Eni to start Nikaitchuq oil production in 2009

Jan. 28, 2008
Eni SPA will spend $1.45 billion developing Nikaitchuq oil field off the North Slope of Alaska. Field production is scheduled to begin at yearend, 2009.

Uchenna Izundu
International Editor

LONDON, Jan. 28 -- Eni SPA will spend $1.45 billion developing Nikaitchuq oil field off the North Slope of Alaska. Field production is scheduled to begin at yearend, 2009.

The field, in water averaging 3 m deep, will have 35 production wells and 35 injection wells drilled in it, "about one third of which will be drilled from onshore and the remainder drilled from an offshore artificial island built 4.5 km from the coast," Eni said.

Production will be sent to a newly built 40,000 b/d processing facility onshore near the field and then transported some 22 km to the Kuparuk network, which is linked to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.

Nikaitchuq has reserves estimated at 180 million bbl of oil. This will be the first project that Eni will develop in Alaska after acquiring a 30% stake from Armstrong Oil & Gas' Alaskan assets and the remaining 70%, together with operatorship, from Anadarko in the first quarter of 2007.

In the first half of 2008 Eni expects to begin production in Alaska from Oooguruk field (Pioneer 70% and operator Eni 30%), which also is on the North Slope some 25 km west of Nikaitchuq.

Contact Uchenna Izundu at [email protected].