Cook Inlet activity wrap

Kay Cashman

Petroleum News

It's no surprise that the latest Cook Inlet Activity Map from Alaska's Division of Oil and Gas strongly features Hilcorp, one of the most active oil and gas companies in the Cook Inlet basin.

(See map in the online issue PDF)

One flag on the map highlights Hilcorp receiving approval from the Alaska Department of Natural Resources' Division of Oil and Gas for construction of the Diamond Pad at the Pretty Creek Unit. The new pad gives Hilcorp access to drill up to five wells on undeveloped leases.

The Diamond Pad is some nine miles northeast of the Beluga Airport on the west side of Cook Inlet.

The project includes the new gravel pad, a pig launching pad, access road and pipeline. The pad, at the northern edge of the unit, will connect to the existing Beluga Road. All the work should be completed by early October. (See story in the May 18 issue of Petroleum News.)

Another flag on the map points to Hilcorp purchasing the North Fork Unit and North Fork Pipeline from Vision Resources and Anchor Point Energy with plans to explore for additional gas in the unit.

The map also notes Hilcorp's application to expand the Seaview Unit to include its Whiskey Gulch gas discovery

where Hilcorp drilled 20 stratigraphic test wells and three exploratory gas wells. (See Seaview expansion stories in the Aug. 24 and July 13 issues of Petroleum News.)

Also flagged is Hilcorp affiliate Harvest Alaska's agreement to purchase the Kenai LNG Terminal in Nikiski and convert it for regasification to import LNG. Harvest plans to begin supplying natural gas to uthcentral Alaska via Kenai as early as 2026 with full-scale operations beginning as early as 2028.

Also flagged are Hilcorp's plans to drill two wells from newly acquired leases and, if drilling is successful, bring the Sterling gas field back into production. Production is planned to come from the Sterling, Beluga, and Tyonek undefined gas pools.

Another active Cook Inlet company is HEX Cook Inlet's Furie Operating Alaska. It is flagged as receiving royalty modification approval in February enabling Fury to bring on two new gas wells and work over the KLU A-2A well to return production.

On July 24, Furie brought online its two new gas wells in the Kitchen Lights unit. The wells are performing as designed at more than 3 million cubic feet per day. (See story in the Aug. 3 issue of Petroleum News.)

Other flagged tidbits on the Cook Inlet Activity Map include mention of Explor Geoscience USA receiving the go-ahead to conduct a 2D seismic survey in Western Cook Inlet, east of the Beluga River and west of the Susitna River, and the Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys release of Kenai Loop 3D on July 9. The 3D is available for purchase at:

https://dggs.alaska.gov/gmc/seismic-order.html.

--KAY CASHMAN