VOLUME 2 | ISSUE 4 | FALL 2025
HILCORP PURSUING NEW INLET GAS DEVELOPMENT
Innovative effort aimed at cushioning projected regional supply deficit BY TIM BRADNER HILCORP ALASKA, THE MAJOR PRODUCER IN COOK INLET, IS DEVELOPING AN INNOVATIVE SYSTEM TO DRILL NEW NATURAL GAS WELLS AT THE TYONEK PLATFORM IN THE NORTH COOK IN- LET FIELD. The platform is now at maximum ca- pacity in the number of wells it can op- erate but a plan by Hilcorp to install new well casing attached to the platform’s legs will allow more wells to operate, produc- ing new gas. The Tyonek platform now accounts for about a third of Cook Inlet gas pro- duction. Hilcorp is investing in new drill- ing and natural gas development to cush- ion the effects of declines of production expected in aging “legacy” producing fields like North Cook Inlet. There is also work underway to ex- pand drilling and development of smaller gas prospects, mainly onshore, in South- central Alaska which includes new work being done at the Beluga River field on the Inlet’s west side, where Hilcorp is the field operator and joint-owner with Chugach Electric Association, the re- gional electric utility. Modifications at the Tyonek platform are a major undertaking this year, how- ever. Hilcorp presented details of the company’s plans at the Alaska Oil & Gas Association (AOGA) conference held in late summer. The Tyonek platform was built in 1968 and operates in challenging conditions in Cook Inlet in about 100 feet of water with a 30 foot to 40 foot tidal range and tidal currents of 10 knots. The platform pro- duces 35 million to 40 million cubic feet of gas daily, or approximately 14 billion to
Photo Courtesy Hilcorp Alaska
is considering options like structurally expanding the platform to add more legs, building new platform or installing sub- sea well tie-backs, or wells drilled with sub-sea flow lines to the platform. Those are costly alternatives and pose environmental issues because of permit- ting challenges with any new work in the water, which is habitat of threatened
15 billion cubic feet yearly. The platform has 24 producing wells that were drilled and now operate through the platform’s large supporting legs. The North Cook Inlet field is one the Inlet’s legacy fields, and although it is more than 50 years old, there is more gas that could be developed. The prob- lem is that there is not enough space in the existing platform legs to drill more wells. Hilcorp has studied the issue and
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ALASKA RESOURCE REVIEW FALL 2025
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