Kuukpik SAE permitting 3-D seismic

The state is taking comments on a multiyear 3-D seismic program that Kuukpik SAE LLC plans to conduct over the coming three winters across the central North Slope.

The proposed Umingmak 3-D seismic program is a joint venture between the seismic firm SAExploration Inc. and the Native corporation Kuukpik Corp. The program would cover some 3,681 square miles of largely on Kuukpik Corp. land around Nuiqsut.

The region includes the ConocoPhillips-operated Colville River, Mooses Tooth and Bear Tooth units and the Brooks Range Petroleum Corp.-operated Tofkat and Kachemach units, plus considerable un-unitized acreage in the so-called “billion-dollar fairway.”

Kuukpik SAE described the program as being on behalf of “multiple clients.”

The program would run during the tundra travel seasons from January 2014 to May 2016, covering between 200 and 400 square miles each winter, according to the company.

Kuukpik SAE plans to conduct the programs using 12 rubber-tracked vibrators in groups of three or four. The vibrator lines would be spaced at least 660 feet apart with receivers located every 110 feet along each line. The vibrators would have a frequency between 4 and 100 hertz, used between four to eight seconds for each “sweep,” the company said.

The Division of Oil and Gas is taking comments on the plans through Dec. 30.

—Eric Lidji

—A copyrighted oil and gas lease map from Mapmakers Alaska was a research tool used in preparing this story.