Development Geology of 20% of Total United States Daily Production on Alaska's North Slope: A Technical and Management Challenge

Naresh Kumar

The giant fields on the North Slope of Alaska combined (Permian-Triassic/Lisburne pools at Prudhoe Bay and the Kuparuk field) produce approximately 2 million BOPD and contain about 30 billion barrels of oil in place. Because the reservoirs in these fields are complex and the stakes in efficient field management so high, the development geology of these fields presents a great challenge.

The technical challenge lies in the fact that the full areal extent and heterogeneity of the producing reservoirs are not yet known. Secondary and tertiary recovery projects have been initiated very early in the lives of these fields to ensure maximum recovery. Thus, the development geologist has to locate drill sites in support of primary development drilling while at the same time formulating a reservoir description from an incompletely drilled field. In support of waterflood and EOR projects, detailed structural work is being carried out and permeability barriers and pathways are being identified and mapped.

The management challenge is in keeping communications channels open between the development geoscience group and the reservoir, production, operations, and drilling engineers. The development geologists must communicate in "engineering language" not only to be able to understand the problems described by engineers but also to be able to explain geologic concerns and solutions. Therefore, the geologic work has been carried at two levels. At the basic scientific level, interpretations of depositional environments, regional setting, facies distribution and diagenetic and porosity trends are being carried out. At the applied level, this knowledge is integrated with engineering practice.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91030©1988 AAPG Annual Convention, Houston, Texas, 20-23 March 1988.