By the OGJ Online Staff
HOUSTON, Nov. 2 -- BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc.'s Northstar project off Alaska produced first oil Thursday, the US Minerals Management Service reported.
The MMS said Northstar is Alaska's first outer continental shelf development project (OGJ, Aug. 6, 2001, p. 74).
The project generated controversy as environmental groups argued that the pipeline to shore, and the project itself, endangered the delicate Beaufort Sea environment.
The 10-in. pipeline from Northstar field is the first buried subsea pipeline in the Arctic to be used for full-time production. It was laid 7-11 ft below the sea floor to avoid ice gouging. MMS said the specially designed flexible steel line is monitored by three leak detection systems. Capacity is 65,000 b/d.
From the shoreline, Northstar crude is transported to the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline System terminus through an elevated overland pipeline section (OGJ, Apr. 30, 2001, p. 100).
The MMS said that over the life of the project, Northstar would produce 175 million bbl of oil.
The project, about 12 miles northwest of Prudhoe Bay in the Beaufort Sea, includes three federal and five state leases. BP has a 98% working interest in the field. Murphy Oil Corp. holds the rest.
Interior Sec. Gale Norton said, "In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Americans charged our government to strengthen national security. This is a positive step in that direction."