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Alaska: ConocoPhillips reports gas leak at Alpine Field in sensitive North Slope field

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  • Alaska: ConocoPhillips reports gas leak at Alpine Field in sensitive North Slope field

    https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/20...ries-reported/
    Gas leak reported at North Slope oilfield drill site; no injuries reported
    The leak was first observed early Friday morning at the Alpine Field, said ConocoPhillips Alaska spokesperson Rebecca Boys in an email.

    By Megan Pacer
    Published: Mar. 5, 2022 at 4:22 PM AKST|Updated: Mar. 7, 2022 at 5:11 PM AKST
    ...
    The leak was first observed early Friday morning at the Alpine Field, said ConocoPhillips Alaska spokesperson Rebecca Boys in an email. The gas leak is at one of the drill sites, and is subsurface and below the gravel, she said.

    “The cause of the leak is being investigated,” Boys wrote. “The Alpine Emergency Response Team is onsite and is working to stop the leak and minimize potential impact to the environment.”

    The Colville River Unit, more commonly known as the Alpine Field, is an onshore oil field on the western North Slope operated by ConocoPhillips Alaska. It’s about 34 miles west of the Kuparuk River Field and just eight miles north of the village of Nuiqsut.

    ...

    According to a subsequent email from Boys, ConocoPhillips Alaska evacuated all non-essential personnel from the drill site and the Alpine Central Facility on Monday “out of an abundance of caution.”

    https://archives.datapages.com/data/...50/no09/21.htm

    Houston Geological Society Bulletin, Volume 50, No. 09, May 2008. Page 21-21.
    Abstract: Alpine Oil Field, Alaska: A North Slope Legacy Field and Model for Future Development

    https://alaska.conocophillips.com/wh...ations/alpine/
    ...
    Alpine was the first North Slope field developed exclusively with horizontal well technology to access greater than 50 square miles of subsurface from a single drilling pad. It also employs Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) through waterflooding and miscible gas injection.

    https://www.spglobal.com/commodity-i...ka-oil-project
    • Natural Gas | Oil | Metals
    • 15 Dec 2021 | 17:49 UTC
    ConocoPhillips starts up new Alaska oil projectProduction starts on $1.4 billion new project
    Peak rate of 30,000 b/d estimated
    Third in string of National Petroleum Reserve projects

    The Coville River Delta is a biological hot spot, teeming with wildlife and fish, a traditional hunting, fishing, and gathering place.

    Protecting the People and Places in the Colville River Delta
    December 20, 2013

    Nuiqsut is located on the Colville River Delta, the largest delta on the Arctic Coastal Plain. The Delta is a biological hot spot, teeming with wildlife and fish. Because of its rich habitat, the Iñupiat have relied on it for thousands of years as a traditional hunting, fishing, and gathering place. But that subsistence way of life is in jeopardy, threatened by an ever-expanding oil industry...
    Last edited by Emily; March 17, 2022, 01:56 AM.
    _____________________________________________

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    i love myself. the quietest. simplest. most powerful. revolution ever. ---- nayyirah waheed

    "...there’s an obvious contest that’s happening between different sectors of the colonial ruling class in this country. And they would, if they could, lump us into their beef, their struggle." ---- Omali Yeshitela, African People’s Socialist Party

    (My posts are not intended as advice or professional assessments of any kind.)
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  • #2
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    • #3


      Gas leak at Alaska drilling site causes some residents to leave
      • By JOSHUA PARTLOW The Washington Post
      • 4 hrs ago

      By JOSHUA PARTLOW The Washington Post

      For nearly a week, natural gas has been leaking from a ConocoPhillips project outside an Alaska Native village in the Arctic, prompting the company to evacuate nonessential personnel and some residents to flee.


