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Milne Point Schrader Bluff PA expansion filing date extended
Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources' Division of Oil and Gas has granted a request from Hilcorp Alaska to extend the filing date for expansion of the Schrader Bluff participating area at the company's North Slope Milne Point unit.
The company's Sept. 5 request for the extension -- of a deadline which was a condition of the division's approval of the unit's 42nd plan of development in December -- was granted Sept. 19 by division Director Derek Nottingham.
The POD approval was conditioned on Hilcorp submitting an application to expand the Schrader Bluff PA at Milne no later than Jan. 21, 2025, the expiration date of the 42nd POD.
In its Sept. 5 request for extension of the Schrader Bluff PA, Hilcorp asked approval to extend the submission deadline to Dec. 31, 2025.
The company cited "the considerable demand of supporting the CDR-2, Parker 273 and Doyon 14 drilling rigs throughout 2024, along with recent and significant organizational changes within the Milne Point team," as impacting the company's ability "to complete a comprehensive analysis for the SBPA Expansion within the original timeframe."
In approving the request, Nottingham said extension of the deadline protects all interested parties and conserves natural resources "by allowing Hilcorp staff to focus on drilling activity within the MPU."
He noted that increased Milne drilling activity "has led to an additional 8,000 barrels of oil per day increase in production" since Jan. 1, 2022.
In July, the most recent month for which Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission production data are available, Milne Point averaged 44,952 barrels per day, up 13.1% from a July 2023 average of 39,747 bpd.
Hilcorp has been steadily increasing production at Milne Point since it acquired a 50% interest from BP Exploration (Alaska) in 2014 and took over as operator, acquiring the remaining 50% in 2020 when it took over BP's remaining Alaska upstream assets.
--KRISTEN NELSON
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