Hilcorp Energy Co. has shut down two oil platforms in Alaska’s Cook Inlet in response to a natural gas leak discovered last week.
The affected platforms account for roughly an eighth of the total Cook Inlet basin oil production of a little more than 11,000 barrels per day, according to state data. Cook Inlet, a wide channel that runs from the Anchorage area to the Gulf of Alaska, has more than a dozen oil and gas platforms.
The gas leak occurred in a pipeline that supplies fuel for the platforms’ operations but was not carrying any hydrocarbons produced by the platforms, said state officials and officials with privately held Hilcorp. The leak was spotted last week by a pilot flying over the inlet, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation said.
The eight-inch pipeline is the same line that ruptured more than four years ago and leaked for months before it was repaired in April 2017, the environmental department said.
Hilcorp Alaska spokesman Luke Miller said on April 6 the company immediately notified federal and state agencies while it started to shut the affected units.
“No sheen has been observed. An assessment of the source of the leak is ongoing. No personnel or wildlife have been impacted,” Miller said in an emailed statement. Divers will install a temporary clamp on the line later this week, he said.
The Cook Inlet basin, with onshore and offshore facilities, is the oldest producing oil and gas region in Alaska. Hilcorp’s Alaska unit, now the operator of the giant Prudhoe Bay unit on the North Slope, is the dominant Cook Inlet operator.
Recommended Reading
Marketed: Barrel Oil Corp. Property Divestiture in Coyote, Alberta
2024-01-09 - Barrel Oil Corp. retained Sayer Energy Advisors for the sale of its oil and natural gas interest located in the Coyote area of Alberta.
Evolution Petroleum Acquires SCOOP/STACK Interests
2024-01-09 - Evolution Petroleum entered agreements with three companies to purchase non-op interests in Oklahoma’s SCOOP and STACK plays for $43.5 million, equaling its largest transaction so far.
Trio Petroleum Secures Option to Acquire 20% Interest in Asphalt Ridge
2024-01-08 - Trio Petroleum Corp. secured an option from Heavy Sweet Oil to acquire a 20% production share in the Asphalt Ridge heavy oil development project.
Analysts: APA Takes Callon Off Board as Permian M&A Wave Hits ‘24
2024-01-04 - APA and its subsidiary Apache Corp. are plucking Callon Petroleum off the board for $4.5 billion in stock as a historic wave of Permian consolidation enters a new year.
Potential Chesapeake, Southwestern Merger May Face Tough Scrutiny
2024-01-09 - Low natural gas prices are driving producers such as Chesapeake and Southwestern to seek large ‘strategic’ deals at a time when large-scale consolidation is coming under increased scrutiny by lawmakers and regulators.