VOLUME 3 | ISSUE 1 | MARCH 2026
STATE OFFICIALS LAUD NORTH SLOPE OPERATORS
Hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil per day to be added to output BY TIM BRADNER NORTH SLOPE OIL OPERATORS ARE RUNNING AT FULL THROTTLE DESPITE SOME HEADWINDS DEVELOPING FOR THE INDUSTRY. Oil prices are lower than hoped for, and prices for steel and other materials are driv- ing up oilfield costs. There’s intense compe- tition for equipment and skilled labor on the Slope, which helps drive increases. San- tos Ltd. and ConocoPhillips both say their new projects, Pikka and Willow, will cost more than their original estimates. Still, it’s full speed ahead. Companies are heavily invested in getting new fields in production on, or a little ahead, of sched- ule. They’ll get it done. It’s too late to back out now. This is the bullish message state officials gave state legislators in a January briefing. Derek Nottingham, director of the state Division of Oil and Gas, and Travis Peltier, reservoir engineer in the division, reviewed activity levels in a presentation in late Jan- uary to the Finance Committee of the state House of Representatives. In total, North Slope companies are in advanced projects that will total hundreds of thousands of barrels per day (b/d) of peak production when all are online, the House committee was told. This includes 80,000 b/d at the Santos/Repsol Pikka Phase One, now about 90% complete; another 80,000 b/d from Pikka Phase Two by the same companies; 180,000 b/d in early-to-mid 2029 from ConocoPhillips’ Willow project, now 50% complete; and another 20,000 b/d from ConocoPhillips’ CD8, a new, smaller project in the Colville River Unit. “First oil” is expected in 2030 from CD- 8. Then there’s 40,000 b/d in added oil from two new production pads on the western end of the Prudhoe Bay field, Nottingham
The Dalton corridor includes key infrastructure such as the Trans Alaska Pipeline System and proposed projects like the Alaska LNG pipeline and proposed Ambler Road. The revocation supports efforts to expand domestic energy and mineral production under Executive Order 14153 and Secretary’s Order 3422, both titled “Unleashing American Energy.”
Photo by Judy Patrick The North Slope is set to add substantial oil production this year and in coming years with multiple projects moving full steam ahead.
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under the Alaska Statehood Act. This revocation allows approximately 2.1 million acres of “top filed” land (land previously unavailable for state selec- tion but which Alaska has long sought to acquire), to become effective state selections. The Bureau of Land Management is working with the Alaska to identify which of those lands it desires to take title to, moving closer to fulfilling its remain- ing 5.2-million-acre entitlement. This will give Alaska great- er control over its natural resources and economic future. “Today’s revocation is a major step forward for Alaskans to realize the promise the federal government made to us more than 60 years ago — a statehood land entitlement for Alaska to develop its resources and support its residents,” said Alaska Department of Natural Resources Commission- er-designee John Crowther. “We will continue to work in coordination and cooperation with the Department of the Interior on our relinquishment plan to ensure that the state’s highest-priority acreage will be available for transfer to the people of Alaska.” As part of this revocation process, the State of Alaska has committed to a good faith plan for relinquishment of excess statehood selections to address “over-selection” in compli- ance with the Alaska Lands Transfer Acceleration Act. “We are proud of this major milestone and the partnership that we have forged with the state.” said BLM Alaska State Di- rector Kevin Pendergast. “This is federal–state collaboration at its best; we’ll continue working closely with them on our shared commitments to fulfilling land entitlements.”
and Peltier said. These are the Omega and I-Pad projects being developed by Hilcorp Energy, the operator at the Prudhoe Bay field. First oil is expected at Omega in 2028 and from I-Pad between 2028 and 2030. About 40,000 b/d of new production is ex- pected when both new pads are in opera- tion, the legislators were told. All of these projects begin production on different schedules. Of the two big ones, Pikka Phase One comes online in 2026, fol- lowed by Willow in 2029. Field operators typically ramp up production as fast as is prudent to begin recouping heavy capital investments, so the expected output should be achieved soon. A peak production “pla- teau” period usually follows. Meanwhile, the large producing “lega- cy” fields on the slope continue to do well, Nottingham and Peltier told legislators. Ag- ing producing fields typically decline grad- ually, but in 2025, the North Slope produc- tion increased by about 1.5%, or 7,029 b/d. Some fields did decline but others showed gains thanks to new drilling and well work by operating companies.
The large Prudhoe Bay field showed a small overall decline, as did smaller fields like GMT-1 and GMT-2 in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A). The small Endicott and Northstar fields, both aged, also dipped in output. But these were offset by gains in ConocoPhillips’ Kuparuk River field and particularly in Hilcorp Ener- gy’s Milne Point field, which has been a star performer under Hilcorp’s management. The small Nikaitchuq and Oooguruk fields, both mature fields, showed excellent base performance, Nottingham and Pelti- er said. There were even improvements at the small Badami field east of Prudhoe Bay which has faced challenges. Point Thomson had a similar story. Point Thomson is the large condensate field also east of Prudhoe where production was curtailed last year because of pipeline difficulties. At Badami, a new well, B1-33A, is producing as much as the total production from the from the field, the legislators were told. At Point Thomson, a second production well being drilled this winter by Hilcorp, the operator, will increase production next year.
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ALASKA RESOURCE REVIEW MARCH 2026
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