      The gas is leaking from multiple wellheads on ConocoPhillips's Alpine Central Facility on Alaska's North Slope, which lies on state land about eight miles from the village of Nuiqsut. The company detected gas escaping through the gravel on March 4 from one of its drill pads, known as CD1, and said that it has not been found outside that drill pad or in the community.
      The gas leak, which comes as ConocoPhillips is proposing a controversial new drilling project nearby, has sparked concerns about the accident's impact on public health as well as the climate. These kinds of leaks emit methane, a greenhouse gas 80 times as powerful as carbon dioxide when it's first released into the atmosphere and can be harmful when inhaled at high concentrations.
      The ongoing leak has worried many residents in Nuiqsut, a town of about 500 people, and prompted some 20 families to flee the area, according to residents and town officials.
      "Right now, there is a lot of fear in the community," Martha Itta, Nuiqsut's former tribal administrator, said in an interview from Fairbanks. She said her family fled the village because of the leak. "Community members are leaving on their own for their own safety at this time."...
      _____________________________________________

      Ask Congress to Investigate COVID Origins and Government Response to Pandemic.

      i love myself. the quietest. simplest. most powerful. revolution ever. ---- nayyirah waheed

      "...there’s an obvious contest that’s happening between different sectors of the colonial ruling class in this country. And they would, if they could, lump us into their beef, their struggle." ---- Omali Yeshitela, African People’s Socialist Party

      (My posts are not intended as advice or professional assessments of any kind.)
      Never forget Excalibur.

      Comment


      • #4
        Still no idea of what is going on with the Alpine field. I noticed the article above mentions cracking.
        Lois Epstein, an engineer and consultant who spoke with village officials on Thursday, said that cracks have been reported on the drill pad, which could result from pressure caused by permafrost thawing, seismic activity, equipment failure or other factors.

        "Cracks aren't good," she said. "We don't really know what would have caused it."
        Something doesn't add up regarding smells that residents of Nuiqsut are experiencing. ConocoPhillips has set up a website for status reporting here:

        ConocoPhillips Alaska Provides Final Report on Alpine CD1 Natural Gas Release.


        They say no abnormal amount of gas is in the air and they are still supplying the town with gas - so why are residents disconnecting from the gas supply and running diesel generators? Why would the added mercaptan percentage of the residents' feed go up in tandem with the leak of raw gas at the wellheads? Can't help but wonder if the residents are getting the runaround.

        https://www.adn.com/business-economy...mains-unknown/
        Gas leak at North Slope oil development continues as ConocoPhillips says source remains unknown


        By Alena NaidenUpdated: March 9, 2022 Published: March 9, 2022

        ....
        Ahtuangaruak said that residents continue smelling gas in Nuiqsut.

        Walter said that the odor is likely not coming from the leak. He said that the gas in the ground has “a very faint, slightly sweet organic odor only present in higher concentrations.”

        The utility company for Nuiqsut, the Nuiqsut Utility Cooperative, adds a harmless chemical called mercaptan to natural gas. Mercaptan has a foul, rotten egg odor, to ensure natural gas does not go undetected if there is a leak.

        During the leak, Nuiqsut’s biggest gas customers have temporarily switched to diesel fuel, and because it takes time to cut down on how much mercaptan is added to the supply, the gas being burned now has a larger concentration of mercaptan, a North Slope Borough official has said.
        _____________________________________________

        Ask Congress to Investigate COVID Origins and Government Response to Pandemic.

        i love myself. the quietest. simplest. most powerful. revolution ever. ---- nayyirah waheed

        "...there’s an obvious contest that’s happening between different sectors of the colonial ruling class in this country. And they would, if they could, lump us into their beef, their struggle." ---- Omali Yeshitela, African People’s Socialist Party

        (My posts are not intended as advice or professional assessments of any kind.)
        Never forget Excalibur.

        Comment


        • #5
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          • #6
            Local people on Facebook are reporting respiratory problems. They seem quite worried and many are asking for prayers. A woman in Ohio was asking for prayers for her daughter who teaches in the town school. One person said that the situation is so bad it might mean the shutdown of the whole field. He said that couldn't come at a worse time.
            A couple of people said that before the leaks, there was seismic exploration going on right in the town.

            https://www.alaskajournal.com/2022-0...ophillips-says
            After more than a week, gas is still leaking from Alpine field, ConocoPhillips says
            By:
            Alena Naiden
            Nathaniel Herz

            Anchorage Daily News
            Post date:
            Wed, 03/16/2022 - 9:36am

            ...
            ‘This is a pretty big deal’

            Conoco has not explained how it thinks the leak began, what might have caused it or details of how the rig could be used to correct it — other than saying that the rig now being warmed up was drilling a wastewater injection well at the time the gas was first detected.

