ConocoPhillips has major ownership interests in two of North America’s largest oil fields, both located on Alaska’s North Slope – Kuparuk, which the company operates, and Prudhoe Bay. Additionally, ConocoPhillips has a significant operating interest in the Alpine Field, located on the Western North Slope.

In southern Alaska, the company owns a 100 percent interest in the Kenai LNG facility and operates the Tyonek Platform in the North Cook Inlet Field and the Beluga River natural gas field, all in the Cook Inlet Area.

Greater Prudhoe Area

The Greater Prudhoe Area includes the Prudhoe Bay Field, the Prudhoe Bay satellite fields and the Greater Point McIntyre Area fields.

The Prudhoe Bay Field is the largest producing oil field in the United States and has more than 1,000 active wells. Drilling is expected to continue for many years. Prudhoe Bay also is the site of one of the largest waterflood and enhanced oil recovery projects in the world, as well as a large natural gas processing plant that processes more than 6.75 BCFD of natural gas that is reinjected into the reservoir. In 2011, ConocoPhillips’ net production at Prudhoe Bay averaged 87 MBOED. Prudhoe Bay also contains natural gas, and ConocoPhillips continues to work on opportunities to develop and monetize that resource.

The Prudhoe Bay satellites consist of the Aurora, Borealis, Midnight Sun, Polaris and Orion fields. In 2011, they contributed more than 10 MBOED of net production. All the satellite fields produce through the Prudhoe Bay production facilities.

The Greater Point McIntyre Area (GPMA) is made up of the Point McIntyre, Niakuk, Raven, Lisburne and North Prudhoe Bay State fields. The fields within the GPMA are generally processed through the Lisburne production center. In 2011, GPMA’s net production averaged nearly 10 MBOED.

Greater Kuparuk Area

Located 40 miles west of Prudhoe Bay on the North Slope of Alaska, the Greater Kuparuk Area (GKA) contains Kuparuk, one of the largest onshore producing oil fields in the United States. GKA also includes four satellite fields: Tarn, West Sak, Tabasco and Meltwater. GKA facilities include the Kuparuk operations center and residence camp, and its field installations include three central production facilities that separate oil, natural gas and water. The natural gas is used for fuel or compressed for reinjection to enhance oil recovery.

Kuparuk has been producing since 1981. Infield development continues and primarily uses coiled-tubing drilling that incorporates the results of a comprehensive 3-D seismic program to further delineate reservoir geology, characterize reservoir fault blocks and track the performance of the waterflood. A new 3-D seismic data set over the southern part of the field was executed in early 2011 to identify additional infield and peripheral drilling opportunities. Net crude oil production averaged 43 MBD in 2011.

Operator: ConocoPhillips (55.4%)
Co-venturers: BP (39.3%), Chevron (4.9%), ExxonMobil (0.4%)

Tarn, which began production in 1998, is located in the southwestern corner of the Greater Kuparuk Area. In 2011, it produced approximately 5 MBD net crude oil from two drill pads. Evaluation of 3-D seismic data acquired in 2008 was completed in 2010 and has led to additional infield and peripheral drilling opportunities.

Operator: ConocoPhillips (52.2%)
Co-venturers: BP (37.0%), ExxonMobil (5.8%), Chevron (5.0%)

Development of the West Sak reservoir, within the Kuparuk River Unit, began in 1998 from a Kuparuk drill site. Development of phases I and II of drill site 1J was completed in late 2007, and three wells of the 3K-Phase 1 project were completed in 2008. In 2011, West Sak produced approximately 7 MBD net crude oil. Evaluations of future possible expansions in the eastern portion of North East West Sak (NEWS) Area are ongoing. .

Western North Slope

Alpine

Operator: ConocoPhillips (78.0%)
Co-venturer: Anadarko (22.0%)
Located approximately 40 miles west of Kuparuk, Alpine is one of the largest onshore oil fields discovered in North America in the past 20 years. Directional drilling, zero-waste discharge, roadless development and other innovations minimize the Alpine development’s environmental footprint on the Arctic. The field is being developed from 97 acres, or about 0.2 percent of the 40,000-acre field. It began producing in late 2000, and three capacity expansions have been completed since 2004. Its 2011 net crude oil production was 33 MBD. A new 3-D seismic data set was acquired in 2010, which is currently being used to identify additional infield and peripheral drilling opportunities.

Operator: ConocoPhillips (78.0%)
Co-venturer: Anadarko (22.0%)

The Alpine satellites are made up of the Fiord, Nanuq and Qannik fields. Fiord is six miles north of the Alpine Field. It is produced from a roadless drill pad in the Colville Delta and is reached by an ice road built in the winter and by aircraft year-round. Nanuq is three miles south of Alpine. Fiord and Nanuq both produced first oil in 2006. The Qannik reservoir was developed via a 7.5-acre expansion at the Alpine Field’s CD2 drill site. Qannik commenced production in 2008. In 2011, the satellites’ net crude oil production was 18 MBD. Crude oil for all satellite developments is processed through the existing Alpine facilities.

In December 2011, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers granted a permit allowing construction of a gravel road, bridge and pipeline crossing over the Nigliq channel of the Colville River for development of a satellite field west of Alpine in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A), the Alpine West CD5 Project. We plan to incorporate the terms of the permit into our project plan as we progress toward sanctioning of CD5 in 2012. Initial production is anticipated toward the end of 2015. ConocoPhillips also continues to evaluate further exploration and development potential in the NPR-A area.

Cook Inlet Area

North Cook Inlet

Operator: ConocoPhillips (100%)

The field was discovered in the northern waters of Cook Inlet in 1962 and is produced from the Tyonek Platform, which began operation in 1968. Net natural gas production averaged nearly 34 MMCFD in 2011.

Operator: ConocoPhillips (33.3%)
Co-venturers: Hilcorp (33.3%), Municipal Light and Power (33.3%)

The Beluga River natural gas field serves major customers in south-central Alaska, including local utilities and industrial consumers. Net natural gas production averaged nearly 20 MMCFD in 2011.

North Slope Transportation

The 800-mile Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) transports North Slope oil to the tanker terminal in the ice-free port of Valdez, Alaska. The pipeline carries approximately 600 MBD of crude oil and NGL.

EXPLORATION AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

ConocoPhillips has participated in two appraisal wells in the Point Thomson Unit, with development options currently being evaluated. In March 2012, Alaska’s governor announced the state had forged a settlement of the disputes relating to plans for development of the Point Thomson Unit. The settlement agreement provides for both the near-term development plan for the Point Thomson Field and potential subsequent development alternatives. The Point Thomson natural gas resource is significant to a potential major North Slope gas project development. ConocoPhillips owns approximately 5 percent working interest in the Point Thomson Unit. 

Chukchi Sea

ConocoPhillips was one of the major participants in the Chukchi Sea federal outer continental shelf (OCS) lease sale held in 2008. The company was awarded 98 OCS tracts, or 0.56 million acres, with total lease costs of $506 million. Plans continue to progress for drilling an exploration well on the Chukchi Sea leases in 2014 or later. In 2010, ConocoPhillips conveyed a 25 percent working interest in 50 of these leases for cash consideration and additional working interests in the Lower Tertiary Play of the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. In 2011, ConocoPhillips conveyed an additional 10 percent of our working interest in the same Chukchi Sea leases to a second party for cash consideration.

Shark Tooth

Shark Tooth #1, an appraisal step-out well from the southwestern part of the Kuparuk Field, was spud in January 2012. The well discovered hydrocarbons in the Kuparuk sands, in accordance with expectations, and confirmed mapped volumes. This area is being evaluated to assess further development potential.