The US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has approved Eni US Operating Co.’s application to drill in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska’s North Slope. The project represents the first fresh exploration on the US Arctic Outer Continental Shelf in more than 2 years, BSEE said.
Eni US submitted the application to drill from a manmade island in state waters in August, BSEE said. It said its action will allow the Eni SPA unit to start as early as December. Activity will not commence until personnel in BSEE’s Alaska regional office in Anchorage thoroughly review the project to make certain it meets appropriate technical adequacy, safety, and environmental sustainability standards.
BSEE said Eni US noted that new exploratory well drilling will add 100-110 jobs. Any potential development plan will depend on the results of Eni US’s proposed exploration wells. At a minimum, new development could lead to the creation of 100-150 jobs in the region and new production of 20,000 b/d of crude oil, the agency said.
Eni US’s exploratory drilling will take place on Spy Island, a manmade artificial island 3 miles offshore Oliktok Point in Alaskan state waters. Both the island and Oliktok Point are already home to Eni production facilities comprised of 18 producing wells, 13 injector wells, and 1 disposal well. Eni US now proposes to use extended-reach drilling techniques to drill into federal submerged lands, BSEE said.
The extended-reach drilling will target a formation in the newly formed Harrison Bay Block 6423 unit, a 13-lease unit on the OCS which BSEE approved in December 2016. Eni US will explore the Harrison Bay Block 6423 Unit in partnership with Shell and plans to drill 2 explorations wells plus 2 potential sidetracks over the next 2 years, BSEE said.
Contact Nick Snow at [email protected].
