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Focus production maintenance, facilities
Hilcorp submits development plans for oil and gas fields online since the 1960s: McArthur River, Middle Ground Shoal, Trading Bay Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Hilcorp Alaska has submitted annual plans of development for three oil and gas fields which have been producing from Cook Inlet platforms since the 1960s: the Middle Ground Shoal field in the unit of the same name and the Trading Bay and McArthur River fields in the Trading Bay unit.
Maintaining and enhancing production is the stated goal for these fields, but there is also a good deal of facilities work planned for the plan period of July 1 through June 30, 2021.
Middle Ground Shoal Hilcorp produced 459,000 barrels of oil and 91.074 million cubic feet of natural gas from Middle Ground Shoal at platforms A and C in Cook Inlet in calendar year 2019. There are four platforms in the unit, A, C, Baker and Dillon; only the A and C platforms are currently producing.
The company said it performed multiple workover operations not anticipated when it submitted the 2019-20 plan.
On the facilities side, Hilcorp completed diver tactile inspections at Platform A and inspection and stabilization of gas pipeline where needed. At Baker Platform the company removed three subsea cathodic protection anode sleds for inspection and recabling - all work anticipated in the 2019-20 plan.
The company also installed galvanic anode sleds on A1 and B1 pipelines traveling from onshore to Platform A; replaced cathodic protection cable between beach and onshore facility due to vandalism; and performed nearshore visual and nondestructive testing inspections between the beach and tidal flats of A1 and B1 pipelines on extremely low tide.
For 2020, Hilcorp plans to delineate underlying oil or gas reservoirs and said it is “continuing to pursue rate adding opportunities off both A and C platforms. If economic hurdles are met, Hilcorp plans to update completion designs to minimize scale formation, squeeze water producing intervals, add perforations, clean out scale in producer/injection wells, and repair damaged wells.”
The company said it is also looking at drilling several rotary wells and some coil tubing wells and is evaluating all subsurface work conducted over the past two years “for potential development scenarios from Platforms A, C, and Baker. This includes rotary infill drill locations, Coil Tubing Sidetracks, and step out exploration tests.”
Facilities work planned includes leg wrap inspection/repair at Platform A; subsea flange inspection at Platform A; and a “close interval survey on A1 and B1 pipelines.”
On the Baker Platform, Hilcorp said it will clean and temporarily abandon in place B gas pipeline and inspect subsea platform brace joints critical to the structure’s integrity.
On the Dillon Platform, the company will clean and temporarily abandon in place A gas pipeline.
McArthur River Hilcorp produced 1.7 million barrels of oil and 8.347 billion cubic feet of natural gas from the McArthur River field in calendar year 2019. The field is Cook Inlet’s largest oil producer.
The company did no grassroots drilling at the field but performed one workover operation.
On the facilities side, Hilcorp installed the fin fan cooler on the Grayling Platform west centaur gas lift compressor and replaced the north crane on the Steelhead Platform.
Hilcorp said long-range proposed development at McArthur River includes “plans to delineate all underlying oil or gas reservoirs into production, and maintain and enhance production once established.”
The company will continue evaluating existing completions for rig workover opportunities “to optimize the drawdown and lift mechanisms at McArthur River Field wells,” and continue working on the Grayling gas sands field study to identify additional subsurface opportunities.
Workover operations are planned on two wells on the Dolly Varden Platform, with additional electronic submersible pump repairs or replacements on “all McArthur River Field platforms” as needed.
Facilities work includes doing repairs or replacing equipment as needed on the Dolly Varden Platform.
On the Grayling Platform, an inline inspection will be performed on the gas pipeline and other repairs or replacements as needed.
No major facility upgrades are planned for the King Salmon Platform or the Steelhead Platform, but repairs or replacement equipment will be installed as needed.
Cathodic protection repair on the rectifier is planned for the Trading Bay Production Facility.
Trading Bay Hilcorp produced 506,800 barrels of oil and 1.145 billion cubic feet of natural gas from the Monopod Platform at the Trading Bay field in calendar year 2019.
The company drilled the A-10RD to evaluate the Hemlock and Tyonek G-zone sands, but the well was a dry hole and was not completed. It also performed multiple workover operations.
On the facility side, Hilcorp completed its anticipated oil pipeline reroute project.
In early 2019 corrosion damage was discovered on the oil pipeline riser at the Monopod Platform and remediation was required. The work lasted seven weeks, with the platform shut-in for 15 days and the A-10RD drilling operation delayed.
For 2020-21 Hilcorp said it is working on a Trading Bay field study “to identify additional rig workover, rotary sidetrack, perforation adds, and waterflood optimization opportunities.”
Workover operations are planned on the A-15RD2 to restore production from the Hemlock zone in the McArthur River field, and electronic submersible pump repairs or replacement will be done as needed.
Facilities work planned includes inline inspections on oil and gas pipelines at the Monopod Platform, regulatory inspections as required and repairs or replacements as needed to support ongoing drilling and production activities.
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