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New Happy Valley pad
Hilcorp building gravel pad, road, drilling grassroots wells to advance natural gas development
Kay Cashman Petroleum News
On Nov. 21, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources; Division of Oil and Gas approved Hilcorp Alaska's Happy Valley Middle Pad and Road Natural Gas Exploration Project lease plan of operations.
Hilcorp submitted the proposed plan of operations to the division on Sept. 3.
The project is approximately 13 miles northeast of Anchor Point and five miles east of the Sterling Highway.
Hilcorp plans to build a new 300-by-400-foot gravel pad and a 26-foot-wide, 3-mile-long gravel access road; drill two grassroots wells; and install associated infrastructure, which is anticipated to include the following: gas flowlines, electrical instrumentation, line heaters, separators, compressors, a communication tower, well cellars, and conductors.
The wells will be drilled from the new Happy Valley Middle Pad, which will be located on State land. One freshwater well will also be drilled to support drilling operations. The project is intended to advance the ongoing development of natural gas resources in the surrounding region.
Project schedule Vegetation clearing and grubbing of the project area is expected to begin on Dec. 1 and end on Jan. 15, 2026.
Installation of the pad and road is anticipated to start on Jan. 15 and finish on March 15.
Installation of cellars and conductors, water well, mobilize drilling equipment, begin drilling and well testing is expected to start on March 15 and end on June 15.
Finally, installation of facility piping, electrical instrumentation, and other
infrastructure as needed is anticipated to begin June 15 and finish on July 15.
Well sites and buildings A 300-by-400-foot gravel pad will be constructed at the end of the gravel access road to support the drilling of up to two natural gas wells and one freshwater well. Hilcorp may install well houses to facilitate production facilities on the pad.
The flowlines and instrumentation/electrical cables will be installed below grade.
All other facilities and equipment Hilcorp Rig 169 or Rig 147 will be used for drilling and well completion activities.
Major equipment components include the following: Drill rig and pipe, boilers, mud tanks, mud pumps, rig generator, work trailers for supervisory staff and support staff, and light plants.
Hilcorp may use additional support equipment for infrastructure installation, which may include an excavator, mini excavator, super sucker, zoom boom, and a weld truck.
Drilling will be a 24-hour operation, with a trailer staged on the pad to house various supervisory personnel and a minimum number of support personnel.
Public use areas will not be impacted by the proposed project.
While public access to Happy Valley Middle Pad will be restricted, the access road and other areas around the pad will not be constrained.
Phased evaluation The lease plan of operations begins Hilcorp's development phase for ADLs 394277 and 394278 and addresses the installation of facilities at the new Happy Valley Middle Pad.
In considering the development phase, the division evaluated both the specific activities proposed as well as typical activities that Hilcorp might propose for further development in the area.
The division also considered prior exploration activities in the plan. Recent exploration activities have focused on acquiring 2D and 3D seismic data to inform ongoing gas production in the Kenai Peninsula area.
Drilling and well testing are anticipated to take approximately eight weeks per well. It is not practicable to operate the drilling rig on a schedule other than around the clock; however, steps will be taken to minimize visual and sound impacts during operations.
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