            The company has also reported saltwater flowing out of three well houses at CD-1 — shack-like enclosures covering the tops of the wells — estimated at 600 gallons, according to a report filed with the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

            The company has not explained how saltwater could be connected to the gas leak. But in a briefing for Nuiqsut last week, Ben Stevens, a Conoco vice president, said the content of the liquid seemed to be gravel and water and “not drilling mud.”

            The fact that Conoco is readying a drilling rig to attend to the leak is likely an indication that there’s a problem somewhere below the top of the well, where problems could otherwise be addressed by repairing valves or pumping in cement, said Mark Myers, a petroleum geologist and former state natural resources commissioner.

            “It says something’s severely wrong with the wellbore integrity,” he said. “This is a pretty big deal.”..
            _____________________________________________

            Ask Congress to Investigate COVID Origins and Government Response to Pandemic.

            i love myself. the quietest. simplest. most powerful. revolution ever. ---- nayyirah waheed

            "...there’s an obvious contest that’s happening between different sectors of the colonial ruling class in this country. And they would, if they could, lump us into their beef, their struggle." ---- Omali Yeshitela, African People’s Socialist Party

            (My posts are not intended as advice or professional assessments of any kind.)
            Never forget Excalibur.

            Comment


            • #7
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              • #8
                I'm guessing that the seismic exploration in the area prior to the 'leak' might have triggered the gas release.

                Today’s Key Takeaways:  Makushin Geothermal Project gets $2m boost. No injuries or environmental impacts as a result of North Slope natural gas leak. Governor Dunleavy to President Biden: “Inv…

                Source of ConocoPhillips gas leak identified
                Liv Clifford, Fairbanks Daily News Miner, April 5, 2022

                ConocoPhillips Alaska has identified the source of a natural gas leak first detected last month at an oil drill site on the North Slope, the corporation announced Friday.

                A month-long investigation determined that the source of the leak originated from a sand layer approximately 3,000 to 4,000 feet below the surface of the C-10 Halo zone of the WD-03 well. The well site was fully plugged and abandoned after the discovery was made last week.
                ...

                Although the most recent air quality and snow composition testing has not shown anything outside of normal range in the community of Nuiqsut, residents remain concerned.

                “The process left a lot of unanswered questions,” said Rosemary Ahtuangaruak, mayor of Nuiqsut. “The process could have been done much better. There’s ways of keeping the community informed and making sure that we have adequate access to information.”

                “The changes that we went through with this event left us highly speculative with what’s happening and where we go from here,” she explained...
                _____________________________________________

                Ask Congress to Investigate COVID Origins and Government Response to Pandemic.

                i love myself. the quietest. simplest. most powerful. revolution ever. ---- nayyirah waheed

                "...there’s an obvious contest that’s happening between different sectors of the colonial ruling class in this country. And they would, if they could, lump us into their beef, their struggle." ---- Omali Yeshitela, African People’s Socialist Party

                (My posts are not intended as advice or professional assessments of any kind.)
                Never forget Excalibur.

                Comment


                • #9

                  Congressional committee seeks information from ConocoPhillips on Alaska gas leak

                  By Alex DeMarban Updated: April 27, 2022

                  The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee is looking into the ConocoPhillips natural gas leak that was discovered early last month at its Alpine oil field on the North Slope.

                  Three Democratic lawmakers with the committee, including Chair Raul Grijalva of Arizona, sent a letter on Tuesday seeking information from the company’s chief executive, Ryan Lance.

                  “The ongoing leak and ConocoPhillips’ response raises a number of troubling questions, including how your company would respond to similar leaks at your proposed Willow project inside the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska,” reads the letter, which was also signed by California lawmakers Katie Porter and Alan Lowenthal...
                  _____________________________________________

                  Ask Congress to Investigate COVID Origins and Government Response to Pandemic.

                  i love myself. the quietest. simplest. most powerful. revolution ever. ---- nayyirah waheed

                  "...there’s an obvious contest that’s happening between different sectors of the colonial ruling class in this country. And they would, if they could, lump us into their beef, their struggle." ---- Omali Yeshitela, African People’s Socialist Party

                  (My posts are not intended as advice or professional assessments of any kind.)
                  Never forget Excalibur.

                  Comment


                  • #10
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