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ConocoPhillips permitting 2 new pipelines to western North Slope
Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
ConocoPhillips Alaska has filed an application with the State Pipeline Coordinator’s Section of the Alaska Division of Oil and Gas for a right-of-way lease for the Western North Slope 4-inch products pipeline.
In a public notice the state said the 34.8-mile 4-inch line would transport diesel fuel, but could possibly also be used for mineral oil, gasoline “or other methane chemicals”
Filings included with the right-of-way application for the 4-inch products line also describe a 20-inch replacement for the existing 12-inch utility line. An application related to the 20-inch line had not yet been posted when this issue of Petroleum News went to press, but a construction plan describes work for both lines.
Replacement project ConocoPhillips said two pipelines are included in the Western North Slope Pipelines Replacement Project, with the lines replacing or supplementing existing lines in similar service.
A segment of the existing 12-inch Alpine Utility Pipeline between Central Processing Facility No. 2, CPF2, at Kuparuk to near the miscible injectant/gas injectant, MIGI, tie-in pad, a short distance south of the Colville Delta 4, CD4/CD5 intersection will be replaced, the company said, while the segment of the 12-inch line from near the MIGI pad to the Alpine Central Facility, ACF, will remain in use.
The Alpine utility line transports treated seawater from the KRU CPF2 to the Alpine Central Facility for use in enhanced oil recovery.
There is an existing 2-inch Alpine diesel line, and it will be supplemented with the new 4-inch products line.
The existing lines were installed in the late 1990s as part of the original Alpine development.
The WNS 20-inch line will run from CPF2 in Kuparuk to a new module at the MIGI tie-in pad a short distance south of the CD4/CD5 intersection. “At this point the new pipeline will be connected to the existing Alpine 12-inch Utility Pipeline,” with the length of the new 20-inch line some 32 miles.
The WNS 4-inch products line will run from CPF2 to the Alpine Central Facility, a length of some 35 miles, the company said.
New 4-inch line In an Aug. 2 cover letter for the new products pipeline, ConocoPhillips said the line will “import diesel and other products” for use at the Colville River unit, Greater Mooses Tooth unit and eventually the Bear Tooth unit, “for powering equipment, supporting well work operations, and for freeze protection of wells.”
The Colville River unit Alpine field been in production for more than two decades. Greater Mooses Tooth, in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, came online in October 2018 from a single pad, GMT1. A second pad, GMT2, is expected to begin producing before the end of the year. Development at Bear Tooth, site of the Willow discovery, is being litigated.
ConocoPhillips said the new products line will be placed on a spare slot on the existing Alpine sales oil pipe rack for most of its length. Construction will include a horizontal directional drilling, HDD, crossing under the Colville River.
Construction overview ConocoPhillips said work for the products line is expected to begin in November and be completed by June of 2004 with startup possibly as early as December 2023.
The project includes both lines.
This year:
*Survey activities are scheduled from July to December.
*Permit applications and supporting documents to be submitted in August.
From January to June 2022:
*Utility and products pipelines will be installed at the new HDD crossing, also fiber optic communication line and cathodic protection anode.
*Installation of year-1 utility pipeline vertical support members between CPF2 and the east side of the Colville River HDD pad.
*MIGI pad expansion.
June 2022 to December 2022:
*Expand CFP2 pad.
January to June 2023:
*Install year-2 utility pipeline VSMs from CPF2 to MIGI pad.
*Install new HDD transition gravel pads and thermosphyons at HDD.
June to December 2023:
*Expand CPF2 pad.
*Install surface facilities, do hydrostatic testing and begin using pipelines.
January to June 2024:
*Install fiber optic communication line.
Installation ConocoPhillips said pipelines will be installed in the winter using ice roads. Work will begin with installation of WNS 20-inch utility pipeline VSMs and corresponding horizontal support members; pipeline saddles will position the pipeline on the HSMs. The company said some 60% of the VSMs and HSMs will be installed in the 2022 construction season, with the remainder in the 2023 season. The WSN 4-inch products line will be installed from the same ice road as the WNS 20-inch utility line.
Once VSMs and HSMs have been installed, “pipelines will be strung, welded, tested, and then installed in pipe saddles on top of the HSMs.”
The WNS 4-inch products line installation will begin several days prior to the WNS 20-inch utility line, thus avoiding conflicts between crews.
The pipe for the WNS 4-inch line will be strung - the joints laid out end to end supported by wooden timbers - then welded together, followed by nondestructive testing. The 4-inch pipeline will then be raised into a berth on the existing pipe rack.
As the WNS 4-inch line crews clear the construction area, work will begin on the 20-inch utility line.
Hydrostatic testing will be done over the summer.
Work on the 20-inch line will follow a similar pattern to that for the 4-inch line.
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