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ANS production up 8.6% from September October average is 961,506 barrels per day, with Prudhoe up 14.8% at 449,188 bpd, Alpine hits new high Kristen Nelson Petroleum News Editor-in-Chief
Alaska North Slope production averaged 961,506 barrels per day in October, the highest ANS production has been since May, when it averaged 966,869 bpd. The October average was up 8.6 percent from September, when planned and unplanned maintenance kept production below 900,000 bpd through the middle of the month, holding the average to 885,142 bpd as numbers climbed back from 722,559 bpd in August, when there were maintenance shutdowns and restart problems at Prudhoe Bay.
Production at Alpine hit a new high, reflecting work completed this summer on the first phase of facility expansion at the field.
North Slope production peaked in 1988 at 2.028 million barrels per day and 2002 was the last year in which production averaged more than 1 million barrels a year, hitting 1.002 million. Only in March and January of this year has production topped 1 million barrels: 1,006,790 bpd in March and 1,001,832 bpd in January.
BP Exploration (Alaska)-operated Endicott had the highest percent increase: at 22,247 bpd in October the field’s production was up 29 percent from a September average of 17,241 bpd. Prudhoe up from September The BP-operated Prudhoe Bay field averaged 449,188 bpd in October, up 14.76 percent from a September average of 391,430 bpd. The Department of Revenue said required safety testing at Prudhoe Sept. 29 through Oct. 1 decreased production by 90,000 to 100,000 bpd, and also noted that production at all fields was affected by a 25-hour day Oct. 31 because of the change in daylight savings time.
Production at Prudhoe includes satellite production from Midnight Sun, Aurora, Polaris, Borealis and Orion.
Production at the ConocoPhillips Alaska-operated Kuparuk River field, which includes West Sak, Tabasco, Tarn, Meltwater and Palm, averaged 203,372 bpd in October, up 5.8 percent from a September average of 192,227 bpd. New record at Alpine ConocoPhillips-operated Alpine averaged 113,350 bpd in October, a new monthly high and up 3.58 percent from a September average of 109,430 bpd. The first phase of facility expansion was completed this summer at Alpine, increasing the field’s capacity to handle produced water, and was expected to increase oil throughput by about 5,000 bpd. When work on the second phase of the facility expansion is completed next summer, the field’s capacity will be at 140,000 bpd.
BP-operated Lisburne, which includes Point McIntyre and Niakuk production, averaged 46,672 bpd, up 1.58 percent from a September average of 45,944 bpd.
BP-operated Milne Point production was nearly flat month-to-month, with an average of 52,287 bpd in October down 0.6 percent from a September average of 52,579 bpd.
BP-operated Northstar had a production drop of 2.49 percent, averaging 74,390 bpd in October vs. 76,291 bpd in September. Revenue said Northstar had a generator failure Oct. 11.
The temperature at Pump Station No. 1 on the North Slope averaged 20.7 degrees Fahrenheit in October, down from an average of 34.6 degrees in September. Revenue said the three-year average temperature for October is 21.1 degrees.
Cook Inlet averaged 23,689 bpd in October, down 7.55 percent from a September average of 25,624 bpd.
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