Oil Search Ltd. is adding to production potential from the Nanushuk Formation on Alaska’s North Slope, reporting March 31 the discovery of oil from a well west of the Horseshoe discovery and hydrocarbon pay from a sidetrack.

“We are very encouraged by the success of our 2019/20 Alaskan exploration program, with oil discovered in all three penetrations, at Mitquq 1, Mitquq 1 ST1 and Stirrup, and excellent flow rates achieved in the two well tests,” Oil Search Managing Director Keiran Wulff said in a news release. “We also discovered high quality oil in a deeper reservoir at Mitquq which was not tested.”

The Stirrup 1 exploration well, about 12 km west of the Horseshoe discovery, hit an oil column with net pay of 23 meters and flowed at a stabilized rate of 3,520 barrels of oil per day (bbl/d) from a single stimulated zone, the company said in a news release.

Located 9 km east of the proposed central processing facility of the Pikka Unit Development, the Mitquq 1 ST1 sidetrack hit a net pay zone of 52.5 meters with a gas cap of 9 meters and flowed at a stabilized rate of 1,730 bbl/d from a single stimulated zone.

“We now have a strong understanding of the geology and potential productivity of the prolific Nanushuk play that underlies our portfolio of leases on the North Slope, which could add substantial resource and value to the Pikka Unit Development,” Wulff said.

Onshore