Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development
Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission
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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014 Nicolai CreekAurora Gas, LLC
May 24, 2016
RECEIVED
MAY 3 1 2016
Ms. Cathy P. Foerster, Chair AOGCC
Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission
333 West 7`" Ave., Suite 100
Anchorage, Alaska 99501
RE: Reservoir Surveillance Report and Reservoir Pressure Reports (Form 10-412)
Aurora Gas, LLC: Nicolai Creek -South Undesignated and -Beluga
Dear Commissioner Foerster:
Aurora Gas, LLC hereby submits a Reservoir Surveillance Report and four Reservoir
Pressure Reports for the pressures taken in 2014 at Nicolai Creek Unit No. 1 B, No. 2, No.
9, and No. 11 gas production wells in the Nicolai Creek Gas Field on the west side of
Cook Inlet, as required by Conservation Order No. 478A.
Please find enclosed the following information for your files:
1) Reservoir Surveillance Report (Combined for NCU- South and NCU-
Beluga) for 2014;
2) Form 10-412 Reservoir Pressure Reports for Nicolai Creek -South
Undesignated for 2014;
3) Form 10-412 Reservoir Pressure Reports for Nicolai Creek -Beluga for 2014;
and
4) Nicolai Creek Unit Pressure Map, showing pressures for 2014.
If you have any questions or require additional information, please contact me at (281)
495-9957 by email at jejor . -.Coln..
.
Sincerely,
AURORA GAS, LLC
J. Edward Jones
President
enclosures
cc: Temple Davidson and Kevin Pike, ADNR-DOG V/o elrWi-/
4645 Sweetwater Blvd., Suite 200 • Sugar Land, Texas 77479 • (281) 495-9957 • Fax (832) 999-4382
1400 West Benson Blvd., Suite 410 • Anchorage, Alaska 99503 • (907) 277-1003 • Fax (907) 277-1006
NICOLAI CREEK UNIT
WELLS NO. 113, 2, 9, and 11
RESERVOIR SURVEILLANCE REPORT
RE: CONSERVATION ORDER NO. 478A
HISTORYAND SUMMARY
AS OF 12/31/14
BACKGROUND
Aurora Gas, LLC re-entered and side-tracked the abandoned Texaco Nicolai
Creek Unit (NCU) No. 1A in 2002 and completed the well in three Upper Tyonek sands,
the Carya 2-4.2 at 3137-3157' TVD, the Carya 2-5.1 at 3307-3348' TVD, and the Carya
2-6.1 at 3506-3521' TVD. These intervals were commingled upon completion and tested
with an AOF of 3.1 MMCfpd. Unfortunately, in spite of free -hanging sand control
screens in the completion string, the well produced water and sand along with the gas,
and, consequently, produced very little gas for sales to date. Unable to control the sand
production by surface means, the well was recompleted in June of 2006: 1) plugging off
the Carya 2-6 sand, from which the sand and much of the water was being produced (as
evidenced by sand fill and a "sand -blasted" hole in the screen at that depth), 2) adding
perforations to the Carya 2-3 sands at 2783-2864' TVD, the Carya 2-2.2 sands at 2550-
2568' TVD, the Carya 2-2.1 sands at 2426-2434' TVD, and the Carya 2-1.2 sands at
2254-2316' TVD, and 3) completing selectively (see attached well bore diagram). As of
December 2006, the Carya 2-3 to the Carya 2-1.2 sands were mechanically open and
producing (perfs at 2307-2918' MD), and the deeper sands, 2-4 to 2-5 (perfs at 3191-
3401' MD) were opened in October 2010 following a chemical sand control treatment.
All these perfs are open have been producing since, with some sand possibly covering
some of the lower perfs. However, the well has produced 438.2 MMcf through
12/31/14, most of which has come from the upper completions.
