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ANS crude production down 3% in March Drop in production led by 4.8% drop at Prudhoe Bay; Kuparuk River down 1.5%; Cook Inlet up 9% in February over January Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Alaska North Slope crude oil production was down 2.98 percent in March, averaging 591,066 barrels per day, a drop of 18,150 bpd from a February average of 620,607 bpd. The Cook Inlet basin, while averaging just 11,391 bpd in February, the latest month for which data is available, is up 9.1 percent over January.
The biggest drop in ANS production was at Prudhoe Bay, operated by BP Exploration (Alaska), which averaged 335,613 bpd in March, down 17,052 bpd or 4.8 percent, compared to 352,665 bpd in February. Prudhoe Bay production includes satellites at Aurora, Borealis, Midnight Sun, Orion and Polaris, as well as the separate Milne Point and Northstar fields. Milne Point and Northstar are both operated by BP.
ANS volumes are from the Alaska Department of Revenue’s Tax Division, which reports oil production only by major production centers and provides daily production and monthly averages. Cook Inlet production, reported by the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, or AOGCC, is available by pool and field, but only on a month delay basis.
Kuparuk also down slightly Production also declined at the ConocoPhillips Alaska-operated Kuparuk River field, averaging 132,792 bpd in March, down 1.53 percent from 134,851 bpd in February. Kuparuk includes satellites at Meltwater, Tabasco and Tarn, along with viscous West Sak production, and volumes from the separate Oooguruk and Nikaitchuq fields.
AOGCC data for Nikaitchuq, operated by Eni Petroleum US, shows the field averaged 8,032 bpd in February, up 9.8 percent from 7,315 bpd in January. AOGCC data for Oooguruk, operated by Pioneer Natural Resources Alaska, shows average production of 5,844 bpd in February, down 4.45 percent from an average of 6,116 bpd in January.
Other fields up slightly Production from the BP-operated Lisburne field averaged 33,939 bpd in March, up 1.73 percent from a February average of 33,362 bpd. Lisburne includes Point McIntyre and Niakuk production.
The ConocoPhillips-operated Alpine field averaged 77,053 bpd in March, up 0.47 percent from a February average of 76,690 bpd. Alpine includes satellite production at Fiord, Nanuq and Qannik.
The BP-operated Endicott field averaged 11,669 bpd in March, up 0.18 percent from a February average of 11,648. Endicott production includes the Savant Alaska-operated Badami field. The most recent data for Badami, from AOGCC, shows 1,107 bpd in February, up 6.3 percent from 1,041 bpd in January.
Cook Inlet production up AOGCC data for Cook Inlet show the basin’s crude oil production averaged 11,391 bpd in February, up 9.1 percent from a January average of 10,441 bpd.
Cook Inlet producing fields include Beaver Creek, Granite Point, McArthur River, Middle Ground Shoal, Redoubt Shoal, Swanson River, Trading Bay and West McArthur River. Granite Point at 2,427 bpd, McArthur River at 4,541 bpd and Middle Ground Shoal at 2,412 bpd are the only Cook Inlet fields with production above 1,000 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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