Italy’s Eni has signed a deal with Caelus Natural Resources to take over 70% and operatorship of the Oooguruk oil field in the Beaufort Sea, offshore Alaska for an undisclosed sum. With this, Eni will hold a 100% percent interest in the project.
The Oooguruk oil field, located in the Beaufort Sea approximately 5 kilometers off Alaska’s North Slope coast, has been in production since 2008, and current gross production is of approximately 10,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) from 25 producing wells and 15 gas/water injector wells.
Production facilities are located on an artificial gravel island, located in just 1.5 meters of water depth with dry production trees.
The Oooguruk unit includes a six-acre gravel island in the nearshore waters of Harrison Bay and a subsea flowline bundle connecting to an onshore tie-in pad, which delivers Oooguruk production to the Kuparuk River Unit for processing and delivery. Oooguruk is an Inupiaq word meaning “bearded seal.”
Eni already is the operator, with 100% working interest, of the Nikaitchuq oil field, located approximately 13 km North-East of Oooguruk. Nikaitchuq has been in production since 2011 and currently produces about 18,000 bopd.
The Italian company said the Oooguruk acquisition would allow Eni to immediately increase its Alaska production by approximately 7,000 bopd gross, and to implement important operational synergies and optimizations between Oooguruk and Nikaitchuq, both operated at 100%.
Eni plans to drill further production wells at Oooguruk and Nikaitchuq, with the target to increase its total Alaska production beyond 30,000 boed.
“This operation will also further strengthen Eni’s presence in the region, after the recent acquisition in August 2018 of 124 exploration leases (for a total of approximately 350,000 acres) located in the Eastern North Slope of Alaska,” Eni said.
In the United States, Eni is present in 21 oil and gas fields (of which 11 operated) with a net daily production of approximately 60,000 boed. In the Gulf of Mexico and in Alaska Eni holds 228 leases, and has a non-operated participation in the Alliance field (shale gas, near Fort Worth, Texas).
Offshore Energy Today Staff