![]() ![]() The Nanushuk central processing facility (NPF) to be developed on a 17-acre gravel pad will be capable of processing roughly 120,000 barrels of oil a day. The onshore oil field is planned to be developed with three drill sites, namely ND-A, ND-B, and ND-C, up to 151 production and injection wells, a central processing facility (NPF), an operations centre, 48km of infield pipelines, the Nanushuk export pipeline, a tie-in pad (TIP) near the ConocoPhillips-operated Kuparuk Central Processing Facility 2 (CPF2), and approximately 40km of infield and access roads. The Nanushuk project will target oil resources in the Alpine C and Nanushuk reservoirs in Alaska’s North Slope. Nanushuk project development plan details The North Slope Borough approved the development re-zoning application for the project towards the end of 2019. Oil Search sought an amendment to the Plan of Operations to implement early production as well as modify the infrastructure footprint of the project, in September 2019. Oil Search received the permit and record of decision (ROD) for the Pikka development project from the USACE in May 2019 and exercised an option to buy out the remaining ownership interests held by Armstrong Energy and its subsidiary GMT Exploration for £356m ($450m) in June 2019.Ī Plan of Operations was submitted to the Division of Oil and Gas, Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the Government of Alaska, in July 2019, for authorising the project development. Oil Search initiated a fresh appraisal drilling programme with the start of ice road construction in the same month. The USACE published the final EIS for the project in November 2018. Oil Search became the operator of the Nanushuk development, after completing the purchase of 25.5% interest in the Pikka Unit, 37.5% interest in the Horseshoe Block, and 37.5% interest in the Hue Shale on Alaska’s North Slope, from Armstrong Energy for £286m ($400m) in February 2018. The USACE prepared the draft environmental impact study (EIS) for the project by September 2017. ![]() The other major discovery in the Nanushuk play is the Willow discovery announced by ConocoPhillips in January 2017.Īrmstrong Energy and Repsol submitted permit application for the Nanushuk project to the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in June 2015. The Horseshoe-1 and Horseshoe-1A wells drilled between 20 confirmed Nanushuk as a promising oil play containing more than 1.2 billion barrels of recoverable oil. The Qugruk 8 and Qugruk 301 wells, drilled in 2015, confirmed the reservoir productivity of Nanushuk.Īrmstrong and Repsol reported the Horseshoe discovery 32km south of Pikka in March 2017, after drilling 13 exploration and appraisal wells within the Pikka area on the North Slope. The Pikka field was discovered by the Armstrong Energy and Repsol with the drilling of Qugruk 3 discovery well in 2013. The Pikka development is expected to produce 30,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) in its early production phase starting from 2022 and achieve its design output of 120,000bopd upon full development in 2025. As a longtime Alaskan, I suppose I should be used to such snow jobs.Front-end engineering and design (FEED) activities were started in early 2020, while a final investment decision (FID) on the project is expected in the second half of 2020. I looked out my window May 3, and it was snowing. Won’t someone far more knowledgeable than I am please refute the snake oil being sold by people like Joe Schierhorn and Jim Jansen? They are asking Alaska to continue to subsidize these giant oil companies while we see whole departments of the University of Alaska shutting down, teachers and other public servants demoralized due to what amounts to a lack of respect for what they do for us. They don’t want to see the rather small but positive changes SB 114 would achieve on the state’s behalf. On its face, what they say is ridiculous: “The recently approved Willow Project can reverse the past 10 years of population decline and outmigration … fund state services for the next 40 years, provide permanence to the Permanent Fund and Permanent Fund dividend and revitalize Alaska’s economy.” And that is, of course, only if we give away the store. Now come the head of Northrim Bank and the head of Lynden saying that Willow and Pikka will literally “save” Alaska. I do know that oil companies have made far better returns from their investments in Alaska than in other parts of the world, including other states. I’m convinced that the state of Alaska could have created far better outcomes in dealing with oil companies than we have actually achieved.īut I don’t know the details. ![]()
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