Icewine exploration plan approved

Accumulate Energy Alaska Inc. has received approval for its upcoming Icewine exploration program planned for the central North Slope near the Dalton Highway.

The state Division of Oil and Gas recently approved a plan of operations for the one-to-two well exploration program, which is scheduled to begin during the current winter drilling season and could potentially continue through to the following winter season.

The program calls for Accumulate Energy to drill the 11,200-foot Icewine No. 2 vertical well to a target in the HRZ shale this winter, followed by hydraulic stimulation and flow-back testing “to evaluate reservoir production characteristics of the HRZ,” according to recent filings. If warranted, a third phase would include “sidetracking, deepening the well or drilling a lateral horizontal leg to further evaluate targeted horizons.” The horizontal lateral would be permitted as a separate exploration well, Icewine No. 2H. The company expects that those activities, if undertaken, would occur during the 2017-18 season.

Accumulate Energy intends to use the existing Franklin Bluffs Pad for the project. The proposed Icewine No. 2 well would be located about 50 feet west of the Icewine No. 1 well that the company plugged and abandoned in January 2016. The project was designed to use existing gravel pads in the area and requires no additional gravel placement.

The current plan of operations covers four leases in the area - ADL 392298, ADL 392785, ADL 393133 and ADL 393078. A fifth lease, ADL 392301, was considered under a previous plan of operations for the project. Accumulate Energy already has a $100,000 bond for its activities on ADL 392301 and must file either four similar bonds for the remaining leases or a single $500,000 bond for its entire Alaska program.

The 88 Energy subsidiary Accumulate Energy Alaska and joint venture partner Burgundy Xploration LLC were the high bidders on some 142,560 acres in a recent state lease sale, bringing their combined holdings on the North Slope to approximately 690,000 acres.

- ERIC LIDJI