Permitting continues for W Harrison Bay

Narwhal Exploration gets land use permit from DO&G; files oil discharge prevention and contingency plan for exploration with DEC

Kristen Nelson

Petroleum News

Narwhal Exploration is moving ahead with permitting for planned winter 2026 exploration drilling at its West Harrison Bay unit off the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska on the North Slope.

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources' Division of Oil and Gas approved the West Harrison Bay unit in November 2024.

A July 31 approval by the division is for a land use permit requested by Narwhal in July for summer marine surveys and studies on state lands and waters. The project includes federally managed lands in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, but only state lands are considered in the permit. The division said NPR-A lands would be used to stage equipment, materials and fuel.

Narwhal's state application was for side scan sonar, sub-bottom profiling and sediment sampling in the summer of 2025, with activities on state waters and tidelands within the Narwhal unit and adjacent state oil and gas leases.

Oliktok Point

That comment, from ConocoPhillips Alaska, was related to Oliktok Point. Narwhal had said it might mobilize from Oliktok Point and possibly stage equipment there from Aug. 1 through Dec. 31, 2025.

ConocoPhillips said Oliktok Point, which is in the Kuparuk River unit, was critical to its operations at Kuparuk and in the Bear Tooth unit in NPR-A, telling the division that Narwhal's work was planned at what would be an extremely busy time for ConocoPhillips at Oliktok Point and along Narwhal's planned mobilization route crossing ConocoPhillips leases in and around where ConocoPhillips had Willow construction and significant exploration planned.

ConocoPhillips asked that the division require, as part of its permit, that Narwhal obtain letter of non-objection from ConocoPhillips

The division did not require the letter of non-objection as a condition of the permit.

In its decision the division said it "understands that Narwhal no longer intends to use Oliktok Point for the summer activities described, and that Narwhal and CPAI are currently engaged in discussions regarding the concerns above related to coordination of activities within the Oliktok Pint area for activities this winter and beyond. Narwhal will work with CPAI to obtain a letter of non-objection and ensure that activities do not unreasonably or unnecessarily interfere with CPAI operations in the project area."

Exploration ODPCP

The company's approved unit plan calls for two exploration wells this winter. In the plan it submitted to DEC, Narwhal said it could drive up to five exploration wells at West Harrison Bay from January to April 2026.

Narwhal said it would conduct the winter exploration program with coastal sea trail access to West Harrison Bay from Oliktok Point, using existing gravel road infrastructure from Deadhorse to Oliktok Point and constructing a freight transfer pad at the beginning of the coastal sea ice trail.

All-terrain vehicles will transport equipment and materials along the coastal sea ice trail and ice trails or ice roads will be built to connect the sea ice trail to each of the ice pads for drilling operations.

There will be a temporary airstrip some 3,000 feet long on grounded ice for personnel and small freight transport, with the airstrip expected to be expanded after initial construction to almost 5,000 feet to support a Hercules C-130 aircraft "as a contingency for daily operations or if needed to support incident response."

Narwhal said its exploration program will be multi-year, and drilling may occur simultaneously at multiple sites during the program.