Slope, inlet oil production steadily slipping _____________________________________________
alaskajournal.com
By Tim Bradner
Alaska Journal of Commerce
Web posted Sunday, December 10, 2006
Oil production from most North Slope oil fields, as well as from Cook Inlet, is showing significant declines, according to the latest data from the state Department of Revenue.
The department's production report for November, posted on its Web site Dec. 1, shows overall North Slope production down from a year earlier, although the November averages were affected by several days of weather delays affecting tankers shipments in Valdez, at the southern terminus of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline.
However, a field-by-field comparison between 2005 and 2006 data of a typical day's production, Nov. 30, shows a broad pattern of declines in production with the exception of the Alpine field, in the Colville Delta west of the main North Slope producing region.
The department reported that Alaska North Slope production overall averaged 667,251 barrels per day of crude oil during November, with the average rate brought down by several days of production cutbacks during the month due to delays in loading tankers at the Valdez Marine Terminal. In the same month a year earlier, North Slope production averaged 895,000 barrels per day, according to the revenue department.
The figures do not include natural gas liquids, the data for which is posted later by the revenue department. By Nov. 29 and 30, production rates had returned to the forecast rate of approximately 800,000 barrels per day. North Slope production rates are typically higher during the winter months because cold temperatures increase the efficiency of turbines and compressor equipment in oil and gas process facilities.
Cook Inlet crude oil production averaged 16,528 barrels per day during November, the revenue department reported. In November 2005, Cook Inlet production averaged 18,790 barrels per day.
Comparing November 2006 field-by-field production rates with November 2005 shows significant declines in production from most producing fields on the North Slope, except for the Alpine field. On Nov. 30, Alpine produced 139,062 barrels compared with 133,357 barrels on the same date in 2005. New satellite pools, such as Fiord, which began production last fall, are making significant contributions to Alpine production. Another satellite, Nanuk, began production recently.
Almost all other fields showed declines in a comparison between Nov. 30, 2006 and the same date in 2005 (see graph).
The November data for the large Prudhoe Bay and Endicott fields are distorted because about 60,000 barrels per day of Prudhoe production is being routed through Endicott pipelines while the Prudhoe Bay pipelines are being repaired, according to Denise Hawes, an analyst with the Department of Revenue. This oil is metered in the Endicott pipeline and is counted as production from that field, even though it originated in the Prudhoe field.
The November report for Endicott shows 49,539 barrels flowing though its pipeline compared with 19,427 on Nov. 30, 2005, because of the rerouted Prudhoe oil. The Prudhoe production number is therefore depressed by about the same margin, with 360,363 barrels reported for the field on Nov. 30 compared with 412,234 barrels on Nov. 30 2005.
Alaska's Oil Production Decline
Field Barrels per day produced
Nov. 30, 2006 Nov. 30, 2005
Kuparuk 151,960 167,400
Milne Point 32,572 43,525
Northstar 52,090 62,859
Lisburne 20,993 39,414
Alpine 139,062 133,357
Oil production from most North Slope oil fields, as well as from Cook Inlet, is showing significant declines, according to the latest data from the state Department of Revenue.
Tim Bradner can be reached at tim.bradner@alaskajournal.com. |
