Project Profile
Location: Offshore southeast Cook Inlet, Alaska, USA
Reserves: 30 to 50 million barrels of oil equivalent
Discovery Date: January 1967
Water Depth: 30 to 40 metres
Start-up Year: - April 2016
The Cosmopolitan oil field, comprising leases OCS-Y-01664 and OCS-Y-01665, is located about two miles offshore in the southeast Cook Inlet in Alaskan waters measuring 98 to 131 feet (30 to 40 metres). Discovered more than 30 years ago by Pennzoil, the Cosmopolitan field is a joint Federal OCS and State of Alaska oil and gas unit. ConocoPhillips and partners formed the Cosmopolitan Unit in 2001 with Pioneer Natural Resources, now operator, acquiring 100 percent of the interest in 2006. Buccaneer Energy then signed a purchase and sale agreement for the acquisition of the two main productive leases in the former Cosmopolitan unit from Pioneer. The acquisition is being jointly made with privately owned BlueCrest Energy II with Buccaneer acquiring a 25% working interest and BlueCrest a 75% working interest, with Buccaneer to assume operatorship of the project. Since 1967, two additional wells were drilled into the unit, the Hansen 1 and Hansen 1A wells, by ConocoPhillips in 2002 and 2003, respectively. In 2007, Pioneer drilled the third well, Hansen 1A-L1, from onshore, to a total depth of 22,650 feet (6,904 metres). A year later, the operator conducted a production test of the third well and found the results were commercially viable.
Development of the Cosmo project will begin in the northern hemisphere winter of 2012 and continue through to 2014. The preliminary development plan includes drilling oil wells from the existing onshore production site and drilling offshore water injection wells for reservoir pressure maintenance. Separately, offshore gas wells will be drilled and tied-back to the existing onshore site, which will be connected to ENSTAR’s recently completed gas transportation line. Cosmopolitan is estimated to contain 30 to 50 million barrels of oil equivalent and first production is expected in 2013.
Operators:
Buccaneer Energy: Operator with 25% interest
BlueCrest Energy: 75% interest
Contractors:
ConocoPhillips: Drilling contract
Pioneer: Drilling contract