|
Open Alaska seismic 3D permits: Narwhal, Kuukpik; Staines delayed
Kay Cashman Petroleum News
As of April 14, two of the open state seismic permits in Alaska were issued to SAExploration and two were issued to Oil Search, per Division of Oil and Gas records.
SAE’s permits were for the Narwhal 3D and the Kuukpik 3D surveys.
Oil Search was issued permits for vertical seismic profiles, or VSPs, for the Stirrup 1 and the Mitquq 1 exploration wells,
There was a public notice for SAE’s proposed Staines 3D survey posted by the division Dec. 3, saying the agency intended to approve the geophysical exploration permit and initiating a 30 day public comment process.
A division official told Petroleum News that the agency was notified that the project was delayed so a decision won’t be issued. SAE will have to reapply for next season.
In SAE’s application, the project was located solely on state lands approximately 20-50 miles east of Deadhorse and 55-plus miles west of Kaktovik. The area of the proposed seismic survey boundary was west of the Staines River encompassing up to 891 square miles. SAE had planned to conduct operations during the winter 2019-2020 tundra travel season with an anticipated acquisition start date of Jan. 10.
Narwhal 3D survey The North Slope Narwhal 3D program was described in the division’s approval letter for the miscellaneous land use permit to conduct geophysical exploration on state of Alaska, Kuukpik Inc. and federal lands south of the village of Nuiqsut “in an area west of the Kuparuk River unit including portions of the Colville River unit and Greater Moose’s Tooth unit.” The division’s approval was only for the portion of the survey, 65.7 square miles, to be done on state lands.
Although SAE did not say which oil company the Narwhal survey was being done for, it encompasses a chunk of ConocoPhillips’ named and operated Narwhal prospect, which contains a portion of the Nanushuk reservoir and adjoins Oil Search’s Nanushuk project in the Pikka unit on the east.
The permit was effective Jan. 6 and ended at tundra closing.
Kuukpik 3D survey Effective Oct. 24, the division approved a modification of SAE’s Kuukpik 3D seismic survey that expanded the North Slope project from a 490 square mile acquisition to a 514 square mile program.
One-third of the survey was completed last winter, and the rest was expected to be finished in the winter that is just ending.
The survey was on the east side of the Colville River, extending south from the Horseshoe No. 1 well where Armstrong Energy discovered oil in the Nanushuk formation in 2017.
Armstrong has since sold its interests in the area to the current operator, Oil Search.
The leases involved are on state land held by Oil Search, Repsol, ConocoPhillips, Pantheon/Great Bear and SAE.
The miscellaneous land use permit to conduct geophysical exploration was issued March 15, 2019, with an ending date of 2020 tundra closure.
Concerned with the safety of its staff and of people on the North Slope, on March 26 in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources cancelled the remainder of its 2019-20 field season for monitoring snow conditions for off road winter tundra travel, relying instead on information from people conducting off-road operations, the use of webcams and the monitoring of weather forecasts to make tundra closure decisions.
Oil Search’s VSP permits On Dec. 24, the division approved two miscellaneous land use permit applications from Oil Search for the Mitquq 1 and Stirrup 1 North Slope exploration wells to conduct walkaway vertical seismic profiles and microdeformation fracture mapping, more commonly known as a tiltmeter survey, at each of the wells.
The geophysical exploration surveys, the company told the division, will allow it “to obtain a better understanding of fracture geometry and reservoir characteristics in the exploration area,” which was all east of the Colville River.
The Mitquq permit was effective Dec. 6; the Stirrup permit Dec. 20. Both were in effect to tundra closure.
All drilling, testing and geophysical work was completed, and the crews were expected to be off location by mid-April.
- KAY CASHMAN
| 