24 ALASKA RESOURCE REVIEW SPRING 2025 More development on the way amid ongoing Willow, Pikka activity BY TIM BRADNER THINGS ARE BUSY ON THE NORTH SLOPE, THE BUSIEST SINCE THE PIPELINE DAYS, SOME SAY. ABOUT 5,000 WERE AT WORK THIS WINTER AS CONSTRUCTION PEAKED ON THE BIG PIKKA AND WILLOW PROJECTS. Santos Ltd. is now 80% complete on Pikka. Pipeline installation is progressing well and is hoped to be complete in two winter seasons. A goal of an early start for production at the end of 2025 depends largely on logistics and delivery of modules up the Hay River in in the Northwest Territories in Canada, company CEO Bruce Dingeman has told investors. Hilcorp Energy and ConocoPhillips also are busy with projects in the existing large fields. ConocoPhillips is continuing to drill at Nuna, its new project in the Kuparuk River field, and plans to develop Coyote, a nearby deposit, in 2025. Hilcorp will have seven rigs operating this year on the North Slope and an eighth when mobilization of a Doyon Drilling rig for Point Thomson is complete. The company also has three rigs in Cook Inlet. For North Slope contractors, the good times are set to roll on. Santos and its partner, Repsol, hope to essentially complete Pikka’s phase one by the end of the year and start production, but will likely start construction soon on Pikka’s phase two. That would add two more production pads to the one that will support phase one production. Meanwhile, more development may be coming. Santos will be doing more exploration at Quokka and Horseshoe, promising discoveries south of Pikka. ConocoPhillips may have its hands full with Willow in in-field projects in the Kuparuk River and Alpine fields, but the company is also interested in exploring farther west in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, where Willow is also located. Discoveries have been made west of Willow and new development-friendly policies of the Trump Administration will encourage more drilling. All of this is on the western North Slope, but to the east, the recent discovery by Armstrong Oil and Gas and its partner, Apache Corp., at the Sockeye exploration well has attracted a lot of interest. Armstrong, the operator, said the well penetrated rock with high porosity, which is promising because it means hydrocarbon fluids should flow easily. Armstrong is now moving to do a production flow test, a key determination of viability. The significance of the find, however, was illustrated by the fact that Apache, a public corporation, rushed out a news release. Under SEC rules, that happens when a significant event has occurred. The two companies control a large number of state leases in the Sockeye vicinity. What’s also significant is that Apache, a major independent company, has made its debut on the North Slope. NORTH SLOPE BUSTLING WITH ACTIVE PROJECTS Photo Courtesy ConocoPhillips Alaska
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