ASX-listed Alaskan oil explorer 88 Energy is one step closer to tapping into the massive Alaska North Slope oil basin. With permits now in place and the ice pad construction nearing completion, the company remains on track for the Hickory-1 well to spud in early March.
Initial spudding of Hickory-1 will see some 1066 metres drilled to a total depth of 3810 metres to test up to six targets in the Phoenix acreage that is estimated to hold 647 million barrels of oil. Initial spudding will take approximately two weeks, with the total depth being reached within a month.
The Nordic Calista Rig 2 will be enroute shortly to the Hickory-1 well location. Rig 2 is a single, module self-propelled oil drilling rig that is known for its increased efficiencies during the harsh northern hemisphere winter exploration seasons.
Further flow testing will take place over the 2023/2024 northern hemisphere winter and these well results will underpin subsequent project development. Access to energy markets is relatively simple for the Phoenix project as the site is directly adjacent to the Trans-Alaska pipeline system and the Dalton Highway.
The oil potential for Hickory-1 looks bright, as it butts up against explorer-turned-oiler Pantheon Resources, which has a well producing up to 500 barrels of oil per day.
88 Energy is knee deep in the crucial steps of bringing an oil rig to life. Ice pad construction continues and involves artificially strengthening the surface and surface casing. Surface casing is where the well bore hole is lined with several steel pipes to prevent the oil from leaching into the water as the pressure of the well is tested.
The company is one of several looking to be part of the Alaskan North Slope revival. Once a prolific source of oil, increasing production costs and barriers to entry coupled with hydrocarbons being on the nose for investors saw this giant oil basin fall out of favour.
However, its fundamentals are hard to ignore. The Alaska North Slope oil field holds an estimated a recoverable 38 billion barrels of oil equivalent comprised of 50 trillion cubic feet of gas and 28 billion barrels of oil.
Previously considered a mature oil basin with its best days behind it, higher oil prices and increasing energy insecurity is encouraging many to reassess oil data. Now eyes will be watching to see if 88 Energy’s wells will help the area regain its “super-basin” status once more.
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