LKA confirms 79 million bbl of recoverable reserves and resources in Ahpun’s Alkaid Horizon

This report updates the January 2020 IER on the Alkaid horizon (formerly referred to as the ‘ZOI’ and/or ‘Alkaid Deep’) within the Ahpun field. The original report was issued after the successful re-entry and test of the Alkaid-1 well during the winter of 2019. This update benefits from the additional data gathered from the 5200 ft horizontal completion and 90-day flow test of the Alkaid-2 well drilled in 2022. The Alkaid horizon is the smallest and deepest development candidate in Pantheon’s portfolio, with poorer reservoir quality than the Ahpun topsets and Kodiak reservoirs, however, the advantage of its immediate proximity to pipeline and road infrastructure creates optionality for early economic development.

Highlights

• LKA estimates base case possible reserves of 5 million bbl and 27 billion ft3 of recoverable natural gas at the Alkaid horizon, in addition to contingent resources totalling 74 million bbl of marketable liquids and 396 billion ft3 of recoverable natural gas.
• LKA estimates high case contingent resources totalling 123 million bbl and 634 billion ft3.
• LKA’s attribution of reserves in the immediate vicinity of the Alkaid-2 well and its economic modelling of the overall Alkaid horizon estimating real rates of return in excess of 20%, support Pantheon’s previous assessment that the Alkaid-2 long term production test demonstrated the commerciality of the Alkaid horizon in Ahpun.

David Hobbs, Pantheon’s Executive Chairman, commented: “This is an important result for our strategy to move the Ahpun and Kodiak Fields through development to production over the coming years. The confirmation that the Alkaid horizon, the most marginal of the resources appraised on our Alaska North Slope acreage, is modelled by the independent experts to deliver real rates of return exceeding 20%, is fantastic news for our development planning. It’s important to remember that both the Ahpun topsets and the newly awarded Ahpun Eastern Extension both offer far superior reservoir properties and are similarly located in close proximity to the pipeline and road infrastructure. There are material synergies to be exploited in development, potentially further enhancing expected returns.”

“Once again, Jay, Bob and the team are putting in the hard yards to line up all the pieces necessary to deliver our strategic goal of achieving sustainable market recognition of US$5 – 10 per recoverable barrel by 2028. We are expecting the Cawley Gillespie report on the Ahpun Topsets in the coming weeks and expect to continue building on this momentum going forward.”

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/drilling-and-production/01052024/lka-confirms-79-million-bbl-of-recoverable-reserves-and-resources-in-ahpuns-alkaid-horizon/