The NCU No. 2 well was also re-entered by Aurora Gas in 2002 and re -
completed into the Upper Tyonek Carya 2-1.1 sand at 2141-2177' TVD, the Carya 2-1.2
sand at 2342-2354', and the Carya 2-2.1 sand at 2493-2511' TVD. These commingled
intervals tested for a calculated AOF potential of 14.6 MMcfpd. A production facility
and gathering line were constructed in 2003 and the well started producing to sales
December 2003. The well was recompleted in September- October of 2013 with a
selective completion, going back to the original (Texaco) zone, the Carya 2-2.3 at 3268-
88' and 3324-36' MD and opening new zones, the Carya 2-1.0 at 2312-22' MD and the
Lower Beluga at 2198-2212' and 2244-60'. The shallower two zones were commingled
but not put on production until a Commingling -Spacing Order was approved in March
2014. The well has produced 889.8 MMcf since the re-entry thru 12/31/14.
The NCU No. 9 was drilled on the same pad as the two directional wells above in
2003 to capture reserves behind two strings of pipe in the two old wells. It was
completed in a Beluga Tsuga 2-7 interval at 1320-1447' TVD/MD (now the Middle
Completion). This well tested yielding at calculated AOF potential of 49.1 MMcfpd. It
also started producing to sales in December 2003. Because this completion had depleted
significantly, a recompletion adding additional Tsuga 2-8, 2-7, and 2-6 sands from 1148-
1904' was completed in September 2006. The well produced 326 MMcf from the Lower
Completion at 1552-1904' (9 different Tsuga 2-7 and 2-8 sands) between the
recompletion in October 2006 and October 2008. In October 2008, the pressure of this
Lower Completion had declined to near that of the Middle Completion, so the sliding
sleeves for the Middle Completion were opened, allowing both the Middle and Lower
Completions to produce commingled. In August 2012, these two lower producing
intervals were closed off, and the Upper Completion, Beluga Tsuga 2-6, was opened to
production. On January 31, 2013, al zones were opened to commingle production as
pressures were nearly equalized, and this commingled flow continued for all of 2014.
The well has produced a total of 2619.5 MMcf (2.6 BCF) thru 12/31/14, of which 561.2
MMcf is allocated to the Lower Completion, 1793.5 MMcf to the Middle Completion,
and 264.8 MMcf to the Upper Completion.
NOTE: All three of the above well are on the same pad, with the #1B and #2 being
directional, so all have the same ground level elevation (22' AMSL) and nearly the same
KB/DF elevation, so TVD's are very nearly TVDss and, thus, almost directly correlative.
NCU #11—The Nicolai Creek Unit 411 well was drilled in September 2009 to a depth of
3600' (MD/TVD) and was completed on October 6, 2009, in 14 Beluga sands and 2
Upper Tyonek sands isolated by packers and sliding sleeves into 4 selective completions.
The well was tested in the commingled completions in the Beluga Lower Tsuga 2-7 and
2-8 interval from 1736-2099' TVD and in the Upper Tyonek Carya 2-1 interval at 2260-
2362'. These commingled intervals were tested (4 -point) to give an CAOF of 5466
mcfpd with a static pressure of 924 psia (909 psig) at a datum of 2049' TVD (-2033'
TVD SS). Production was initiated from the Tyonek Carya 2-1 completion in December
2009, and the well produced 11,281 mcf that month. Following commingling approval,
the well produced from the Beluga and Tyonek perfs at 1736-2362', sometimes
selectively, sometimes commingled. Two shallower selective completions were briefly
tested upon completion and are thought to be productive, but were not produced until the
Upper Middle Completion (Beluga Tsuga 2-6 with perfs between 1349- and 1675') was
opened in September 2011—it produced until January 2014, when a tubing patch was
placed across the sliding sleeve for that completion, which was believed to be leaking and
the source of at least some of the sand fill. The Upper Completion, Beluga Tsuga 2-5 and
2-6 with perfs at 920-1216', was tested in early 2013 and found to produced water with
sand, so it has not produced to sales. The Lower Middle Completion has produced most
of the time since being opened, sometimes commingled production with the Lower
(Tyonek) Completion—it alone produced from January 2014 until August 2014. The
Lower Completion seemed to make sand (which may have been coming from Upper
Middle Completion above), and fill has been cleaned out with coiled tubing three times,
in June of 2011, in 2013, and again on 8/27/14, after which it was put on stream with the
other Completions closed in. The production when commingled is allocated back to each
zone on the basis of production tests when each zone is producing by itself. The well
produced 1110.7 MMcf through 12/31/2014: 321.6 MMcf allocated to the Upper Middle
Completion, 530.5 MMcf allocated to the Lower Middle (Beluga) Completion and 258.7
MMcf allocated to the Lower (Tyonek) Completion.
CONSERVATION ORDER NO. 478A REQUIREMENTS
This Order issued October 16, 2003, by the AOGCC has three items pertaining to
reservoir surveillance at Nicolai Creek Unit wells No. 113, No. 2, and No.9, requiring:
1) (#3) Initial reservoir pressures,
2) (#4) Annual monitoring of reservoir pressures, and
3) (45) Annual reservoir surveillance reports.
