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Oil Search applies to modify Pikka project’s access road easement
Kay Cashman Petroleum News
Oil Search Alaska applied in mid-May to modify the existing ADL 421218 private easement for the Pikka Development Access Road, formerly known as the Nanushuk Project Access Road, which is on state land on the North Slope. Alaska’s Division of Oil and Gas found no problem with OSA’s request, posting a public notice June 14 that opens the proposed non-exclusive easement modification for a 30-day public comment period. It will end at 4:30 p.m., Alaska Standard Time, July 14.
The construction start date is listed as Nov. 1 with a potential finish date of Dec. 31, 2023. The easement duration is 35 years.
The requested modification will increase the easement acreage in four areas adjacent to the road by modifying the footprint of the pump house pad at Lake MC7903, adding two valve pads on the north side of the access road, and adding the East Miluveach Pipeline Crossing at a location on the access road near the Mustang road.
The construction easement acreage is proposed to be increased by 12.2 acres for a total of 658.2 acres, and the operational easement acreage to be increased by 6.8 acres for a total of 215.7 acres.
The cover letter for the application from Julie Lina, OSA permitting manager, said “the easement is being revised to reflect advanced engineering design and project optimization.”
Project plans, she said, may also include installation of a fiber optic cable, or FOC, “trenched in the road between the Mustang pad and the Nanushuk Operations Pad.”
The FOC will be permitted and installed by a third-party contractor, Lina noted.
Per OSA’s application, the proposed components will be constructed during the winter using a combination of both ice roads and existing gravel roads.
The project access road was built in the winter of 2019-20. The access road, operations pad, processing facility pad and the ND-B drill site are also in place. OSA is requesting to increase the easement for the remaining portions of the project that are not covered in the previously authorized Pikka Development Access Road approval.
Ice roads will allow direct access to the mine site, the application said. Standard-duty ice roads on the North Slope area a minimum of six inches thick and an average of 12 inches thick due to terrain features.
Gravel will be hauled from a local mine site and gravel will be placed during the winter. The proposed components will then be farmed during the subsequent summers to allow the gravel to dry, OSA said.
“Steel pipeline casing will be installed at the Valve Pad with Tundra Access Ramp and the East Miluveach Pipeline Crossing during summer to allow pipeline construction the following winter,” OSA said.
An airstrip will not be built as part of this activity. Rather OSA will use existing North Slope airstrips and landing zones as needed for construction and operations.
Cultural resource surveys Cultural resource surveys were conducted in the project area in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019.
In its application, OSA said the surveys and proposed project locations were coordinated with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Office of History and Archaeology and the North Slope Borough.
During the NEPA review process, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducted a Section 106 Consultation with the Office of History and Archaeology, which determined that no historic properties would be adversely affected by the project.
Pump house pad at Lake MC7903 OSA wants to adjust the footprint of the pump house pad at Lake MC7903 to “accommodate updated safety and logistics considerations for water truck access to the water pump” which will be located on the pad. The modification will increase the pad footprint by 0.7-acre.
The pump house pad layout is being modified to avoid potential vehicle backing related risks/injuries and to follow the Alaska Safety Handbook guidance for Safe Driving Rules (CPAI et al., 2018:53).
OSA said it also has internal policies and procedures for heavy equipment which include designing pads to have “pull-through only” parking spaces to eliminate risks associated with heavy-equipment backing.
The proposed enlargement is designed to accommodate the approach angle and turning radius of a 300-barrel water truck (minimum interior wheel turning radius restricted to 70 feet). This will allow a truck to access the pump module, drive around the pad and return to the water source access road without having to back up.
Proposed valve pads OSA proposes to add two valve pads on the north side of the access road (see map in the pdf or print versions of this story).
The 0.54-acre valve pad on the west side of the Miluveach River will be constructed with a tundra access ramp. The tundra access ramp will allow year-round access to the north side of the pipeline for inspections, maintenance, and access for spill response.
The valve pad located on the east side of the Miluveach River will be 0.3-acre total.
East Miluveach Pipeline Crossing OSA proposes to add the East Miluveach Pipeline Crossing at a location on the access road near the Mustang Road. OSA will construct the 0.2-mile long road (1.4 acres) to provide year-round spill response and access to the north side of the project pipelines.
The proposed road will be 32 feet wide at the surface (approximately 52 feet at the base).
The pipeline crossing road will be wider at the intersection with the access road to accommodate large vehicle turning.
At the end of the proposed road, north of the pipeline alignment, there will be a tundra access ramp. The pipeline crossing road was designed to allow staging of spill response containers and equipment along the road year-round so OSA can more readily respond in the unlikely event of a spill.
- KAY CASHMAN
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