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Home My WebLink AboutCO 193Conservation Order Cover Page XHVZE This page is required for administrative purposes in managing the scanning process. It marks the extent of scanning and identifies certain actions that have been taken. Please insure that it retains it's current location in this file. /~'~_ Conservation Order Category Identifier Organizing RESCAN [] Color items: [] Grayscale items: [] Poor Quality Originals: [] Other: NOTES: DIGITAL DATA [] Diskettes, No. [] Other, No/Type OVERSIZED (Scannable with large plottedscanner) [] Maps: [] Other items OVERSIZED (Not suitable for plotter/scanner, may work with 'log' scanner) [] Logs of various kinds [] Other BY: ROBIN ~ Scanning Preparation TOTAL PAGES 7 BY: ROBIN ~ Production Scanning Stage I PAGE COUNT FROM SCANNED DOCUMENT: ~ PAGE COUNT MATCHES NUMBER IN SCANNING PREPARATION: DATE: 6 ~~6~.~ _/~__YES NO Stage 2 IF NO IN STAGE 1, PAGE(S) DISCREPANCIES WERE FOUND: __ YES __ NO BY: ROBIN MARIA DATE: /SI (SCANNING IS COMPLETE AT THIS POINT UNLESS SPECIAL ATTENTION IS REQUIRED ON AN INDIVIDUAL PAGE BASIS DUE TO QUALITY, GRAYSCALE OR COLOR IMAGES) General Notes or Comments about this Document: 5/21/03 ConservOrdCvrPg.wpd STATE OF ALASKA ALASKA OIL AND GAS CONSERVATION COMMISSION 3001 Porcupine Drive Anchorage, Alaska 99501 Re: THE APPLICATION OF ARCO ) ALASKA, INC. for an order ) granting an exception to ) Rule 4(c) of Conservation ) Order No. 173 for welIs to ) be drilled from seven drill ) pads in the Kuparuk River ) Field. ) Conservation Order No. 193 Kuparuk River Field Kuparuk River Oil Pool November 16, 1983 IT APPEARING THAT: I · ARCO Alaska, Inc., by letter dated October 25, 1983, requested the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commis- sion to issue an order granting an exception to Rule 4(c) of Conservation Order No. 173 to allow surface casing to be set as deep as 3200 feet true vertical depth in development wells on drilling pads 2A, 2B, 2D, 2F, 2G, 2H, and 2V. · Notice of public hearing was published in the Anchorage Times on November 4, 1983. 3. There were no protests filed to the application. FINDINGS: I · · · The Ugnu sands and the West Sak sands are hydrocarbon- bearing and potential reservoirs in some areas of the Kuparuk River Field. The West Sak sands are hydrocarbon-bearing in the area of drilling pads 2A, 2B, 2D, 2F, 2G, 2H, and 2V but the Ugnu sands are not. The oil in the West Sak sands has a low solution GOR, has no known gas-oil contact and formation fluids have never surfaced without an artificially heated wellbore. In the area of the seven referenced drilling pads, the Ugnu sands and the West Sak sands are structurally located so as to be at or near the maximum surface casing setting depth of 2700 feet true vertical depth prescribed in Rule 4(c) of Conservation Order No. 173. Conservation Orde~ ~o. 193 Page 2 November 16, 1983 · · · The West Sak Reservoir is currently being investigated in the West Sak Sands Section 35 Project to determine the feasibility and method of reservoir-wide exploita- tion. The West Sak sands will be better protected in the area of the seven drilling pads if they are cemented above the shoe of the surface casing rather than several thousand feet above the shoe of the production casing in the Kupar~k River Oil Pool wells that are to be drilled on the pads. Conservation Order No. 190 granted an exception to Rule 4(c) of Conservation Order No. 173 for wells to be drilled on drilling pads 2C, 2X, and 2Z and the informa- tion and experience gained from setting the surface casing deeper than 2700 feet true vertical depth indicate that the West Sak reservoir can be drilled safely with a conductor/diverter system and a minimum 9.8 pounds per gal Ion drilling fluid. CONCLUSIONS: I · A surface casing string setting depth deeper than pre- scribed by Rule 4(c) of Conservation Order No. 173 is safe and will protect the permafrost in the area of the seven drill pads. ~ Development wells to be drilled to the Kuparuk River Oil Pool on the referenced seven pads can be safely drilled to 3200 feet true vertical depth using a conduc- tor casing, a diverter system and no less than 9.8 pounds per gallon drilling fluid. · The West Sak Reservoir will be better protected from damage if it is cemented behind the surface casing. NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED: Development wells to be drilled to the Kuparuk River Oil Pool on drilling pads 2A, 2B, 2D, 2F, 2G, 2H, and 2V may be drilled to a maximum 3200 feet true vertical depth before surface casing is set provided that conductor casing is set and cemented in accord with Conservation Order No. 173, a diverter system is used in accord with 20 AAC 25.035(b)(1) and a drilling fluid of at least 9.8 pounds per gallon is used in the drilling. Conservation Orde%r No. 193 Page 3 November 16, 1983 DONE at Anchorage, Alaska and dated November 16, 1983. Al~as~a n Commission Harr_,y__-w%: ~_~ , :omm~ssioner Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission ~.... ?" ~ ,,' Lonnie C. Sm~t~,~omm~ss~oner Alaska 0~1 and Gas Conserva¢~on Commission ARCO Alaska, Inc. ?ost Ot;~ce B.,~ g60 Anchor,age.At,_. ~a 99510 T~i~phone 907 277 5637 October 25, 1983 Mr. C. V. Chatterton State of Alaska Alaska Oil & Gas Conservation Commission 3001 Porcupine Drive Anchorage, Alaska 99501 Subject- Revised Surface Casing Setting Depths for 2A, 2B, 2D, 2F, 2G, '2H, and 2V Pads in the Kuparuk River Field Dear Mr. Chatterton' This letter is to request Administrative approval to vary from the existing Kuparuk River Field Rules,. Conservation Order No. 173, to allow the surface casi'ng to be set as deep as 3200' TVD in development wells on Pads 2A, 2B, 2D, 2F, 2G, 2H, and 2V. The Field Rules currently require that the surface casing be set in a depth interval ranging from 500 measured feet below the base of the permafrost to 2700' TVD. On the above pads, the base of the West Sak sands will occur very close to the maximum casing-setting depth of 2700''TVD. The deepest horizon for the base of the West Sak sand occurs on 2D pad at 3095 TVD. The attached table gives our estimated depths for the surface casing shoes on the subject pads .... Our request for a deeper surface casing seat is made for the following reasons' ,. 