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Oooguruk focused on facilities, workovers New drilling deferred to completion of partial gas processing to mitigate gas constraints, reduce costs from Kuparuk River CPF-3 Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Eni US Operating Co. has submitted its 15th plan of development for the Oooguruk unit on the North Slope to the Alaska Division of Oil and Gas. The 15th POD covers Oct. 1, 2021, through Sept. 30, 2022. The submittal also includes a summary of plans for the 14th POD, Oct. 1, 2020, through Sept. 30, 2021, and work accomplished or planned before the end of that POD.
Eni took over as operator at Oooguruk from Caelus Natural Resources Alaska effective Aug. 1, 2019, Eni said. The unit was formed in 2003 and presently consists of 16 state leases, some 35,271 acres, with cumulative production from three participating areas through May totaling 43.8 million barrels of oil, and Oooguruk production averaging 7,020 barrels per day from January through May 31 of this year.
Eni said the automatic 10-year contraction (to just areas under production) for Oooguruk has been revised by the Department of Natural Resources, delaying that date to Sept. 30, 2022.
14th POD Eni said that during the 14th POD “capital investment and development activities continued to be affected by the low crude oil prices, lack of demand for oil, and the logistical interference of the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in budget cuts, production curtailments and project deferrals.”
In the three participating areas at Oooguruk - the Oooguruk Nuiqsut PA, Oooguruk Kuparuk PA and Oooguruk Torok PA - there are 37 development wells and a disposal well. There are also four well completions outside of existing Oooguruk PAs, two appraisal wells (one plugged and abandoned), a Kuparuk test and an exploration well, Sikumi 1 (P&A).
Eni said active development wells include 23 oil producers (18 Nuiqsut, three Kuparuk and two Torok), 13 injectors (10 Nuiqsut, two Kuparuk and one Torok) and the one disposal well, with the producers - with one exception - requiring gas lift to produce, limited to some 15 million cubic feet per day.
There is also some 10 million cfpd in formation gas.
The back-out cost at Kuparuk (Oooguruk crude is processed at Kuparuk’s Central Processing Facility 3) is significant, Eni said, describing KRU as “primarily constrained by gas compression capacity,” so KRU fluid production is backed out when then high total gas oil ratio Oooguruk unit fluids enter the system.
The high gas lift rate and Oooguruk formation gas increase flowline pressure, and that, combined with KRU back-out, means all Oooguruk wells cannot be produced at the same time using gas lift. During 2020, an average of 12 of the producing 23 Oooguruk wells were on line with total gas oil ratio ranking typically determining which wells are produced, the company said.
Eni discussed plans for additional wells at only one of the PAs, Nuiqsut. The company said future development plans include 12 additional Nuiqsut PA wells, with eight from available well slots and four from reclaimed well slots.
The company said it had planned several workovers “to recomplete shut-in or low performing wells prior to drilling planned new wells in 2021” in the 14th POD but those plans have been deferred due to low crude oil prices, lack of demand for oil and COVID-19 logistical interference.
The company did do a number of rigless well interventions and maintenance operations.
15th POD proposed operations Eni said routine operations during the 14th POD included general maintenance and replacement of critical oil, water and gas piping and valves, along with field-wide maintenance and routine maintenance on the three power generation turbines and two gas injection compressors at the onshore Oooguruk Tie-in Pad. Cathodic protections inspections were completed on the sub-sea production flowline from the offshore Oooguruk Drill Site to the tie-in pad, along with a mandatory U.S. Department of Transportation hydrotest.
In addition to some minor capital projects, major capital projects included finalizing commissioning and startup of the seawater injection system booster pump upgrade at the drill site.
An engineering feasibility study was completed for 20 million standard cubic feet per day partial gas procession at the tie-in “to mitigate gas processing constraints and reduce associated costs from KRU CPF-3.” That project received final Eni approval with detailed engineering beginning in June and startup forecast for 2023.
During the 14th POD Eni completed an electrical power sharing feasibility study “to consider interconnecting the Oooguruk and Nikaitchuq power generation system to allow a more robust and efficient power system sharing between the two development projects,” with financial approval in process and startup forecast for 2023, once the project is approved.
15th POD proposed operations Eni said there will be no significant maintenance turnaround at Oooguruk during the 15th POD.
A number of minor capital projects are being evaluated.
Major capital projects include the partial gas processing project, with engineering and fabrication efforts planned to install 20 million cfpd of on-site gas processing and compression at the tie-in pad, “to mitigate gas processing constraints and reduce associated costs from CPF-3,” with project startup scheduled for 2023.
Eni said it expects financial approval for the electrical power sharing project, with detailed design and fabrication in this POD period and, once the project is approved, startup scheduled for 2023.
Two rig workovers are planned for the 15th POD with drilling activities forecast to be reactivated after 2025 based on maturity of the partial gas processing project.
A table or proposed drilling activity shows: two wells in 2025; three wells in 2026; three wells in 2027; and two extended reach wells possible in 2028.
About those wells, Eni said it is evaluating two appraisal wells targeting the northern Nuiqsut reservoir to test the productivity and oil quality in leases northeast of existing participating areas. The wells, designated ERD-N01 and ERD-N02, are Eni said, within the proven drilling radius, some 22,000 feet from the drilling island.
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