Notice of Public Hearing
STATE OF ALASKA
ALASKA OIL AND GAS CONSERVATION COMMISSION
RE: Docket Numbers: AIO-24-013
By application dated April 16, 2024, Oil Search (Alaska), LLC (OSA), as the operator of the Pikka Unit (PU), requested that the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (AOGCC) approve an Area Injection Order (AIO) to allow enhanced oil recovery (EOR) injection activities in the Nanushuk Oil Pool (Initial Application). The AOGCC held a hearing on OSA’s request on June 4, 2024. On June 11, 2024, OSA amended their application to include additional acreage in the affected area (Amended Application). Because the proposed affected area of the Amended Application expands on the proposed affected area of the Initial Application, and because the Amended Application requires notification of surface owners who were not required to be notified under the Initial Application the AOGCC must reopen the public comment period and provide the opportunity for a public hearing.
Conservation Order 807 (CO 807), issued on July 20, 2023, defined the extents of the Nanushuk Oil Pool (NOP) and prescribed rules for its development. OSA is now seeking authorization to conduct an EOR injection project in the NOP in anticipation of beginning production from the PU in the coming years.
The AOGCC approves injection orders for several purposes, including EOR, storage, and disposal either on an individual well or area wide basis in Alaska. EOR injection orders establish rules for conducting operations that are intended to increase the amount of oil or gas that could be recovered from a pool by one or more of the following mechanisms, maintain reservoir energy, sweeping oil through the reservoir to a production well, or modifying the properties of the oil to make it more mobile. This is consistent with the portion of the AOGCC’s mission that seeks to promote greater ultimate recovery.
This notice does not contain all the information filed by OSA. To obtain more information, contact the AOGCC’s Special Assistant, Samantha Coldiron, at (907) 793-1223 or Samantha.Coldiron@alaska.gov.
A public hearing on the matter has been tentatively scheduled for July 18, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. The hearing, which may be changed to full virtual, if necessary, will be held in the AOGCC hearing room located at 333 West 7th Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99501. The audio call-in information is (907) 202-7104 Conference ID: 324 917 237#. Anyone who wishes to participate remotely using MS Teams video conference should contact Ms. Coldiron at least two business days before the scheduled public hearing to request an invitation for the MS Teams. To request that the tentatively scheduled hearing be held, a written request must be filed with the AOGCC no later than 4:30 p.m. on July 1, 2024.
If a request for a hearing is not timely filed, the AOGCC may issue an order without a hearing. To learn if the AOGCC will hold the hearing, call (907) 793-1223 after July 3, 2024.
In addition, written comments regarding this application may be submitted to the AOGCC, at 333 west 7th Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99501 or samantha.coldiron@alaska.gov. Comments must be received no later than 4:30 p.m. on July 16, 2024, except that, if a hearing is held, comments must be received no later than the conclusion of the July 18, 2024, hearing.
If, because of a disability, special accommodations may be needed to comment or attend the hearing, contact Samantha Coldiron, at (907) 793-1223, no later than July 11, 2024.
Brett W. Huber, Sr.
Chair, Commissioner