Hilcorp to place 120 new VSMs at Prudhoe

Petroleum News

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Oil and Gas has approved requests by Hilcorp North Slope, the Prudhoe Bay unit operator, and by Kuparuk River unit operator ConocoPhillips Alaska, to amend existing unit plans of operations.

At Prudhoe, Hilcorp requested approval to install 120 new vertical support members.

In an Aug. 9 approval the division said the new VSMs will “provide additional support to existing pipeline structure” at Prudhoe from Flow Station 1 to the Central Compression Plant. The VMSs support various flowlines.

VSMs will be installed with a vibratory hammer and there will be no slurry or discharge to the tundra, the division said.

The VSMs will be driven to a depth of 39 feet, with work occurring from existing roads and pads. There will be only foot traffic on tundra.

“The purpose of this project is to mitigate and maintain the infrastructure and integrity of the flowlines running from FS1,” the division said. Work is expected to begin in August and be completed by December.

Also at Prudhoe, the division on Aug. 2 approved a Hilcorp North Slope operations plan amendment to install a new 30-foot by 40-foot storage building on skids on the CC2 Pad at Prudhoe. The division said the project will increase storage capacity at CC2 and will take place entirely within the existing gravel pad. The CC2 Pad is some 13 miles northwest of Deadhorse.

At Kuparuk, operator ConocoPhillips Alaska requested authorization “to install a tiltmeter array” near Drill Site 3S at Kuparuk. The division said 35 boreholes, 8-inches in diameter, would “be advanced to 20 feet below the ground surface using a geotechnical drill rig.” The tiltmeter monitoring equipment would be installed with an insulated battery pack near the surface.

“After data is collect, the monitoring equipment will be retrieved and the casing will be removed from the ground” and the boreholes backfilled.

The division said the project, scheduled to begin Sept. 1 and be completed by April 30, 2022, will enable ConocoPhillips to monitor well development at Drill Site 3S.

- Petroleum News