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State approves Ninilchik plan, Hilcorp evaluating more drilling
Alan Bailey for Petroleum News
Alaska's Division of Oil and Gas has approved Hilcorp Alaska's 2023-2024 plan of development for the Ninilchik gas field, on the west coast of the Kenai Peninsula.
Ninilchik is currently the largest gas producer in the Cook Inlet basin. The field produced 13 billion cubic feet of gas in calendar year 2022, the division says.
The field has three participating areas and was acquired by Hilcorp from Marathon Oil in 2013.
In its 2023 plan, which runs from Aug. 1, 2023, to July 31, 2024, Hilcorp anticipates maintaining or enhancing the field's current gas production.
The company is evaluating the potential drilling of two new wells, the Paxton 13 and Paxton 14 wells. Other operations may include the conversion of one of the field's wells to a disposal well, and the clean out and additional perforation of another well.
Hilcorp is also evaluating the value of adding artificial lift options such as velocity strings to various wells, to enhance gas production.
A new drilling pad? Hilcorp is considering constructing a new drilling pad, between the existing Paxton and Pearl pads. A decision on this will depend on drilling results from the Paxton 12, Pearl 10 and Pearl 11 wells, which the company has been drilling as part of its 2022-2023 plan of operations.
The company plans to install a compressor on the Pearl Pad and is evaluating the potential for installing additional compression on the Paxton Pad.
The Paxton pad is the most southerly pad within Ninilchik unit boundary. The Pearl pad is situated south of Paxton and just outside the unit boundary - wells drilled from the Pearl pad have targets within the unit.
New drilling The 2022-2023 plan of development involved the drilling of two new wells from the Paxton pad and four new wells from the Pearl pad, with all of the wells targeting Beluga and Tyonek sands.
Hilcorp completed the expansion of the Paxton and Pearl pads as part of this plan.
Hilcorp may also convert the Susan Dionne 8 well on the Susan Dionne pad to a Class II disposal well, the 2023-2024 plan says.
--ALAN BAILEY
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