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Corps reviewing 404 application for GMT1 Conoco plan calls for 2-season construction work beginning 4th quarter 2015, with first production in 4th quarter 2017 Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has a ConocoPhillips application for the discharge of dredged and/or fill materials into waters of the United States at the Greater Mooses Tooth 1 project out for public comment.
Comments are due on the application, under section 404 of the Clean Water Act, by Oct. 30.
GMT1 is one of the discoveries announced in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska by ConocoPhillips Alaska predecessor Phillips Alaska in May 2001 from drilling the company had done in the previous two seasons. The NPR-A discoveries included: Spark No. 1 and Spark No. 1A, Moose’s Tooth C, Lookout No. 1, Rendezvous A and Rendezvous No. 2.
GMT1 was originally proposed for development as Lookout/CD-6, but the name and scope were changed after the U.S. Bureau of Land Management formed the Greater Mooses Tooth unit in 2008.
The Corps said previous developments in the area, Colville Delta 1 through CD-5, are within the reservoir of the Colville River unit. GMT1 was renamed after it was determined to be within the newly established Greater Mooses Tooth unit, the Corps said. Two-year schedule The Corps said the two-year construction schedule would begin with ice road construction in the fourth quarter of 2015, followed by gravel mining, construction of gravel road and pad, bridge piers substructure and superstructure in the first quarter of 2016. Ice road construction for the second season of work would begin in the fourth quarter of 2016, followed by installation of vertical support members, pipelines, power and telecom cable and facilities in the first quarter of 2017 and first production in the fourth quarter of 2017.
The GMT1 drill site will be accessed by a 7.7-mile access road from the CD-5 access road, with three vehicle pullouts. The 11.8-acre drill pad will have capacity for 33 wells. Three-phase hydrocarbons (oil, gas and water) would be taken to the Alpine Central Processing Facility for processing and sales-quality crude oil would then go by the existing Alpine sales oil pipeline and Kuparuk pipeline to the trans-Alaska oil pipeline for shipment to market.
Lean gas and Kuparuk-supplied seawater would be piped to the new drill site from CD-1 for injection into the reservoir. The Corps said the GMT1 drill site would be operated and maintained by staff from the Alpine Central Processing Facility and supported using infrastructure at CD-1.
Draft SEIS out for GMT1 Production began from the Alpine CD-1 drill site in 2000 and from the CD-2 drill site in 2001.
The final environmental impact statement for the five proposed Alpine satellites (CD-3 through CD-7) was issued in 2004 and BLM’s record of decision for CD-6 and CD-7, now GMT1 and GMT2, the developments on public lands managed by BLM, was issued in November 2004.
BLM issued the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska Final Integrated Activity Plan/Environmental Impact Statement in 2012, followed by a record of decision in 2013, addressing development within the entire NPR-A including the Greater Mooses Tooth unit.
A supplemental EIS for the GMT1 development is in draft form.
ConocoPhillips Alaska President Trond-Erik Johansen told the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce in May that Greater Mooses Tooth 1 development is expected to cost some $900 million with first oil in late 2017 and production peaking at some 30,000 bpd.
Although 33 wells are possible from the GMT1 pad, eight wells, three producers and five water/miscible gas injectors, are planned, with the potential for additional wells.
ConocoPhillips applied for development permits in July 2013 and project approval is targeted for the end of the year, based on permit approval.
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