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September ANS output at 493,540 bpd Majority of North Slope production areas up substantially from August; in Cook Inlet, August production down 5.5% from July KRISTEN NELSON Petroleum News
Alaska North Slope crude oil production averaged 493,540 barrels per day in September, up 18 percent from an August average of 418,127 bpd.
Overall September production remained relatively level with an upward trend, staying well above 400,000 bpd all month. By comparison, August production took a dramatic dip late in the month, dropping well below 200,000 bpd as Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. had its second planned maintenance shutdown of the summer Aug. 21-22. ANS volumes began to drop prior to the shutdown and only got back to pre-shutdown levels Aug. 29.
ANS information for September comes from the Alaska Department of Revenue’s Tax Division which reports North Slope oil production consolidated by major production centers and provides daily production and monthly averages. More detailed data, including Cook Inlet and individual North Slope fields and pools, is reported by the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission on a month-delay basis.
Prudhoe, Endicott, Lisburne The largest September-over-August production increases were at BP Exploration (Alaska)-operated Prudhoe Bay, Endicott and Lisburne. Lisburne is part of the greater Prudhoe Bay area.
Prudhoe had the largest month-over-month per barrel increase, averaging 275,973 bpd in September, up 65,031 bpd from a September average of 210,942 bpd, a 30.1 percent increase.
As reported by Revenue, Prudhoe production includes satellite production from Aurora, Borealis, Midnight Sun, Orion and Polaris, as well as production from the Hilcorp Alaska-operated Milne Point and Northstar fields.
AOGCC figures for August show Milne Point averaged 19,013 bpd, down 0.3 percent from a July average of 19,063 bpd, while Northstar production averaged 6,100 bpd in August, down 6.3 percent from a July average of 6,513 bpd.
Endicott averaged 9,133 bpd in September, up 23 percent, 1,710 bpd, from an August average of 7,423 bpd. As reported by Revenue, Endicott volumes include satellite production from Eider and Minke, and production from the Savant Alaska-operated Badami field.
AOGCC figures for August show Badami averaged 828 bpd, down 11.2 percent, 104 bpd, from a July average of 932 bpd.
Lisburne production averaged 20,420 bpd in September, up 20.5 percent, 3,471 bpd, from an August average of 16,949 bpd. Lisburne figures include volumes from Point McIntyre, Niakuk and Raven.
Alpine up, Kuparuk down September production from the ConocoPhillips Alaska-operated Alpine field averaged 46,417 bpd, up 14.6 percent, 5,911 bpd, from an August average of 40,506 bpd. Alpine production includes satellite production from Fiord, Nanuq and Qannik.
The only September-over-August ANS production drop was at the ConocoPhillips-operated Kuparuk River field, which averaged 141,597 bpd in September, down 0.5 percent, 710 bpd, from an August average of 142,307 bpd. Kuparuk River production as reported by Revenue includes satellite production from Meltwater, Tabasco and Tarn, as well as from the Eni-operated Nikaitchuq field and the Caelus Alaska-operated Oooguruk field.
AOGCC data for August shows Nikaitchuq averaged 23,114 bpd in that month, down 5.6 percent from a July average of 24,485 bpd while Oooguruk averaged 9,988 bpd in August, down 13.2 percent from a July average of 11,503. AOGCC data also shows that in August Kuparuk and its satellites, excluding Nikaitchuq and Oooguruk, averaged 110,128 bpd, down marginally from a July average of 110,184 bpd.
Cook Inlet down, July to August Cook Inlet crude oil production averaged 17,569 bpd in August, the latest month for which AOGCC data is available for the basin, down 5.5 percent from a July average of 18,585 bpd.
Of eight producing oil fields in Cook Inlet, seven had month-over-month reductions in volume.
The largest percentage drop, 11.2 percent, was at the Cook Inlet Energy-operated Redoubt Shoal field, which averaged 854 bpd in August, down 108 bpd from a July average of 963 bpd.
Cook Inlet’s largest field, Hilcorp Alaska-operated McArthur River, dropped 9.4 percent, averaging 5,390 bpd in August, down 561 bpd from a July average of 5,951 bpd.
Hilcorp-operated Trading Bay averaged 3,006 bpd in August, down 8 percent, 262 bpd, from a July average of 3,268 bpd.
West McArthur River, operated by Cook Inlet Energy, averaged 1,258 bpd in August, down 3.2 percent, 42 bpd, from a July average of 1,300 bpd.
Hilcorp-operated Beaver Creek, the basin’s smallest producing oil field, averaged 113 bpd in August, down 3.1 percent from a July average of 117 bpd.
Hilcorp’s Swanson River field averaged 2,507 bpd in August, down 1.7 percent from a July average of 2,551 bpd.
Granite Point, also Hilcorp operated, averaged 2,495 bpd in August, down 0.6 percent from a July average of 2,511 bpd.
Middle Ground Shoal, which Hilcorp recently acquired from XTO Energy, averaged 1,944 bpd in August, up 1 percent, 20 bpd, from a July average of 1,924 bpd.
ANS crude oil production peaked in 1988 at 2.1 million bpd; Cook Inlet crude oil production peaked in 1970 at more than 227,000 bpd.
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