Badami on-line.

• Position: Badami pipeline in Alaska

Oil first began flowing through the Badami pipeline on an early afternoon in late August. This development symbolizes a new era in the oil industry: one of increased production and new jobs for Alaskans.

Located about 35 miles east of Prudhoe Bay on the shore of Mikkelsen Bay, the $360 million Badami development is the first in a new generation of fields that will play a key role in reversing a decade of declining oil production on the North Slope.

This new generation of smaller North Slope fields features state-of-the-art technology and engineering, reduced environmental impact, and renewed emphasis on Alaskan jobs and spending, according to BP Exploration Alaska Inc.

"Four years ago, we were worried about declining production from Prodhoe Bay," said Gov. Tony Knowles. "Since taking the office, I've stressed the need to form effective partnerships with industry to encourage new development and create jobs for Alaskans. Badami is an important first step in that direction, and with prospects like Northstar, Liberty, Tarn, Alpine and the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska is headed in the right direction."

Badami is the first new stand-alone field on the North Slope in more than a decade, and is housed with sea-lift modules, drilling equipment and its own pipeline. With an estimated 120 million barrels of recoverable oil, it is the ninth largest among 14 North Slope fields currently producing oil or in planning stages for development. Initial production was about 7,500 barrels a day, and production is expected to peak at about 30,000 barrels a day next year.

"Badami and other new fields like Northstar and Liberty are an important component of BP's plans to invest at least $700 million a year in Alaska into the future," said Richard Campbell, president of BE "They'll also help us to increase our Alaskan production by more than 100,000 barrels a day over the next few years."

Since two-thirds of Badami's reserves he offshore, some more than three miles, technology had to be put in place to reach oil pockets. An initial 38 wells will be tapped directionally from a single onshore 20-gravel pad through extended-reach drilling techniques (much like roots extending from a tree). This makes it possible to produce more of the oil from the geologically complex Badami reservoir and further reduce surface impact, said BP.

Slimhole drilling, a technique relatively new to the North Slope, is expected to reduce the amount of drilling wastes, which include...