Thursday, March 16, 2017

Largest U.S. Onshore Conventional Hydrocarbons Discovery in 30 Years

Spanish oil major and North Slope explorer Repsol and privately held Denver based Armstrong Energy announced the discovery of the massive Horseshoe oil field in Alaska. The contingent resources currently identified in the Nanushuk play amount to approximately 1.2 billion barrels of recoverable light oil. This is the largest U.S. onshore conventional hydrocarbons discovery in the last 30 years. The Horseshoe-1 and Horseshoe-1A wells drilled in the 2016-2017 winter campaign confirm Nanushuk as a significant emerging play in Alaska’s North Slope. The discovery is 20 miles south of where the two companies have already found oil in a project known as Pikka. Preliminary development concepts for Pikka anticipate first production there from 2021, with a potential rate approaching 120,000 barrels of oil per day. The new massive find of conventional oil on state land could bring relief to budget pains in Alaska brought on by slumping production in the state and the crash in oil prices. Source: Repsol.