Furie asks P&A status for suspended wells

Request filed with AOGCC based on work already done on 3 Kitchen Lights exploration wells; above seabed drill pipe the issue

Kristen Nelson

Petroleum News

Furie Operating Alaska, acquired by HEX Cook Inlet out of bankruptcy effective July 1, has applied to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to permanently reclassify from suspended to abandoned status three offshore exploration wells at its Kitchen Lights unit in Cook Inlet - KLU 1, KLU 1A and KLU 4.

The commission issued a public notice on the applications and scheduled a hearing, set to be held telephonically due to COVID-19, for Dec. 23 at 10 a.m. with a call-in number of 1-800-315-6338, code 14331.

In its notice of public hearing the commission said Furie requested the status change without any further well work. The commission said the wells all have structural pipe extending 15 feet above the seabed floor.

Because its regulations require wellhead and equipment and casing to be removed to a depth of at least 5 feet below the mudline, the commission that that, on its own motion, it was scheduling the hearing to consider the request.

Furie’s application

The company said it was requesting a variance to regulations for offshore location clearance.

The wells have 15 feet of 30-inch casing above the seafloor.

Water depths at the wells vary: 192 feet for KLU 4, 203 feet for KLU 1 and to 212 feet for KLU 2A.

The company provided overviews of the abandonment operations for each of the wells, and said the documents illustrate the wellbores have been properly plugged and abandoned in accordance with the commission’s regulations.

Furie said environmental sampling during the exploratory drilling operations and biological assessments in the project area “show no sediments present, supporting minimal sea life.”

There are boulders on the seafloor, identified in bathymetry surveys, as tall or taller than the casing stubs, the company said, negating potential navigational hazards such as anchor snags.

“Extreme tides in the Cook Inlet present unique challenges and potential risks to any surface or subsea operation,” Furie said, and it “believes the human safety risk associated cutting off the remaining 15 feet of casing stub is high and not commensurate with the operational outcome.” Furie said the wells have 30-inch casing caps which only enhance “the integrity of the abandoned wellbore.”

Drilling history

Furie included a memorandum from Jacobs Engineering Group on the environmental sampling conducted prior to, during and after drilling. Jacobs noted unsuccessful attempts to retrieve sediments and said only cobbles were retrieved, noting that “sampling devices showed wear from contacting either bedrock or large cobbles.” In describing conditions at the KLU 1 site, Jacobs said the seafloor at that “location was found to be predominately rocks and cobbles. Pockets of sediment suitable for sample collection were not found despite attempts across the 810,000 square meter area.”

Discussing what it would take to obtain sediments, Jacobs said it would require either “larger sampling devices or collection by diver or underwater rovers. Each of these alternatives would require a considerable amount of time, money and, in the case of diver-collected sediment, safety risks to coordinate and obtain samples. Based on what was found during this effort, there is no guarantee that sediment could be obtained.”

Kitchen Lights produces from the Julius R natural gas platform.

As of October, the most recent month for which AOGCC has production data posted, there were four wells in production, all producing from the Beluga formation. The field averaged 14,114 thousand cubic feet of natural gas per day in October.