Conoco stakes 7 wells in NPR-A

ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc. recently staked seven potential well locations in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, according to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

The federal agency posted the notices on its website on Aug. 24.

The seven locations - all for proposed oil wells - are spread across the western edge of the Greater Mooses Tooth unit and the area just beyond the western boundary of the unit:

•The Tinmiaq B South well on AA90707, which is just beyond the southwest corner of Greater Mooses Tooth. The lease is scheduled to expire at the end of 2018.

•The Tinmiaq C, Tinmiaq E and Tinmiaq Q Central wells on AA81787, northwest of AA90707. The lease is currently held by the Hunter No. 1 well drilled by Phillips Alaska.

•The Tinmiaq K North well on AA81807, which is a little farther north, inside the Greater Mooses Tooth unit, near the Grandview No. 1 well drilled by ConocoPhillips.

•The Tinmiaq P North 2 on AA93932 and Tinmiaq R North on AA93232. While the former of those two leases is much farther to the north and the latter is not listed among the active leases in the NPR-A, the proposed locations of each suggest those lease numbers are typos and that the wells are either proposed for AA81807 or a nearby lease.

Well staking is a very preliminary phase in the exploration process, as ConocoPhillips explained Petroleum News in previous years: “Filing notice of staking forms is a routine action to provide flexibility as we evaluate and try to obtain regulatory approvals for possible activity in those areas, but it is not a given that anything will move forward.”

That said, the company has been exploring the region for nearly 15 years and has recently expressed a desire to pursue development - so long as economics and regulations allow.

The current notices follow up on some earlier work. After announcing discoveries from the Spark No. 1, Spark No. 1A, Moose’s Tooth C, Lookout No. 1, Rendezvous A and Rendezvous No. 2 wells in May 2001, Phillips Alaska Inc. staked 13 wells in the NPR-A in August 2013. Those proposed locations included Grandview No. 1 on AA81807 and Hunter No. 2 on AA81787 - two of the leases currently being considered for drilling.

While ConocoPhillips is considering exploration at the western edge of the unit, it is considering development at the eastern edge. On Aug. 25, BLM posted notice of a ConocoPhillips drilling application for a GMT2-R112 oil well on AA81800. The application is the first for GMT2, which ConocoPhillips has suggested would be the second pad in the Greater Mooses Tooth unit. The company is permitting a GMT1 pad but recently slowed the pace of the project and has yet to sanction development.

- ERIC LIDJI

—A copyrighted oil and gas lease map from Mapmakers Alaska was a research tool used in preparing this story.