Project tapped to produce 20,000 barrels per day ConocoPhillips has started production at its small Nuna project on the North Slope, the company said in late December. The project was completed ahead of schedule and under budget, said the company’s Alaska President Erec Isaacson. Nuna is expected to produce about 20,000 barrels per day at peak production, ConocoPhillips has noted. Nuna was an undeveloped deposit in the Kuparuk River field that has been known for some time but developed only recently. The project had been expected to begin production in mid-2025 but is now producing early. Kuparuk River is a mature North Slope field that has been producing since 1981, and Nuna is the first new drillsite in more than a decade in the field. The project will add 29 development wells, on-pad infrastructure and pipelines that tie back to the existing Kuparuk River processing facilities. Drilling started in September and is expected to continue for several years at the new drillsite, which is designated as Nuna 3T in the field. It is the 49th drillsite built in the Kuparuk River field since production began. Nuna’s production module was built in Alaska and moved to the North Slope by barge from a fabrication site in Anchorage. North Slope contractors are busy with two larger new projects, ConocoPhillips’ new Willow field and Pikka, being developed by Australia-based Santos, Ltd., but smaller projects like Nuna make a contribution to the state’s economy. While smaller than Willow and Pikka, “Projects like Nuna create hundreds of jobs in Alaska, contribute to a stable local economy and demonstrate the remarkable resource development potential that Alaska’s older legacy fields still have,” Isaacson said. “The additional drilling opportunities we’ve identified at Nuna are a positive development that should increase oil production at Kuparuk. Our investment in this project was approved due to Alaska’s stable fiscal regime which is clearly working to promote new and ongoing investment.” Another small deposit, Coyote, was discovered east of Nuna in the Kuparuk field in 2021. It is now being produced. Nuna has a long history. Pioneer Natural Resources, an independent which previously operated on the slope, discovered Nuna in mid-2012. Caelus Energy, another independent, bought out Pioneer and took over as operator at Nuna in 2014. Nuna was a confirmed discovery and it was sanctioned by Caelus in 2015. About $480 million was invested in drilling and construction prior to the sanction, Caelus said at the time. A 2.5-mile road and 22-acre production pad was built, enough to qualify Nuna a for state royalty reduction. In the past year, ConocoPhillips has invested more than $2 billion in its Alaska projects, which include Willow and Nuna. Willow is planned for completion and startup in 2029. It will add an estimated 180,000 barrels per day to Alaska production in the following years. — Tim Bradner www.AlaskaAlliance.com 27 Nuna’s production module was built in Alaska and moved to the North Slope by barge from a fabrication site in Anchorage.
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