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More drilling proposed at Prudhoe Bay IPA
Hilcorp North Slope's 2024 plan of development for initial participating areas, oil rim and gas cap, includes as many as 36 wells Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Prudhoe Bay unit operator Hilcorp North Slope said in its 2024 plan of development for the Prudhoe Bay initial participating areas, the gas cap PA and oil rim PA, that for the July 1 through June 30, 2025, period of that POD, it "anticipates a continued increase in drilling activity and plans to complete up to 36 drill wells in the IPA dependent upon rig availability, rig utilization within the PBU, and economic viability."
The 36 include up to two injection wells to enhance reservoir pressure, part of the PAVE program, pressure and vaporization enhancement.
(See map in the online issue PDF)
2023 POD volumes Hilcorp said that during calendar year 2023 IPA crude production averaged 149,885 bpd. This is down from calendar year 2022, when Hilcorp reported average production of 156,487 bpd.
"Fluid handling and production in 2023 were affected by significantly increased levels of planned maintenance and downtime compared to 2022," Hilcorp said, listing full-scale turnarounds at Flow Station 3 and Gathering Center 3, and shorter-duration facility shutdowns at Flow Stations 1 and 2 and at the Lisburne Production Center.
Compared to calendar year 2022, gas production in 2023 was down by 77 million cubic feet per day, Hilcorp said, with water production up by 7,000 bpd for the same period, and natural gas liquids volumes down by 1,150 bpd in 2023 "due to lower crude oil production reducing NGL blending capacity."
Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission data show daily crude volumes for 2023 for the entire Prudhoe Bay unit averaged 210,429 bpd, so IPA production was 71.2% of 2023 Prudhoe crude production. (These numbers do not include NGLs.)
Hilcorp said the gas cap water injection rate also declined in 2023, 71,000 bpd of water less than 2022 due to elevated maintenance levels.
2023 drilling Hilcorp had anticipated completing as many as 18 new drill wells in the IPA during the 2023 POD.
It said drilling completed so far in the 2023 POD includes 11 wells -- nine coil tubing sidetracks and two grassroots rotary wells, with five additional wells scheduled to be drilled during the remainder of the POD period, which ends June 30.
The remaining wells are four CTD sidetracks and one grassroots rotary wells.
"The reason for the variance is primarily rig scheduling and availability," the company said.
Wellwork, workovers, facilities Hilcorp said it had anticipated doing workovers as needed "as integrity issues were identified in the existing wellstock," with six IPA wells worked over so far in the 2023 POD period, either to restore integrity and/or to prepare the wellbore for a CTD sidetrack.
"Five additional IPA well integrity/CTD set-up workovers are planned to be completed prior to the end of the 2023 POD Period," the company said.
"Non-rig well intervention activity remained high in 2023," the company said, with well intervention on some 426 IPA wells in the 2023 calendar year, "excluding annular communication work and subsidence drifts."
Hilcorp said most of the workovers were to "maintain the well stock or increase existing production through well enhancement activities."
The company said had completed or anticipated completing several large facility projects by the end of the POD:
*The 2023 scope of CCP compressor updates;
*Redesign of the CG2 B-Bank slugcatcher internals;
*Construction of the Drill Site 18 pipeline; and
*Construction of the H Pad pipeline.
2024 proposed drilling, well work, workovers Hilcorp said that while it anticipates up to 36 drill wells, it "has continued to work through the backlog of broken wells in the IPA and anticipates a reduction of workover activity in the 2024 POD Period," with workovers to be completed on an as needed basis "as integrity issues in the well stock are identified dependent upon economic viability." The company said it anticipates completing up to three workovers during the 2024 POD.
Flat well intervention activity is anticipated, with the focus "on maintaining the existing well stock and increasing existing production through non-rig rate enhancement work."
Planned facilities work Hilcorp said it is evaluating facility upgrade projects including:
*The 2024 scope of CCP compressor upgrades;
*CCP air inlet housing replacement;
*Flow Station 2 de-oiler; and
*The Eileen West End pipeline.
Ongoing maintenance and integrity management will continue, including such activities as equipment overhauls, control upgrades, integrity inspections and corrosion monitoring, the company said.
Long-range activities Hilcorp said it will continue to monitor SWOP, the sea water optimization plan, and said that project is performing as anticipated "with formation gas rates slowly climbing and an increase in vapor borne liquid hydrocarbon" from target producers, with rerouted injection water used to achieve high gas cap water injection rates. "The project has been a success and typical reservoir management monitoring will continue henceforth," the company said.
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