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Division approves work at Point Thomson to drill grassroots well
Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources' Division of Oil and Gas has approved a unit plan of operations amendment for Point Thomson work including a grassroots well and temporary cuttings pit. The Aug. 1 approval of a request by Point Thomson unit operator Hilcorp Alaska includes installation of a conductor and header; construction of a temporary cuttings pit; drilling of one grassroots development well; installation of facility piping, electrical lines and instrumentation lines tying into the existing production infrastructure; and closing and backfill of the temporary cuttings pit.
The division said the anticipated start date for the project was Aug. 1.
A June 30 approval covered other work related to drilling of the new well, to be drilled with the Doyon 15 rig:
*Installation of a new 30-foot by 19-foot transformer skid at Central Pad "at the proposed PTU 19 well location to provide power to the well."
*A 13.8 kV power cable to originate from Mod 105; it will connect to the transformer and be in an 810-foot-long trench, 4 feet deep.
*Screeding and dredging around the Central Pad Service Pier in the summers of 2025 and 2026 to allow for barging of modules, equipment and supplies to support future drilling. The division said screeding and dredging is to "ensure safe water depths for barging heavy equipment to Central Pad," with some 3.53 acres of subtidal floor subject to screeding and dredging.
*A 48-mile-long ice road will be constructed between Endicott and the PTU Central Pad, with off-road travel and ice construction to be permitted separately.
Single well Point Thomson produces from the PTU 17 well on the West Pad; the PTU 15 and PTU 16 wells on the Central Pad are used for gas reinjection.
In its 2024-2025 plan of development Hilcorp said production from PTU 17 has been declining since the field began production. "The current operable wellstock at Point Thomson is unable to cycle 200 MMSCFD gas and fill the IPS facilities to capacity. Additional wells would be required to fill the IPS to capacity. Hilcorp will continue to evaluate drilling opportunities during the 2024-2025 POD Period," the company said.
Point Thomson plans of development cover two calendar years.
The company planned to convert injector PTU 15 to production, "pending results of internal review," Hilcorp said in October 2023.
Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission records show PTU 15 was put on production in September 2023, but results evidently were not satisfactory, as the company returned PTU 17 to production the following month and it has continued as the field's only producer.
--KRISTEN NELSON
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