Finnex gets Mustang Pad restart approval

Kay Cashman

Petroleum News

On June 17, Harry Bockmeulen, chief operating officer of Mustang Holding LLC, a Finnex Operating LLC company, was sent a letter of approval for an operations restart at the North Slope Mustang Pad in the Southern Miluveach unit, as requested on May 9 in Mustang Holding's SMU plan of operations amendment application. The approval was granted by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources' Division of Oil and Gas.

The unit lies between the Kuparuk River and Colville River units. Mustang Pad is approximately 16 miles east of Nuiqsut.

The Mustang development targets the Kuparuk "C" sands, the same reservoir that is being produced in ConocoPhillips Alaska's adjacent Kuparuk River field. A maximum oil production rate is predicted to be 6,000 barrels per day, with total expected recovery approximately 25 million barrels of oil over field life of 30 years, with production year-round.

Drillsite design will allow for up to 38 wells on a minimum of 15-foot well centers.

The project will develop in a phased approach. Phase I will include the installation of an Early Production Facility, or EPF, re-installation of various tanks, equipment, and production modules; re-entry of up to four existing wells; and reconnection of the Mustang Pipeline to the Alpine Transportation Company's common-carrier pipeline located 1,150 feet south of the pad.

The EPF will be a standalone separation facility.

After separation the sales-quality oil will be transported from the EPF by the Mustang Pipeline to ATC's common carrier pipeline. Produced water will be stored in tanks and periodically trucked off-site for disposal.

Plans for subsequent phases include drilling additional wells and expanding waterflood operations by the connection of the Colville seawater pipeline and adding a produced water injection pump system to the EPF.

Plan activities include:

*Install EPF:

*Reinstall inlet heater, separator, treater, LACT, vapor recovery, and fuel gas conditioner modules.

*Reinstall slop oil, oil storage, and water storage tanks

*Install additional generators and power generation equipment, compressors, flare stack, and various valves, pumps, piping, and other items.

*Complete M-03 and M-01B wells and re-enter discovery well North Tarn-1A and M-02 wells. Both endeavors were to begin July 1 and be done by Sept. 11.

*Install pipeline equipment and tie-in the Mustang Pipeline to the ATC line.

In a May interview Bockmeulen told Petroleum News that re-start be as early as third quarter or the beginning of fourth quarter. The company has Doyon Rig 141 under contract.

--KAY CASHMAN