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CIE applies for 640-acre unit expansion West McArthur River unit operator Cook Inlet Energy wants area where Sword well producing included, new participating area formed Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Cook Inlet Energy has applied to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources for expansion and contraction of the West McArthur River unit and creation of the Sword participating area.
CIE, the 100 percent working interest owner, said in an Aug. 28 application that it had applied in January to have the Sword No. 1 well certified as capable of producing in paying quantities, but said DNR “determined that request not to be timely, so CIE hereby renews that request.”
The company said that since it acquired the West McArthur River unit leases in December 2009 it has restarted production, optimized production from the participating area “through sidetracks and workovers” and completed the Sword No. 1 exploration well, “which is currently being produced under an approved tract operation.”
CIE said its request would incorporate oil pools under two state oil and gas leases - one of which is currently within the unit - into the unit and contract acreage not currently contributing to unit production.
Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission records show that the West McArthur River unit has produced 13.6 million barrels of crude through the end of August. August production at the field averaged 1,767 barrels per day.
Sword well The 640 acre expansion area includes “approximately 200 acres contributing to production” from the Sword No. 1 well, the company said, “with the remaining production coming from Tract 1 of the WMRU.” The segment of ADL 17602 requested for inclusion is section 2 of township 8 north, range 14 west, Seward Meridian, which extends the offshore unit to the east. CIE said the remainder of section 2 “is believed to cover a portion of a potential hydrocarbon accumulation, which CIE has named Sabre, which is scheduled for drilling” in the approved 23rd plan of development for the West McArthur River unit.
The unit lies offshore the eastern side of West Foreland on the western side of Cook Inlet, with production facilities onshore.
The requested Sword participating area would include 360 acres including portions of sections 2 and 3 of T8N, R14W, SM. CIE said production would be from the Hemlock, Lower Tyonek (oil) and Lower Tyonek (upper).
CIE said current pilot production from the Sword No. 1 well is approximately 600 barrels per day of oil from multiple zones. That oil is being processed at the West McArthur River unit production facility under DNR approved tract operations.
The company said its decision to apply for a single Sword participating area is based on commingling authorization from the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and vertical stacking of multiple pay zones.
CIE is applying for contraction to exclude a portion of ADL 359112, the most southerly portion of the unit, “not currently contributing to production and for which CIE has no near-term plans for further evaluation.”
The division said the application was deemed complete Oct. 10 and it accepting written comments on the application through 4:30 p.m. Nov. 17. The division said it would issue a written decision to approve or deny the unit expansion application within 60 days of the close of the comment period.
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