ConocoPhillips and its Alaska North Slope Kuparuk River Field partners have approved a new drill site there that will add 8,000 b/d of new production, the company said Friday.
"Plans for construction will move forward," Burnet said in the statement. "This is the first new drill site at Kuparuk in nearly 12 years. It is expected to add about 8,000 b/d at peak production."
Engineering and permitting for the new site has been underway for some time but approval has now been given for construction. ConocoPhillips' partners in the field include BP and ExxonMobil.
ConocoPhillips previously said it hopes to have the new drillsite producing in late 2016. The project cost was estimated at about $600 million, the company has said.
Drill Site 2S is one of four projects ConocoPhillips is pursuing on the North Slope: The CD-5 project near the Alpine Field, from which production is expected to begin next year; the expansion of the West Sak viscous oil project in the Kuparuk Field; and a new development in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.
ConocoPhillips has said that it expects to add 40,000 b/d of new production from these projects by 2018, assuming all are approved.
