Kuparuk River Oil Field

The Kuparuk River Oil Field, or Kuparuk, located in North Slope Borough, Alaska, United States, is the second largest oil field in North America by area. It started production in 1982, peaking in 1992. As of 2019, it produced approximately 71,021 barrels per day (~3.539×10^6 t/a) of oil for ConocoPhillips and has been estimated to have 2 billion barrels (320×10^6 m3) of recoverable oil reserves.[1] It is named for the Kuparuk River.

Kuparuk River Oil Field
Kuparuk River Oil Field is located in Alaska
Kuparuk River Oil Field
Kuparuk River Unit's location in Alaska
CountryUnited States
RegionAlaska North Slope
Offshore/onshoreonshore
Coordinates70.3372°N 149.8504°W / 70.3372; -149.8504
OperatorConocoPhillips
Field history
DiscoveryApril 1969, Sinclair's Ugnu 1 well
Start of development1979
Start of productionDecember 13, 1981
Peak of production322,000 barrels per day (~1.60×10^7 t/a)
Peak year1992
Production
Current production of oil71,021 barrels per day (~3.539×10^6 t/a)
Year of current production of oil2019
Estimated oil in place6,000 million barrels (~8.2×10^8 t)
Producing formationsKuparuk sandstone on the Colville structure

Production history

In April 1969 Sinclair Oil discovered oil at the Ugnu Number 1 well, named for the nearby Ugnuravik River.[2] Oil was found in the Kuparuk sandstone on the Colville structure.[3]

In 1979 ARCO announced first production, and planned to start in 1982. Production actually began December 13, 1981, on five small gravel drilling pads. Oil recovery was expected to peak in 1986 at 250,000 barrels per day (40,000 m3/d), but did not peak until 1992 at 322,000 barrels per day (51,200 m3/d) from 371 wells.[4]

In December 2002, the production averaged 166,155 barrels per day (26,416.5 m3/d) from 448 wells, but by September 2016 the average declined to 78,755 barrels per day (12,521.0 m3/d). For the first six months of 2017 production averaged 84,334 barrels per day (13,408.0 m3/d) with a water cut of 87.4 percent. During the first half of 2019 the pool averaged 71,021 barrels per day (11,291.4 m3/d) with a water cut of 88.7 percent.[5]

See also

References

Further reading

  • Jamison, H.C., Brockett, L.D., and McIntosh, R.A., 1980, Prudhoe Bay - A 10-Year Perspective, in Giant Oil and Gas Fields of the Decade: 1968-1978, AAPG Memoir 30, Tulsa: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, ISBN 0891813063.
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