North Slope Pikka permitting progressing

Kay Cashman

Petroleum News

Oil Search continues to file paperwork with regulatory and leasing agencies for its Nanushuk project in the Pikka unit, including a Feb. 11 request to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Oil and Gas for a 35-year easement for a proposed tie-in pad, which will be used to connect the project pipeline infrastructure to existing North Slope facilities.

The tie-in pad easement will be authorized under AS 38.05.850, the division said March 17 in its 30-day notice, which provides the public an opportunity to comment by 4:30 p.m. Alaska Standard Time April 17.

The Nanushuk development will target oil in the Nanushuk and Alpine C reservoirs and is expected to produce 130,000-135,000 barrels per day at its peak, which is more than one-fourth of what is currently flowing down the 800-mile trans-Alaska oil pipeline from the North Slope.

The project is approximately 52 miles west of Deadhorse and, at its closest point, about 7 miles northeast of the community of Nuiqsut and southeast of the East Channel of the Colville River on Oil Search-operated state of Alaska and Arctic Slope Regional Corp. oil and gas leases. It will include construction of three drill sites, the Nanushuk processing facility pad, the Nanushuk operations pad, the tie-in pad, infield pipelines, the sales oil pipeline, access roads, a grind and inject facility at one of the drill sites, a boat ramp and a potable water system.

The Feb. 11 permit application asks for easement authorization for the tie-in pad on ADL 421348.

The tie-in pad will be near the northeast corner of the existing Kuparuk Central Processing Facility 2, or CPF2, in the Kuparuk River unit.

The tie-in pad will provide access to existing power infrastructure, a telecom tower, and space for additional equipment during development and production of the Nanushuk project.

Oil Search’s application said tie-in pad infrastructure will include:

* Electrical and instrumentation.

* Metering and leak detection.

* Booster pump.

* Pig launcher/receiver.

Pad dimensions will be 260 feet by 150 feet, encompassing 0.90 acres.

The total requested easement includes the pad plus an easement buffer around the pad with variable dimensions, extending between 30 and 75 feet from the pad and involving a total of 2.2 acres.

- KAY CASHMAN