Alpine success rate 99 percent

by The Associated Press

Drilling crews aced development drilling at Phillips Alaska Inc.’s Alpine oil field, hitting 99 percent of their targets, said Mark Ireland, Phillips’ subsurface development manager for the western North Slope.

The reservoir 7,000 feet below the North Slope presented a challenge to drilling crews.

“The pay sands in Alpine are thinner compared to Prudhoe Bay,” said Dawn Patience of Phillips. “It’s just a credit to the Alpine team.”

Although production began five months behind schedule on Nov. 15, output is near the 60,000 barrel a day level managers expected for the first week of January. The field averaged 54,848 barrels a day in December according to Department of Revenue production figures.

DNR reported a high of 79,516 barrels a day on Dec. 30 and a low of 37,648 barrels a day on Dec. 17. Production dropped to 31,123 barrels a day on Jan. 8 but it recovered to 78,349 barrels a day on Jan. 9.

Phillips attributed the fluctuation in output to routine startup phase cutbacks made so the company could adjust equipment.

Alpine should have no problems delivering the anticipated 80,000 barrels a day once the startup phase is complete, Patience said.