ConocoPhillips discovers oil in National Petroleum Reserve, Alaska

ConocoPhillips Alaska has discovered a new oil location in the Greater Mooses Tooth (GMT) Unit located in the north-east portion of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.

Willow discovery wells Ti?miaq 2 and 6 were drilled in early 2016 and encountered 72ft and 42ft of net pay respectively in the Brookian Nanushuk formation.

The company holds 78% working interest in the new discovery, while the remaining 22% working interest is owned by Anadarko Petroleum.

The two discovery wells are four miles apart and situated nearly 28 miles from the Alpine Central Facility.

ConocoPhillips Alaska president Joe Marushack said: “Willow’s proximity to existing infrastructure improves the economic viability of the discovery.

“Development of Willow, a potential multi-billion-dollar investment, could provide thousands of jobs during construction and could generate substantial revenue for the federal government, state, North Slope Borough, and communities in the NPRA.”

ConocoPhillips Alaska has tested the Ti?miaq 2 well that exhibited good reservoir deliverability with a sustained 12-hour test rate of 3,200 barrels of oil per day of 44-degree API oil.

It expects from the initial data that the discovery may have a recoverable resource potential of about 300 million barrels of oil.

After the acquisition of modern 3D seismic, it will begin the appraisal of the discovery, scheduled later this month.

On the basis of the appraisal results and the development conditions, Willow discovery can produce nearly 100,000 barrels of oil per day.

ConocoPhillips exploration, business development and other international president Richard Lunam said: “The Willow discovery adds to our history of exploration success in the NPRA and is consistent with our focused global exploration strategy.

“The acreage acquired in the recent state and federal lease sales gives us running room to test the concepts that led to Willow and other NPRA discoveries.”

ConocoPhillips Alaska expects to initiate commercial production from the field from early 2023, subject to customary approvals and competitive project economics.

In addition to exploration activities, ConocoPhillips invests in new projects located in the Northern Slope. It holds major ownership interests in two oil fields of Alaska.

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Image: ConocoPhillips's Alphine project in Alaska. Photo: courtesy of ConocoPhillips.