|
State conditionally OKs 2025 Hilcorp NTBU plan of development
Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Hilcorp Alaska continues to struggle to bring the Cook Inlet North Trading Bay unit back into production. The field, developed by Marathon Oil Corp. from the Spurr and Spark platforms, which that company built in 1967, ceased production in September 2005, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources' Division of Oil and Gas said in its April 3 conditional approval of Hilcorp's 2025 plan of development for the unit.
Marathon set out a long-term conceptual abandonment plan in 2008, but that plan was never implemented.
Hilcorp became the operator in 2013.
The two platforms are in lighthouse mode, with functional helidecks but cranes that need inspection and crew facilities that are non-functional.
Hilcorp said in its 2017 POD that it wasn't economically or technically feasible to return either platform to production. It proposed restoring NTBU production by drilling the A-04RD from the Monopod in the Trading Bay unit during the 2018 POD, but the well was not drilled.
The company proposed a sidetrack from the A-10 on the Monopod in its 2019 POD, targeting acreage outside the current NTBU acreage, but the division denied that POD and terminated the unit, finding "there have been and currently are no diligent operations to restore production" to the unit.
Hilcorp appealed to the DNR commissioner. There was a hearing and Hilcorp was invited to submit a new POD identifying drilling targets within 16 months of submission, targets which were to be drilled in a subsequent one-year POD period. The commissioner's decision said if those targets were not drilled, the unit would terminate.
A 20-month POD was approved in September 2021 and Hilcorp attempted to drill the A-10RD2 but encountered mechanical issues; a second attempt to sidetrack also encountered mechanical challenges.
Hilcorp notified the division in July 2022 that alternative drilling plans were underway for a second sidetrack, A-10RD3, to be drilled in 2023 and in 2023 the company twice attempted to drill the A-10RD3 but was unsuccessful.
Hilcorp also failed to complete P&A work on the Spark and Spurr platforms -- work deferred because of work required at the Baker Platform in the recently terminated Middle Ground Shoal unit where wells posed a higher risk, pushing Spark and Spurr work into 2026.
2024 POD For the 2024 POD, Hilcorp again evaluated options to restore NTBU production, studying options other than Monopod wells to restore NTBU production.
The division approved the 2024 POD for a shortened period ending May 2, 2025, with 2024 POD conditions not being met, the company said, because it had not made a decision on the economic viability and utility of refurbishment for future drilling.
The division said conditions in the 2024 POD that were not met were to be carried over to the 2025 POD, and Hilcorp provided a plan of refurbishment outlining work required to bring the platforms back to operational status and items that needed further assessment, with a confidential timeline included.
The division said that as part of a March 25, 2025, technical review Hilcorp "provided a presentation that included interpreted data on the remaining resources in place and possible well plans and design."
The company did complete a subsurface review of access options using the Spark and Spurr platforms and said in its 2025 POD that "Results indicate potentially economic options to restore production from the unit."
It also completed a preliminary assessment of the Spark and Spurr platforms and found them "structurally stable" but requiring "an in-depth engineering review to detail what will be required for reactivation."
2025 POD During the 2025 POD Hilcorp "committed to completing a detailed engineering assessment to evaluate the economics of restoring production to the NTBU and decide on whether refurbishing the platforms to restore production is viable."
In its finding and decision the division approved the 2025 POD through Aug. 1, 2026, but said Hilcorp must provide it with a decision by May 1, 2026, on whether refurbishment of the platforms to restore production is economic.
The division said if Hilcorp's decision is to refurbish the platforms, it must submit an undated plan of refurbishment by May 1, 2026, describing work needed in detail and providing "a reasonable timeline with milestones."
The company is also required to provide detailed well plans and design, including a reasonable timeline and provide the division with all applicable permits for drilling and production.
Annual inspection reports by an independent source on the structural integrity of the platforms and pipelines are required "until such time that refurbishment is complete or final dismantlement, removal, and restoration (DR&R) has occurred."
The division said that if Hilcorp determines pursuing gas or oil targets in the NTBU is not economic, "the unit will automatically terminate and the platforms will move toward DR&R." The MGS State 18746 1 is certified capable of producing in paying quantities, and that certification would be rescinded.
--KRISTEN NELSON
| 