INITIAL RESERVOIR PRESSURES
Form 10-412's for both Pools (Nicolai Creek—South undesignated and Nicolai
Creek—Beluga) for 2002 and 2003, show initial reservoir pressures. The initial reservoir
pressures for #113 and #2 were obtained by bottom -hole pressure surveys (No. 1B and 2)
and confirmed by quartz -crystal surface pressures extrapolated to subsea datum. These
initial pressures were: #113-1625 psig at -3293' TVDss, and 42-1025 psig at -2285'
TVDss. The #9 well was taken by quartz -crystal surface pressure recorder and was
confirmed by open -hole MDT measurements—it was 673 psig at -1348' TVDss.
Subsequent work, i.e., the 2006 recompletions of #1B and #9, added the following
original pressures: #1 B-1211 psig at -2537' TVDss (commingled currently open perfs
of Carya 2-2.1 to the 2-3 at 2480'- 2918' MD) and in #966 psig at -1706' TVDss
(Lower Completion). The drilling of the #11 well in 2009 gave additional pressure
information: it was tested in the commingled completions in the Beluga Lower Tsuga 2-7
and 2-8 interval from 1736-2099' TVD and in the Upper Tyonek Carya 2-1 interval at
2260-2362' with a static pressure of 924 psia (909 psig) at a datum of 2049' TVD
(-2033' TVD SS).
ANNUAL MONITORING OF RESERVOIR PRESSURES
Attached are Form 10-412's for both Pools (Nicolai Creek—South undesignated
and Nicolai Creek—Beluga) for 2014, showing annual reservoir pressures, along with
some comments. Surface pressures have been used exclusively for annual pressures after
initial pressures in Wells #2 and #9, which have made very little water, so they are
consistently in single-phase condition. Surface pressures in #1B and #11 may be affected
by some minor buildup of water in the wellbore, but no bottom -hole pressures were
obtained in 2014. Note that due to the recompletions of #113 and #9 in 2006 and the
subsequent production of different intervals, the datum TVDss's for these wells have
changed since the 2006 submittals. Note also that the #11 well is included in these 10-412
reports although it is in a different PA (West the Lower Middle (Beluga) completion is
included in the Beluga Pool report and the Lower (Tyonek) Completion is included with
the South Undesignated Pool.
The recompletion of the NCU #1B in June 2006 provided additional pressure information
of some of the Upper Tyonek Carya sands that have been producing in the #2 well. This
pressure data from the tests indicates that there is no depletion of these zones in the No.
IB from the No. 2 production. In particular, the Carya 2-1.1, 2-1.2, and 2-2.1 are
commingled in the #2 and had an initial SIBHP at -2285' TVDss of 1025 psig. The
comparable zones in the #1B, commingled 2-2.1 and 2-2.2 and the 2-1.2 had bottom -hole
SIP'S estimated at 1045 and 1040 psig at datum of -2484' and -2272' TVDss, both are
close to the original pressure in #2 and much higher than the then most recent SIBHP's of
293 psig at -2285'. This indicates that there is a geological barrier and no communication
between the two well bores.
POOL PRODUCTION ALLOCATION FACTORS
The production from NCU 1 B, 2, 9, and 11 is metered several times and allocated
back to each well on the basis of these meters. Each of the wells has an individual
separator into which the well flows, eliminating any free water from the flow stream, then
immediately downstream of the separators, each well is individually metered. The flow
from the wells may be combined at this point and then compressed before going thru the
glycol dehydration system. (Booster compression has been added, so the lower pressured
wells can be selectively compressed before going to the main compressor). After
dehydration, the combined flow from these wells is metered again before going into the
gathering system. The gathering system takes the gas to the CIGGS Meter 6103/8103
where it is joined by the flow from NCU #3 and # 10 upstream of the sales meter. It is
metered before being commingled into flow going into the Marathon -operated CIGGS
pipeline system (in 2014, now Hilcorp Harvest KBPL). The total sales volume through
this sales meter is allocated back to each well proportionally based on the individual well
meter volume divided by the sum of all the wells meters' volumes minus lease -use gas,
where lease -use (fuel) gas is allocated proportionately to each well at a facility.
