The Leading Edge; July 2001; v. 20; no. 7;
p. 730-738; DOI: 10.1190/1.1487284
© 2001 Society of Exploration Geophysicists
Geophysical interpretation methods applied at Alpine Oil Field
North Slope, Alaska
Dean Gingrich and
Doug Knock
Phillips Alaska, Anchorage, Alaska, U.S.
Ron Masters
formely ARCO E&P Technology, Houston, Texas, U.S.
Corresponding author: D. Gingrich, gingrich@ppco.com
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Alpine Oil Field, located 34 miles west of Kuparuk River Field on the North Slope of Alaska (Figure 1) and owned by Phillips Alaska (78%) and Anadarko Petroleum (22%), is estimated to contain more than 400 million barrels of proven plus potential oil and 1 billion barrels of oil in place. Following the discovery well drilled in 1994 (the ARCO Bergschrund 1), the field was delineated over two successive winter drilling seasons—six wells and four sidetracks were drilled in the delineation phase. In 1996, a 3-D seismic survey was acquired to prepare for field development.
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Figure 1. Alpine Oil Field is 34 miles west of Kuparuk River Field on the North Slope of Alaska.
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Alpine is the first commercial oil production from Upper Jurassic sandstone on the North Slope. This sandstone contains 40° API gravity oil and averages 50 ft in thickness at a depth of 7000 ft subsea. In comparison to other producing North Slope fields (Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk), Alpine is a small stratigraphic trap, remote from existing infrastructure. This project would be economically unattractive if conventional approaches to prospect delineation, environmental assessment, facility design, and access were used. However, by using new approaches and applying modern techniques, the delineation-development team reduced costs and shortened field startup time, making the project economic. This paper will discuss several of the interpretation techniques used to map the Alpine reservoir.
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Geology
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The Alpine reservoir occurs stratigraphically between the Permian-Triassic Prudhoe Bay and Lower Cretaceous Kuparuk River fields. The Alpine sandstone is the youngest Upper Jurassic sand within the Kingak Shale in the Colville River Delta area (Figure 2).
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Figure 2. The Alpine reservoir occurs stratigraphically between the Permian-Triassic Prudhoe Bay and Lower Cretaceous Kuparuk River fields. The Alpine sandstone is the youngest Upper Jurassic sand within the Kingak Shale in the Colville . . . [Full Text of this Article] |
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Sequence stratigraphy of the Kingak Shale (Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous), National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska
AAPG Bulletin,
March 1, 2004;
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279 - 302.
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