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DO&G OKs '24 POD for Western Satellites; production up in area
Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources'Division of Oil and Gas has approved a 2024 plan of development submitted by Prudhoe Bay operator Hilcorp North Slope for the western satellites -- Aurora, Borealis, Midnight Sun, Orion and Polaris.
The POD approval, signed by division Director Derek Nottingham, covers Jan. 1 through Dec. 31 of next year.
In the 2023 POD, which covers this calendar year, Hilcorp had planned to drill up to 26 new wells and do four rig workovers, the division said, but only completed 14 new wells with four more pending execution before the end of the 2023 POD, with the remainder of the wells deferred as the company focused on drilling other wells at Prudhoe "based on production efficiency and economics."
The company also did eight recompletions and workovers and has polymer flood analysis ongoing.
The division said 2022 production averaged 33,139 barrels per day, up 21% from 2021.
October production data from the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission show Western Satellite production averaged 35,628 barrels per day, up 6.3% from an October 2022 average of 33,508 bpd. Overall Prudhoe production was down 1.3% over the same period.
Orion accounted for 56.4% of Western Satellite production this October, Polaris for 16.7%, Borealis 15.5%, Aurora 9.6% and Midnight Sun 1.8%.
The division said Aurora, Borealis and Midnight Sun primarily produce from the Kuparuk River formation, while Orion and Polaris produce from the Schrader Bluff formation.
2024 POD For the 2024 POD, the division said Hilcorp plans up to 19 wells, with additional wells to be drilled "after economic evaluation or as needed."
Potential 2024 POD wells include:
*Five producers at Aurora.
*One producer and one injector at Borealis.
*.Two wells at Orion.
*Ten wells at Polaris.
No wells are planned at Midnight Sun, where AOGCC records show just one well on production in October.
Workovers will be performed as needed, the division said.
Two major facility projects are included in the 2024 POD:
*Eileen West End twin pipeline phase 1 construction (see stories in Nov. 12 and July 30 issues of Petroleum News).
*Evaluation of GC-2 C bank slug catcher retrofit.
The division said the EWE work would begin in 2024 and continue in 2025, leading "to debottlenecking production and allowing additional wells to be put back into service."
--KRISTEN NELSON
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