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State approves work at western satellites Prudhoe operator Hilcorp said in mid-July that six wells would be drilled at Orion; has applied for pre-study boreholes at L pad Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Oil and Gas has approved an amendment to the Prudhoe Bay unit Western Satellites 2021 plan of operations from field operator Hilcorp North Slope to add the drilling of six wells to the 2021 POD. All six are to be within the Orion participating area, division Director Tom Stokes said in a July 28 amendment approval.
The Western Satellite area consists of five PA’s: Aurora, Borealis, Midnight Sun, Orion and Polaris. Stokes said Aurora, Borealis and Midnight Sun produce primarily from the Kuparuk River formation; the Orion and Polaris PAs produce from the Schrader Bluff formation, which has higher viscosity oil.
In the POD as originally submitted Hilcorp said the Prudhoe working interest owners did not approve any drilling for 2021. In its July 15 amendment, Hilcorp did not give a reason for the addition of drilling to the POD.
The amendment said the six new wells at Orion could include up to three producers and one injector from the L pad and up to one producer and one injector from the Z pad.
Stokes said that in follow-up conservations Hilcorp told the division it anticipated drilling operations would begin in mid-September. As of the first week of August, Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission listings show no new Prudhoe wells permitted, but drilling permits are generally one of the last applications a company makes.
In separate July 27 decisions the division approved wells at L pad and Z pad.
L pad wells The division has approved a request from Hilcorp to drill up to three wells and install associated infrastructure at L pad at Prudhoe. The new wells will be within the existing well row and be drilled by either Doyon 14 or the Hilcorp Innovation Rig, with personnel housed onsite in a mobile camp or in existing Prudhoe camps.
The work will be within the existing gravel footprint.
It is expected to begin Aug. 10 and be completed by Sept. 1, 2022.
In addition to drilling the wells, the division said Hilcorp will install 1,320 feet of facility piping, electrical lines and instrumentation lines to tie the new wells into the existing production facility infrastructure; erect wellhouses to protect the wellheads; install heat trace, power and instrumentation cable in cable trays; install up to 10 thermosiphons as necessary; and tie the wells into existing infrastructure.
Z pad wells The division approved a Hilcorp request to drill two wells and install associated infrastructure at Z pad. The new wells, to be drilled by Doyon 14 or the Hilcorp Innovation Rig, will be within the existing well row. Personnel will be housed at a mobile camp onsite or within existing Prudhoe camps. The work, expected to begin Aug. 10 and be completed by Sept. 1, 2022, will take place within the existing gravel pad.L pad pre-study boreholes There was a separate July 27 division approval of a request from Hilcorp to drill up to five boreholes in tundra adjacent to L pad. “A Geoprobe rig on rig mats will be used to drill two boreholes 50 feet off the western edge” of the pad, with boreholes drilled to 60 feet and sampling at standard geotechnical intervals. An additional three boreholes may be drilled, the division said, depending on soil conditions found in the first two holes.
Future plans for L pad include an expansion and new wells, the division said, and the purpose of the project, expected to start Aug. 15, is to determine the exact location of the future wells.
The holes will be backfilled with drill cuttings and locally available gravel up to the top 2 feet, “which will be backfilled with either bentonite or sand,” the division said.
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