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its larger existing “legacy” gas fields in Cook Inlet to add incremental reserves. Hilcorp said it drilled 21 new wells in 2024 following 18 new wells in 2023. The company plans a steady program of 15 to 20 wells per year going forward, the com- pany has told state legislators. Overall, Hilcorp has invested about $1 billion in Cook Inlet after purchasing the Inlet’s aging gas fields from Chevron Corp. and Marathon Oil Co. in 2012 and 2013. Since then, Hilcorp has drilled 174 wells and produced 700 billion cubic feet of gas. Despite the new activity, there are still concerns for an annual gas supply deficit slated to begin in 2027. Regional utilities are preparing to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) to cover the deficit and meet consumers’ needs for electricity and heating for buildings. Hilcorp affiliate Harvest Alaska is in- volved in that, too, with a plan to purchase the mothballed former ConocoPhillips LNG export plant at Nikiski and convert it to an LNG import terminal. Chugach Electric Association, the state’s largest electric utility, is working with Harvest with a plan to purchase imported LNG to meet Chugach’s gas supply needs for power generation. Having to import energy to an ener- gy-rich state rankles most Alaskans, but electric utilities like Chugach are required by government regulators to be able to meet regional consumers’ needs. The re- gional gas supply deficit is fairly modest in 2027 and 2028, according to studies by the Division of Oil and Gas. New incremental drilling by Hilcorp and other companies could meet the short-term need, but by 2029 and 2030, the supply deficit will be much larger, ac- cording to estimates. Whether new drilling will be enough to substantially reduce imported LNG is unknown, however. New Cook Inlet gas wells tend to decline rapidly in produc- tion after first being drilled with decline rates of 30% per year not uncommon. Many Alaskans hope that a North Slope natural gas pipeline project will move forward, bringing the large “strand- ed” gas reserves known on the North Slope. But the big project faces financing challenges and is another unknown.
pipe from the crushing force of winter ice that moves with tidal currents. To solve this, Hilcorp has built what it calls an “icebreaker,” a steel structure that is 50-feet tall and 10-feet wide built with 1-inch steel plate. It would be installed to protect the new conductor pipe from the ice forces. The structure was built in Anchorage last summer, moved to the Tyonek plat- form, and has now been installed. The next step is installation of the conduc- tor pipe. Drilling is planned to begin in
spring 2026, Hilcorp said at the AOGA conference. In other new projects, the state Divi- sion of Oil and Gas gave Hilcorp approval in September to build infrastructure and drill wells at the company’s Happy Valley gas field on the Kenai Peninsula. Work has commenced and is slated to end in April 2026, the company told the state division. What will be built is a new 300-foot- by-400-foot gravel pad, the “Happy Val- ley Middle Pad,” as well as a new 3-mile gravel access road and two gas wells drilled from the new pad. An additional well will be drilled to supply freshwater. There will also be re- lated facilities such as gas flowlines, elec- trical instrumentation, separators and other equipment to support production. On a nearby site, Hilcorp also received approval to install a pipeline to produce gas from its new Whiskey Gulch gas proj- ect near Anchor Point, also on the Kenai Peninsula. A 4,000-foot, 6-inch diameter pipe will connect the Whiskey Gulch pro- duction pad to a nearby Enstar Natural Gas Co. pipeline. A third new gas development by Hil- corp will be at the small Pretty Creek gas field on the Inlet’s west side. At Pretty Creek Hilcorp will build its new “Dia- mond” production pad that will support five new production wells, the company said in information supplied to the Di- vision of Oil and Gas. The location is about 9 miles northeast of the Beluga airport. All three of these involve drilling into known gas deposits, which are relative- ly small, but Hilcorp also plans to drill two new exploration wells to test newly acquired state leases near Kenai on the Inlet’s east side. Success could help bring the small nearby Sterling gas field back into production, the company said. Hilcorp also plans gas exploration in the small North Fork field area east of Anchor Point. Hilcorp purchased assets in the area from two small companies, Vi- sion Resources and Anchor Point Energy. The North Fork gas deposit has seen limited drilling and production and has produced gas through a pipeline built to connect with Enstar’s pipeline near An- chor Point. Hilcorp says North Fork has additional potential. Hilcorp is also continuing to drill in
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Overall, Hilcorp has invested about $1 billion in Cook Inlet after purchasing the Inlet’s aging gas fields from Chevron Corp. and Marathon Oil Co. in 2012 and 2013. Since then, Hilcorp has drilled 174 wells and produced 700 billion cubic feet of gas. Despite the new activity, there are still concerns for an annual gas supply deficit slated to begin in 2027. Regional utilities are preparing to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) to cover the deficit and meet consumers’ needs for electricity and heat- ing for buildings.
Beluga whales. The company’s creative solution is to install new conductor pipe, through which wells can be drilled and operated, on the sides of the platform legs. Each conductor pipe can accommo- date two wells, so installing one conduc- tor pipe allows for two new producing wells, or with two conductor pipes four new wells. An additional challenge, however, is to protect the new external conductor
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