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Hilcorp drilling to western edge of Milne
Needs spacing exemptions to pre-produce injection wells at border with Eni's Nikaitchuq unit; production wells won't extend as far Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
As Hilcorp Alaska drills to the western edge of its North Slope Milne Point unit, the company needs spacing exceptions to pre-produce planned injection wells closer than 500 feet to the border of Eni's Nikaitchuq unit.
In a June 7 application to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, Hilcorp said five injection wells planned from R Pad in the Schrader Bluff oil pool will be flowed back "for up to 30 days to fully clean out the wellbore to reduce the effect of near-wellbore damage caused by drilling fluid invasion which will ensure maximum injectivity."
Drilling and completion fluids are expected to be most of the initial flowback, "including cuttings and other fine materials that will be flowed to tanks, transported offsite and disposed of in accordance" with regulations, the company said.
Once there are fewer than 0.5% solids in the flowback, the stream will go to the Milne Point production facility to continue cleanup, preventing waste with any oil processed sold.
None of the initial wells will be completed as producers, Hilcorp said, with associated oil in the initial 30-day flowback period only produced to ensure clean wellbores before injection begins.
Hilcorp said the intent of its application is to prevent waste during the cleanup period by ensuring clean wellbores for maximum injectivity; enhancing recovery from production wells to be spaced between the injection wells; and avoiding "disposal of sales quality oil."
Undrained reserves Hilcorp told the commission the injection wells "target undrained reserves that cannot be reached by wells conforming to applicable spacing restrictions." It said approval of short-term pre-production of the injection wells protects the company's correlative rights by allowing it to recover "otherwise stranded reserves and ensures future maximum injectivity of each wellbore." Hilcorp said the "long-term support provided by the polymer injection" also protects correlative rights of all affected owners and operators.
The proposed production wells, the company said, will be farther than 500 feet from the external boundary in the area and will not require spacing exemption approval.
Drilling operations for the R Pad injection wells are expected to begin as soon as November.
AOGCC has tentatively scheduled a public hearing on the application for July 23 at 10 a.m. in its Anchorage hearing room. The audio call-in number is 907-202-7104, conference ID 334 177 030#. Written requests that the tentatively scheduled hearing be held must be received by the commission no later than 4:30 p.m. July 3. To learn if a hearing will be held call 907-793-1223 after July 8.
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