The Alaska Division of Oil & Gas has sought participants for a stratigraphic well to be drilled on unleased state submerged lands off the eastern Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coastal plain.
The division said it informed the public in early August that it had identified three or four optimum locations in 35-40 ft of water about 30 miles southeast of Kaktovik for the well and that responses could come in as early as this month.
The division said Gov. Frank Murkowski requested the solicitation as a way of assessing oil company interest in the general area. It also could divulge downhole information that could lead to discoveries and eventually provide royalties and tax revenue to the state.
The area is off Angun Point, long known to have an oil seep. The division excluded leases in this area from the last few state sales.
Maximum depth of the off-structure well would probably be 14,000-15,000 ft, a division spokesman said. Among the objectives are zones above 8,000 ft and the Lower Tertiary section, which to the division's knowledge has not been evaluated in the area. The well would likely bottom in Cretaceous.
The geologic information gained would also be of note to companies interested in federal leases in the eastern Beaufort Sea, the division said.
Data from the well would be available to those who proportionally share its costs. It is expected that participants would qualify for a 40% severance tax credit against future production anywhere in the state, the division said. The credit could be sold.
Earliest potential spud date is winter 2004-05.
The well would be drilled incorporating environmental safeguards to the standards used for the recent EnCana Corp.-operated McCovey wildcat 12 miles northeast of Prudhoe Bay West Dock.
