[frankthetank]

North Slope production down by 3%
read link. Some of it was due to maintenence.

[aahala]

Here's a link showing the Alaska production history by fiscal and
calendar years:

http://www.tax.state.ak.us/programs/oil ... odCYFY.htm

[frankthetank]

Its funny because i think a lot of Americans think AK is full of oil. A close friend thought AK had more oil then Iraq. It does produce a lot, but is like a bandaid on a gunshot wound

[NTBKtrader]

Anchorage, Alaska - Production from the North Slope oil fields continued on a downward trend in the month of December. Prudhoe Bay accounted for the largest per-day drop in production with output falling by more than 23,000 barrels.

Other major North Slope oil fields, such as the Northstar, Kuparuk and Alpine fields, also showed a decrease in production.

Total output for December slid by more than 32,000 barrels to about 860,000 per day. That's more than 120,000 barrels a day fewer than the same period last year.

http://www.ktuu.com/cms/templates/maste ... 2&zoneid=1

[slowrunner]

From USA Today -
"For now, Alaska's North Slope is all about oil — or what's left of it. Only about a quarter of the liquid pulled out of the ground is oil nowadays. The rest is water.

"We're actually a water field that produces oil," quips Gary Crawford, corrosion detection team leader for BP in Prudhoe Bay. "Back in the '80s, they didn't have any water, so you didn't have to worry about corrosion."

Prudhoe Bay's pipeline problems are another sign that its best days are behind it. It was never expected to last this long. When production began in 1977, the oil was expected to give out after 25 years,--"

This expains why no maintenance leading to the current state of disrepair.

[Taskforce_Unity]

Partially yes, a 75% watercut is nothing unusual though. Many fields are produced with a watercut around that size (being depleted as such).

[mekrob]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Taskforce_Unity', 'P')artially yes, a 75% watercut is nothing unusual though. Many fields are produced with a watercut around that size (being depleted as such).

[TexasEx2006]

This is very typical. What they don't mention is that most of this water is removed from the produced oil prior to hitting the main pipeline.

All of oil & gas production is about separations...separation of water from oil, oil from water, water from solids, condensates from natrual gas, etc. Once downstream further separations are made.

It is very unfortunate however that as a field ages it naturally produces more water either due to nature or waterflood operations.

[shortonoil]

.

Half the world’s major fields are now producing oily smelling water. Then we get these idiots, like the guy on the home page, declaring that prices are going to plunge. Where did all the mutant alien idiots come from? They must be detainies from another star system.


Every age has its peculiar folly; some scheme, project, or phantasy
into which it plunges, spurred on by the love of gain, the necessity
of excitement, or the mere force of imitation. 1841, Charles Mackay

[Zardoz]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('shortonoil', 'H')alf the world’s major fields are now producing oily smelling water. Then we get these idiots, like the guy on the home page, declaring that prices are going to plunge. Where did all the mutant alien idiots come from? They must be detainees from another star system.

[shortonoil]

.

Zardoz said:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'M')ust be. Has to be:

Okay, maybe this is a put-on. Maybe it's really tongue-in-cheek sarcasm or something...

[lawnchair]

As I understand it, the water cut really does go down the pipeline in the North Slope. Lots of reasons. They want as little machinery as possible up there. If something breaks in Valdez in November, it's not near the problem it is on the Slope. They are desperately concerned about oil spills up there (these guys park their pickups over little mats that absorb dripping fluids). Reducing machinery up north reduces the number of possible eco-disaster points. They don't need to recycle the water (I'm not sure how much water injection goes on, but there is plenty of fresh). If there is excess water (geologic, not injected), it would have to be treated after separation (again, a big hassle up north). And there is no problem of running out of pipeline capacity these days.

[jeezlouise]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Zardoz', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('shortonoil', ' ')Where did all the mutant alien idiots come from? They must be detainees from another star system.

[Heineken]

Unless I'm mistaken, the higher the water cut, the higher the cost of producing finished petroleum products, right? So this will be another factor bending prices ever upward as the water cut of the world's major fields grows.

[paoniapbud]

I predict EROEI will become a household term in about two to five years.

[americandream]

BTW, whats all this water cutting blahdy blahdy yakkity yak h20 usage doing to our water reserves (quality) seeing as water is fast become hot property in market......is the stuff we're pulling out along with oil adding to our stretched reserves (presumably the Middle east is going the other way and injecting fresh stuff).

Now there's a business...bottled purified ex crude hydro!

[Taskforce_Unity]

@Americandream

They use seawater mostly, so there are little "bottle fresh water problems"

@Heineken

The water cut drives the field prices up maybe a few dollars for production, which is nothing in comparison to the oil price

@poaniapbud

In two to five years is impossible. Recent Scientific research carried about by Charles Hall from New York State University with data from J.S. Herold Inc and BP showed that the EROEI of oil production is currently an aggregrate of 1:25. It has been declining somewhat in recent years due to the addition of various unconventional projects. It will decline further, but stay positive enough until at least 2030.

[sameu]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he only caveat to my scenario is if we have reached peak oil production — the point where we can no longer increase the amount of oil that is produced annually

A range of views place peak oil production somewhere between 2005-2036. Once we reach peak oil, then there will be a crunch in oil supply and price that makes current pricing look like a picnic, and my money is already on the table.

[Heineken]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Taskforce_Unity', '@')


The water cut drives the field prices up maybe a few dollars for production, which is nothing in comparison to the oil price

[Dreamtwister]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('paoniapbud', 'I') predict EROEI will become a household term in about two to five years.