|
ASRC advancing Placer development
ASRC Exploration LLC is moving forward on a potential Placer unit development.
The exploration arm of Arctic Slope Regional Corp. plans to spend the upcoming development year - running from September 2017 to September 2018 - completing a reservoir map using new and existing seismic data; negotiating for access to regional infrastructure; and continuing engineering work for drilling pads, roads and pipelines.
The company reached a major milestone at the project in early 2016, when it completed the Placer No. 3 exploration well after nearly a decade of preparation and permitting.
The company later announced that the well had identified one productive interval and suggested the potential for identifying additional intervals, with more drilling. The state legitimized those claims by certifying the Placer No. 3 well as being capable of producing economically, which can be used to extend the lifespan of certain leases.
In the year since ASRC Exploration announced its drilling results - in its plan of development for the year just ending - the company had been pursuing development on three fronts: analyzing data from the well and processing associated seismic data, beginning discussions with nearby operators over future facility sharing, and completing initial design and cost estimate work for key infrastructure for a future development.
Reprocessing seismic The seismic work involves reprocessing the newly acquired Tabasco 3-D seismic survey and merging the information with the previously licensed WBA and Kookpuk 3-D surveys. The company is intends to “complete initial reservoir mapping and use the results of the reservoir mapping and data analysis to generate geologic and dynamic reservoir models to plan development well locations within the target reservoir.”
As far as facility sharing is concerned, ASRC Exploration did not explicitly name any other parties in the negotiations. But among industry watchers, the Placer project has long been discussed in connection with the Mustang development, in the Southern Miluveach unit to the south. Southern Miluveach operator Brooks Range Petroleum Corp. designed its facilities to be larger than its immediate needs, to accommodate nearby operators.
The result of the facility sharing negotiations will determine the final cost estimates for Placer unit drilling pads, roads and pipelines, according to ASRC Exploration.
- ERIC LIDJI
| 