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Numerous wells under discussion but…. Pioneer, Talisman’s FEX and maybe ConocoPhillips and Anadarko plan exploration drilling on Alaska’s North Slope
Some call the upcoming drilling season the lull before the storm on Alaska’s North Slope with expectations that Pioneer Natural Resources and Kerr-McGee will sanction their developments at Oooguruk and Nikaitchuq, respectively, by the end of the year.
The demand for drilling rigs is starting to get tight, with some competition coming from producers increasing in-field drilling, as well as from companies looking to contract rigs for this season and for the following winter drilling season, 2006-07.
The big unknown for this winter is ConocoPhillips, the most active explorer on the North Slope to date – or at least the company that spends the most money on exploration. ConocoPhillips has been very quiet about its plans to operate any exploration wells in the winter of 2005-06, although it has done some well site staking in the national Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The company was looking at drilling a well at its Iapetus prospect northwest of the Alpine field but told the Alaska Division of Oil and Gas in July that it had canceled those plans. Pioneer has several wells in works With the new Arctic Fox No. 1 drilling rig currently under construction by JV partners Doyon Drilling and Akita Drilling and due to arrive this winter for use on Pioneer Natural Resources’ North Slope leases, Pioneer is talking about drilling several exploration wells this winter, including Hemi Springs State No. 2 and Hailstorm 1 in the proposed Storms unit, a state official said.
In unit paperwork filed with the State of Alaska, a Hailstorm prospect is identified on lease ADL 390472, in section 2 of township 9 north, range 13 east, Umiat Meridian. Pioneer told the state the first Storms exploration well would be on that lease; the second would be on ADL 389096, ADL 389097 or ADL 390492. Farming in at Antigua and Cronus In a recent pre-application meeting with the state Pioneer also discussed drilling exploration wells at Antigua and Cronus, both North Slope prospects where Pioneer said it had a farm-in agreement with leaseholder ConocoPhillips.
In August 2004, ConocoPhillips notified state regulators that it planned to drill “one or more” Antigua wells south of its Kuparuk River unit last winter. Those plans fell through, presumably because its Alaska projects were not competitive with other opportunities around the world. The four wells, ConocoPhillips said, would require ice pads and 20 miles-plus of ice roads.
Antigua No. 1 is in township 10 north range 10 east, Umiat Meridian; Antigua No. 2 is in T9N-R11E, UM; Antigua No. 3 is in T9N-R10E, UM; and Antigua No. 4 is in T9N-R10E, UM.
In July, ConocoPhillips filed a two-lease exploration unit application with the state for Cronus prospect (just west of Meltwater) and said it would drill an exploration well this winter.
Pioneer did not give the state any specifics in its pre-application meeting but in its July 27 unit application to the state ConocoPhillips said the Cronus well would be drilled on state lease ADL 389161 to depths sufficient to penetrate the Albian Torok sand interval correlative to that found in the Nanuk No. 1 well between 6,140 feet to 6,300 feet measured depth, or 6,100 feet to 6,300 feet subsea true vertical depth, whichever is less. (That accumulation is being developed as an Alpine satellite, with production planned to begin at the end of 2006 from both Nanuq and Kuparuk sands.)
ConocoPhillips told the state that the Cronus unit “encompasses all or part of a potentially oil-bearing reservoir in the Albian Torok formation.”
One of a group of exploration prospects ConocoPhillips was looking at west of Kuparuk early in the decade the Cronus prospect was originally part of the larger SE Delta exploration unit approved by the state in 2001 and eventually dissolved because ConocoPhillips did not meet a work commitment to drill the Cronus well by June 2002. Anadarko’s plans uncertain Anadarko Petroleum told state officials in a recent pre-application meeting that it is looking at drilling its Ayak oil prospect in the old Slugger unit south of Badami and near the company’s Jacob’s Ladder oil prospect this winter — and possibly a second well next winter. But drilling could depend on a partnership deal coming together for Anadarko. (See Anadarko’s Alaska update on page 1 of this issue.)Eni wells for next year Three of the wells initially under discussion as possibilities for this winter were ENI Petroleum’s at its proposed Rock Flour unit, but the company told the state in its unit plan this fall that those wells will be drilled next winter, not this coming winter.FEX drilling two in NPR-A Two companies are talking about drilling exploration wells in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska this winter – ConocoPhillips and Talisman Energy’s wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, Fortuna Exploration, which has changed its name to FEX L.P. In a July 28 conference call, Talisman Energy executives said the Calgary-based independent would be drilling two exploration wells in NPR-A this winter, as opposed to a single well previously mentioned by company executives.
On Sept. 26, the State of Alaska began its Alaska Coastal Management Program consistency review of FEX’s exploration drilling project in Northwest NPR-A, a three-year program in which FEX is looking at drilling up to eight exploration wells. (One of the proposed drill sites — the Aklaq-1 site — lies within the statutorily defined coastal zone and therefore requires review under ACMP.)
The company has already identified 11 possible locations for those wells, BLM records show.
Supplies and equipment were barged to Cape Simpson from West Dock this past summer. Mobilization via low-pressure vehicles (LPVs) from Barrow, Cape Simpson, Deadhorse and possibly Inigok to the drill sites will proceed when tundra travel conditions allow. ConocoPhillips stakes near Kokoda ConocoPhillips has staked locations for four wells near its NPR-A Kokoda prospect where it drilled last winter – Nugget 2, Noatak 2, Hornet 1 and 2 — and it recently filed a notice of staking with the Bureau of Land Management for the Aviullaavik 1 and 2, which lie between the notice of stakings for FEX’s wells Aklaq 2 and Aklakyaaq 1. Word on the street is that the deal on the rig ConocoPhillips was hoping to use in NPR-A fell through.
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