1. It is preferred to set the surface casing shoe just below the West Sak. sand. This sand can be better isolated with surface casing, as opposed to the current method of usi.ng production casing to isolate the sand.. On the subject pads, very little additional drilling below the conductor/diverter will be required to accomplish this. 2. A better formation integrity test will be obtained prior to drilling into the Kuparuk sands. Although past formation integrity tests have been accep.table, drilling of the Kuparuk interval will be made safer with higher surface casing shoe integrity. , We feel that West Sak hydrocarbons can be safely drilled using a flow diverter stack on conductor casing. When drilling below the conductor/diverter, a 9.8+ ppg fluid is currently used to overbalance potential sand stringers containing free gas just below the permafrost. If the West Sak is drilled below the conductor/diverter as proposed, a 9.8+ ppg fluid would therefore be used. On previous Kuparuk development wells, the West Sak was safely drilled (below surface casing) with a drilling fluid density of 9.0 ppg. The West Sak reservoir pressure is approximately 8.4 ppg equivalent, with no known gas/oil contact and a low' solution GOR. To our knowledge, formation fluid has never naturally surfaced on West Sak production tests, wi th the exception of West Sak SWPT No. 1 which naturally flowed 20_+ BPD with an artificially heated wellbore. The Ugnu sands are not hydrocarbon bearing in the subject areas. 4. On several wells for the above pads, if surface casing is set prior to penetrating the Ugnu and/or West Sak sands; the required minimum 500'of cement between the base of the permafrost and the casing shoe cannot be achieved. 5..~-The information and experience gained from setting the surface casing deeper.than 2700' TVD on the pr.evious 2Z, 2X, and 2C pad wells indicate that the West Sak reservoir can be drilled 'safely with a conductor/di verter system. 6~ Information derived from the West Sak wells #3, #14 (Sohio), #18, #15; which encompass the acreage to be drilled from th.e subject pads, suggests that there should be no problems setting surface casing through the West Sak sand. The estimated spud dates for the fi.rst two wells affected by .this request are November 8th for 2V-t and November 9th for 2F-5. Due to the timing of these well.s, and to allow your staff sufficient time to review and process our proposal, we would like to request individual exceptions for these .wells if possible similar to that · recently ~obtained for well tF-16. Any significant changes i.n geological conditi.ons discovered subsequent to this request~will be forwarded to your office in writing i.n a timely fashion. .If you have any questions on the above, please feel free to call me at 263-4970 or Tom Brassfield .at 263-4969. Sincerely, ~ea Drilling Eng.ineer' JBK/TJB/ih ESTIMATED SURFACE CASING SETTING DEPTH FOR 2A, 2B, 2.D, 2F, 2G, 2H, and 2V PADS II'l THE KUPARUK RIVER FIELD Pad # 2A 2B 2D 2F 2G 2H 2V Base of the West Sak TVD 2580 .2699 3095 2747 2720 2485 2694 Proposed Casing Setting Depth TVD 270O 2800 3200 2850 285O 2600 28O0 NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING STATE OF ALASKA Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission Re: The application of ARCO ALASKA, INC., dated October 25, 1983, requesting an exception to Rule 4(c) of Conservation Order No. 173 in order to set surface casing at a deeper depth for wells drilled from pads 2A, 2B, 2D, 2F, 2G, 2H, and 2V in the Kuparuk River Field. Notice is hereby given that ARCO Alaska, Inc. has requested the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to issue an order granting an exception to Rule 4(c) of Conservation Order No. 173 for development wells to be drilled from pads 2A, 2B, 2D, 2F, 2G, 2H, and 2V in the Kuparuk River Field. The exception is requested in order to cement surface casing below the West Sak Sands in the area of the field where the potentially productive West Sak Sands would be better protected and isolated than under current rules. A deeper surface casing depth has already been proved to be a safe practice in several wells in the same vicinity. Parties who may be aggrieved if the order is issued granting the referenced request are allowed 10 days from the date of this publication in which to file a protest, in writing, stating in detail the nature of their aggrievement and their request for a hearing. The place of filing is the Alaska Oil and Gas Conserva- tion Commission, 3001 Porcupine Drive, Anchorage, Alaska 99501. If such a protest is timely filed, a hearing on the matter will be held at the above address at 9:00 AM on November 16, 1983 at which time protestants and others may be heard. If no such protest is timely filed, the Commission will consider the issu- ance of the order without a hearing. C ommis s ioner Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission