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ANS output down for January
Kristen Nelson Petroleum News editor-in-chief
Alaska North Slope crude oil production averaged 959,250 barrels per day in February, down 4.25 percent from a January average of 1,001,832 bpd. The drop came primarily from the mid-month outage at BP Exploration (Alaska) operated-Northstar, which went down Feb. 8 when a compressor motor failed and only began to come back on production Feb. 22.
The Alaska Department of Revenue’s Tax Division said March 5 that Alaska North Slope production has averaged 996,000 bpd for the fiscal year to date (June 2003 through May 2004), compared to the division’s projection of 973,000 bpd, 23,000 bpd lower than the projection. On the other hand, the division forecast ANS oil prices of $27.70 per barrel for the fiscal year, and to date the price has averaged $30.18 per barrel or $2.48 per barrel above the estimate. Thirteen-day outage at Northstar The 13-day total outage at Northstar, plus reduced production the day the motor failed and for two days as production ramped back up after the replacement work was complete, dropped the field’s average monthly production for February by 50 percent, to 39,291 bpd from an average of 78,667 bpd in January.
North Slope production was also down January to February at Endicott, Lisburne, Alpine and Prudhoe Bay.
BP-operated Endicott averaged 26,088 bpd in February, down 6 percent from January production of 27,746 bpd.
Production at BP-operated Lisburne (includes Point McIntyre, Niakuk and West Beach) averaged 56,219 bpd in February, down 4 percent from a January average of 58,561 bpd.
The ConocoPhillips Alaska-operated Alpine field averaged 104,569 bpd in February, down 0.3 percent from a January average of 104,893 bpd. Alpine production was reduced for three days beginning Feb. 20 to repair aerial coolers.
BP-operated Prudhoe Bay (includes Midnight Sun, Aurora, Polaris, Borealis and Orion) averaged 483,820 bpd in February, down 0.23 percent from a January average of 484,956 bpd. Production up at Milne, Kuparuk Production was up at both Milne Point and Kuparuk.
BP-operated Milne Point (includes Schrader Bluff) averaged 50,808 bpd in February, up 2.76 percent from a January average of 49,443 bpd.
And the ConocoPhillips-operated Kuparuk River field (includes West Sak, Tabasco, Tarn, Meltwater and Palm) averaged 198,455 bpd, up 0.45 percent from a January average of 197,566 bpd.
The temperature at Pump Station No. 1 on the North Slope averaged –20.8 degrees Fahrenheit in February, compared to –8.1 degrees F in January.
In Southcentral Alaska, Cook Inlet crude oil production averaged 25,863 bpd, up 0.85 percent from a January average of 25,645 bpd.
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