Hilcorp to drill more J pad Milne wells

Kristen Nelson

Petroleum News

Hilcorp Alaska, working interest owner and operator at the North Slope Milne Point unit, has received approval from the Alaska Department of Natural Resources' Division of Oil and Gas for a unit plan of operations amendment adding up to 10 new grassroots development wells and associated infrastructure at the Milne Point J Pad.

In a Dec. 11 approval the division said Hilcorp will use Doyon 14 for the drilling, with all activities within the existing J Pad footprint.

In its 43rd POD, submitted in mid-October and covering Jan. 13, 2025, through Jan. 12, 2026, Hilcorp said it planned 19 rotary wells with 18 potential candidates in the Schrader Bluff formation -- half producers, half injectors -- and one Kuparuk producer. The 10 wells in the POD amendment application would bring that total to 29.

Hilcorp took over as operator at Milne from BP Exploration (Alaska) with a 50% working interest ownership in 2014, acquiring the remaining interest in Milne with its purchase of BP's Alaska assets in 2020, and has been growing production at the unit since.

In the most recent production data available from the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, for November, J Pad accounted for 9.2% of Milne production

--KRISTEN NELSON