production averaged 14,336 bpd in July, up 7.6%, 1,011 bpd, from a June average of 13,325, but down 3.8% from a July 2018 average of 14,904 bpd.

The largest month over month Cook Inlet increase was at Hilcorp Alaska’s Trading Bay field, which averaged 1,337 bpd in July, up 629 bpd, an increase of 88.2% from a June average of 710 bpd. That average had been a drop of 51.6% from a May average of 1,469 bpd. Hilcorp has had various maintenance projects underway this summer, reducing production from some of its inlet facilities. The Trading Bay July average was down 14% from a July 2018 average of 1,554 bpd.

The largest percentage increase, 118.6%, was at Hilcorp’s Beaver Creek field, which averaged 755 bpd in July, up 409 bpd from a June average of 345 bpd, and up 793.8% from a July 2018 average of 84 bpd. Hilcorp has been redrilling wells at the field, bringing the 5RD2 redrill online in November and the 04RD online in July.

Hilcorp’s Granite Point field averaged 2,541 bpd in July, up 121 bpd, 5%, from a June average of 2,420 bpd, but down 10.7% from a July 2018 average of 2,846 bpd.

Middle Ground Shoal, another Hilcorp field, averaged 1,389 bpd in July, up 87 bpd, 6.7%, from a June average of 1,302, and up 14% from a July 2018 average of 1,219 bpd.

Redoubt Shoal, operated by Cook Inlet Energy, a Glacier Oil & Gas company, averaged 1,026 bpd in July, up 40 bpd, 4.1%, from a June average of 986 bpd, but down 20.3% from a July 2018 average of 1,287 bpd.

Hilcorp’s McArthur River, Cook Inlet’s largest field, averaged 4,650 bpd in July, up 22 bpd, 0.5%, from a June average of 4,628, but down 2.4% from a July 2018 average of 4,765 bpd.

Cook Inlet Energy’s West McArthur River field averaged 390 bpd, down 111 bpd, 22.1%, from a June average of 501 bpd, and down 60.7% from a July 2018 average of 994 bpd.

BlueCrest’s Hansen field, the Cosmopolitan project, averaged 1,371 bpd in July, down 98 bpd, 6.7%, from a June average of 1,469 bpd, but up 58.5% from a July 2018 average of 865 bpd.

Hilcorp’s Swanson River field averaged 877 bpd in July, down 86 bpd, 8.9%, from a June average of 963 bpd, and down 32% from a July 2018 average of 1,290 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.






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