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Kuparuk POD lists continuing field work, despite rig laydowns
Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Kuparuk River unit operator ConocoPhillips Alaska filed its proposed 2020 Kuparuk River unit plan of development on April 30, the same day the company, which operates Kuparuk and the Colville River and Greater Mooses Tooth units on the western North Slope, announced its plan to curtail oil production by some 100,000 barrels per day from those North Slope fields for the month of June, citing unacceptably low oil prices resulting from the decline in global oil demand due to COVID-19 and global oversupply.
In early April the company said it was demobilizing its North Slope rig fleet, citing the COVID-19 risk to its North Slope workforce and the need to significantly reduce personnel on the Slope.
In a July 30 letter approving the company’s proposed 2020 Kuparuk POD, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Oil and Gas said that after it received the April 30 proposed POD it notified ConocoPhillips “that the POD submittal was deemed incomplete,” requesting amendments to address the division’s questions and concerns. Following responses to its questions, in early June the division deemed the POD complete.
Reduced production ConocoPhillips had said it would reduce its North Slope production from the Kuparuk, Colville River and Greater Mooses Tooth units by 100,000 bpd in June, with ramp down beginning in late May. In mid-June, the company said it would resume normal production operations in July.
What about the oil that wasn’t produced in during July?
The division quoted ConocoPhillips that once production curtailment ended, about 50% of the volume curtailed would be recovered over the next 3 years, with the remainder recovered over the life of the field.
The company said market and public health considerations are key to the resumption of drilling activities.
“The public has an interest in diligent exploration, evaluation, and development of the State’s resources,” the division said in approving the POD.
It said ConocoPhillips’ 2020 Kuparuk POD plans “protect this public interest by the resumption of normal production operations in July 2020, along with any and all maintenance, workovers and the like either to increase or maintain production, maximize revenues, and prevent waste by continued production for existing wells.”
2020 proposed activities At the Kuparuk participating area sidetracks may be done from existing wells which are currently shut-in due to mechanical problems or low production, and both rotary and coiled tubing drilling rigs may be used. Assessments will be done of operations and support infrastructure to determine upgrade or replacement which would contribute to continued production.
At the Meltwater PA, development opportunities are being analyzed based on a reevaluation of 2008 seismic, recent surveillance, water injection supply and business climate, with possibilities including coiled tubing drilling sidetracks or producer to injector conversions.
At the Tabasco PA waterflood optimization is being studied to maintain or improve field performance over the next 5 years along with replacement of the progressive cavity pump in the 2T-215 well to bring it online.
At the Tarn PA, the company plans to convert the 2L-311 well from jet pump to gas lift, increase pressure support in 2L and initiate a surfactant injectant pilot program.
At the West Sak and NEWS PAs, there will be continued monitoring of rigless electric submersible pump performance and diagnostics of matrix bypass events (dramatic water breakthrough events with direct flow from injector to producer, interrupting waterflood process), continued surveillance of recent West Sak CTD wells, extension of viscosity reducing water alternating gas to 1H NEWS and evaluation of future West Sak development wells including for rotary wells and two CTD wells, along with assessing operations and support infrastructure for future upgrade or replacement.
There are also tract operations in the plan, with continued evaluation of the overlying Moraine-Torok interval from two existing horizontal producer and injector wells pairs, with two additional pairs planned in the future and continuing ESP troubleshooting at the Ugnu formation in the 1H-Ugnu-401 wells to determine if higher production rates can be sustained.
- KRISTEN NELSON
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