Pioneer Natural Resources reached agreement with ConocoPhillips to process crude oil from Pioneer's new Oooguruk field in processing facilities in the Kuparuk field, which ConocoPhillips operates, the independent producer
said Monday.
BP and ExxonMobil, also major Kuparuk owners along with ConocoPhillips,agreed as well to the deal.
Pioneer has constructed the offshore Ooguruk project, including pipelines to shore, and the drilling of production wells is now underway. Production is
expected to begin in the first half of this year, with output expected to peak
at 15,000 to 20,000 b/d in 2010.
Negotiation of the agreement to use spare capacity at Kuparuk processing plants has taken considerable time. One recent complication that Pioneer
officials say delayed the agreement was the state of Alaska's passage of a new
state production tax last November, which created tax issues that had to be
resolved.
"The production processing and services agreement with the Kuparuk Unit owners has been completed and signed," Pioneer said in a statement. "Under the
agreement, production from Ooogurk will be transported by flowline to
facilities at the Kuparuk River Unit for processing and subsequent transport
through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System," the company noted.
The company said the production handling agreement is the first of its kind among the owners of two North Slope Units. "It is an important milestone
for the Ooogurk project, which will be the first field operated by an
independent oil company," Pioneer said in its statement.
The agreement between Pioneer and the Kuparuk owners for facility sharing
could set the stage for similar agreements with other independent companies
exploring undeveloped oil accumulations near the big producing fields on the
North Slope.
Brooks Range Petroleum, one independent, is evaluating a small discovery north of the Prudhoe Bay field and hopes to arrange an agreement to process the oil in a nearby Prudhoe field processing plant.
said Monday.
BP and ExxonMobil, also major Kuparuk owners along with ConocoPhillips,agreed as well to the deal.
Pioneer has constructed the offshore Ooguruk project, including pipelines to shore, and the drilling of production wells is now underway. Production is
expected to begin in the first half of this year, with output expected to peak
at 15,000 to 20,000 b/d in 2010.
Negotiation of the agreement to use spare capacity at Kuparuk processing plants has taken considerable time. One recent complication that Pioneer
officials say delayed the agreement was the state of Alaska's passage of a new
state production tax last November, which created tax issues that had to be
resolved.
"The production processing and services agreement with the Kuparuk Unit owners has been completed and signed," Pioneer said in a statement. "Under the
agreement, production from Ooogurk will be transported by flowline to
facilities at the Kuparuk River Unit for processing and subsequent transport
through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System," the company noted.
The company said the production handling agreement is the first of its kind among the owners of two North Slope Units. "It is an important milestone
for the Ooogurk project, which will be the first field operated by an
independent oil company," Pioneer said in its statement.
The agreement between Pioneer and the Kuparuk owners for facility sharing
could set the stage for similar agreements with other independent companies
exploring undeveloped oil accumulations near the big producing fields on the
North Slope.
Brooks Range Petroleum, one independent, is evaluating a small discovery north of the Prudhoe Bay field and hopes to arrange an agreement to process the oil in a nearby Prudhoe field processing plant.
