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Expanding in NPR-A
ConocoPhillips applies for seismic permits to find potential drilling sites
Kay Cashman Petroleum News
In March 2023, the Interior Department under President Joe Biden issued a Record of Decision regarding the proposed Willow Master Development Plan in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, substantially reducing the size of the project, which is being developed by ConocoPhillips on oil and gas leases acquired beginning in the late 1990s.
As part of its negotiations with Biden's Interior Department to retain the much smaller Willow project, ConocoPhillips also relinquished rights to approximately 68,000 acres of its existing leasehold in NPR-A.
Since President Donald Trump was elected ConocoPhillips officials have talked about expanding in NPR-A, including increasing seismic and drilling, aligning with Trump's goal of increasing U.S. fossil fuel production.
The company applied for permits in July to conduct a three-dimensional geophysical winter seismic survey in NPR-A as part of its plans to drill exploratory wells near, and stepping out from, its Willow oil project.
The 3D seismic program would take place south of the Greater Mooses Tooth and Bear Tooth units to identify potential drilling sites and expand ConocoPhillips' Arctic operations.
The specific seismic permit applications submitted by ConocoPhillips in July are not yet publicly available through the Interior's Bureau of Land Management website.
A BLM spokesperson in July said that the applications would be released on the agency's website for environmental reviews "at a later date, once analysis is completed."
Not just NPR-A ConocoPhillips is continuing to invest some $1 billion per year in projects in just its base business, said Donald Allan, ConocoPhillips asset development manager on Aug. 27 at the AOGA conference in Anchorage.
"Starting with our legacy business here in Kuparuk and Alpine, you see a combination of opportunities drilling from new pads and from existing pads," Allan said.
At Nuna -- a new drill site on the west side of the Kuparuk area -- ConocoPhillips achieved first oil ahead of schedule and under budget in December of last year.
Kuparuk's West Sak development also continues to deliver, Allan said.
"We have about 110 wells with a strong record of production performance, he said. "In 2024, we drilled four wells -- the two producers are two of the top five producers in the state of Alaska."
"Next project in Kuparuk is the Coyote project; that's the Coyote Reservoir up in the northwest corner of the Kuparuk River unit and we started drilling that in 2025," Allan said adding that the 2025 drilling program continues to develop the "major project- -- i.e. Willow in NPR-A.
"This is a large project, significant investment for the company," Allan said, adding that 2025 was a peak construction season there.
"We had more than 10,000 folks on the slope progressing a tremendous amount of civil and infrastructure work," Allan said. "The Willow team continues to hit all of the key milestones, and the project remains on schedule for 2029 first oil."
ConocoPhillips can now work year-round through the summer season during construction at the Willow site, taking advantage of newly established gravel roads and paths, Allan said. "Engineering and fabrication of the modules continues with delivery expected to the North Slope in 2027, and in 2027 we also expect to start up the pre-drilling," he said.
There are opportunities beyond Willow.
"You can expect us to follow our same disciplined development approach," he said. "We'll continue to look for ways to leverage our existing infrastructure and gravel for low capital intensity tieback projects where they exist."
Job cut concerns Whie ConocoPhillips is stepping up activities throughout the North Slope and near-shore Beaufort Sea, the company's recent announcement about 20-25% global workforce cuts has employees and contractors on pins and needles.
ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance told employees in a video that the cuts of 2,600 to 3,250 jobs from its global workforce are part of a broad restructuring effort aimed at improving efficiency and managing costs.
And although Alaska is viewed as a growth area by ConocoPhillips, it too will undergo scrutiny for ways to reduce costs.
Lance told employees that one of the reasons he had to cut 20% to 25% of the global workforce was because the oil and gas producer had become less competitive as it focused on swallowing smaller rivals.
News from Petroleum News sources:
* Santos is interested in picking up some of the employees that ConocoPhillips cuts.
* Incentive packages are being offered to encourage some employees to resign.
* No forced employee layoffs before Nov. 3.
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