RESERVOIR DEVELOPMENT AND DEPLETION PLANS
NCU 111—This deeper intervals in this well were treated with the Weatherford
chemical "Sand Aid" in 2011, and the Upper completions (Carya 2-1 thru 2-3) were
treated with Sand Aid in October of 2012. These treatments seemed to remedy the sand
production, reduced the water production, but may have hurt gas production. The well
produced 41 MMcf in 2014, producing intermittently. It was producing about 102 mcfpd
in December 2014. No additional work is planned in this well.
NCU #2—This well is sometimes produced with a booster compressor, giving it 3
stages of compression, but at this point is hasn't increased the rate significantly. It
produced 86.4 MMcf in 2014, following the recompletion into the shallower Beluga and
Carya 2-1.0—it produced 191 mcfpd in December 2014.
NCU #9—This well is producing from the commingled Upper, Lower, and
Middle completions since early 2013 when all the sliding sleeve were opened. This well
produced 81.8 MMcf in 2014. It averaged about 163 mcfpd in December 2014.
Following the 2006 recompletion workover, this well bore still has 8 potential
Beluga Tsuga 2-5 and 2-6 sands between 668' and 1054' that have apparent gas
production potential. These sands were not completed at the time of the 2006
recompletion workover for 2 reasons: 1) the large pressure differential expected between
these shallow sands and the deeper ones, and 2) the cement bond log indicates a top of
cement at 840', so remedial cementing will be required for the shallower sand
completions. Thus, at least one more recompletion workover is expected in the life of
this well bore. This wellbore is also being considered for gas storage (Middle
Completion, which is a high-quality reservoir) and would give an additional 2 BCF
capacity to a storage project.
NCU #11—This well has 4 completions, which were be opened selectively and
produced as needed to meet market demand. However, the Upper Completion produced
sand and water when opened in January 2013. The Upper Middle Completion, however,
was opened in September 201 land has produced through April 2013, when the Lower
(Tyonek) Completion was cleaned out The Lower Completion produces some sand with
small volumes of water and was cleaned out with coiled tubing in 2011, early 2012, April
2013, and August 2014. In 2013, a tubing leak was found, allowing the Upper Middle
completion to be producing (and believed to be the source of much of the sand fill) --a
tubing patch was run across it in early 2014. Much of the production in 2014 came from
the Lower Middle completion, with the Lower (Tyonek) completion exclusively
providing production following the cleanout in August. This well produced 67 MMcf in
2014, averaging 236 mcfpd in December 2014.
Depending upon market demand and storage development, a shallow
development well on the 1-2-9 pad may be drilled to recover the shallower reserves in the
#9 well, both those in the Upper Completion and the shallower undeveloped sands. This
would facilitate the use of the very good quality Middle Completion reservoirs for
storage and would eliminate the need for an expensive recompletion workover to access
the shallowest reserves.
Beyond the above mentioned development, no additional development of either Pool is
anticipated, as the Pools (and PA's) are now outlined.
RESERVOIR PRESSURE MAP AT DATUM
Because each well had its individual reservoirs, a reservoir pressure map at datum
seems to be irrelevant. However, now that there are some common sands open in the
#1B, #2, and #11 it may have more relevance, although the sands are apparently not
continuous between wells. Attached is a pressure maps of the Nicolai Creek --South
Undesignated Pool and the Nicolai Creek—Beluga Pool, showing initial and current
pressures at the several pertinent subsea Data.
Ed Jones (5/19/16)
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NICOLAI CREEK FIELD
SOUTH Undesignated & BELUGA POOLS
(SOUTH, WEST, & BELUGA PA's)
N
DATUM -1527' TVDSS
#11 Beluga DATUM INITIAL — 663 psig
-1913'TVDSS 6/2014 — 176 psig
INITIAL -- 905 psig
6/2014— 271 psig
SEC 30 SEC 29
_ _ d
.r T BELUGA-TYONEK DATUM
NCU #11 i -1937' TVDSS
i INITIAL — 1025 psig
.134 i 6/2014 — 456 psig
TYONEK DATUM - -2766'
TVDSS
i I INITIAL — 959 psig
2/2014 — 373 PSIG
NCU 1A ^28
i
NCU SOUTH PA
NCU 1
-11 Tyonek DATUM DATUM -2537' TVDSS
-2295' TVDSS INITIAL — 1211 psig N 2
INITIAL — 914 psig 9/2014 — 238 psig
8/2014— 357 psig
NCU 4
NCU 6
Aurora Gas, LLC
