ConocoPhillips buys most remaining Chevron oil holdings on North Slope ConocoPhillips has signed a $300 million deal to buy portions of the Kuparuk and Prudhoe Bay oil fields owned by Chevron USA. ConocoPhillips announced the deal, which is expected to close by the end of the year, Oct. 3. Chevron has been seeking to sell its North Slope assets since at least 2022, and reporting by Northern Journal earlier this year showed that the company had been considering a sale to a small, independent Texas firm. Pontem Alaska Midstream, the firm in question, failed to close that deal, records show. ConocoPhillips’ purchase doesn’t include Chevron’s stake in the Endicott oil field, the company confirmed, and the status of that holding isn’t clear. ConocoPhillips’ purchase comes amid a general withdrawal from the North Slope by other large oil companies, including BP — which sold to Hilcorp in 2020 — and Chevron. The trend on the North Slope has been toward smaller, privately held oil companies like Hilcorp, but ConocoPhillips is a notable exception. It has invested heavily in the Willow oil project within the National Petroleum Reserve and this week completed delivery of a large oil production unit to Kuparuk. — James Brooks, Alaska Beacon Hilcorp again eyes Interior Alaska for oil exploration Oil and gas company Hilcorp appears to be moving toward new oil and gas exploration work in Alaska’s Interior, according to public documents released by state land managers. Hilcorp on Sept. 19 applied to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources to install water level gauges in Birch Creek, not far from the Yukon River, “in support of oil and gas operations.” Hilcorp has previously explored in the area in a partnership with Doyon, the Native-owned regional corporation for Interior Alaska. The original agreement covered exploration of 1.6 million acres; just 3% of that area was selected by Hilcorp for further exploration this year, Doyon says on an informational web page. “Plans for specific activities for the remainder of 2024 and 2025 are still in progress, but Hilcorp and Doyon will continue providing regular status updates to leaders in the region,” the page says. The area is relatively close to the Trans-Alaska pipeline, but it’s also near the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge, which could complicate any plans for development. — Nathaniel Herz, Northern Journal www.AKRDC.org 9 VOLUME 1 | ISSUE 3 | FALL 2024 ALASKA OIL AND GAS UPDATES
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