North slope activity: Alaska's north slope lives up to its potential.

• Author: Anderson, Tasha
• Position: SPECIAL SECTION: Natural Resources

Since oil prices plummeted to $26.23 a barrel January 20, a result of a glutted global market, Alaska has had to face some hard truths: we've been spending money like teenagers with their first credit card--the money came easy and was spent even easier. Every Alaskan felt the result on a deep and personal level as this October the expected Permanent Fund Dividend was cut in half as a cost-saving measure. In the Last Frontier 2016 has been a year of introspection, as all Alaskans have once again been made aware, perhaps for the first time since the last oil crash, of just how much we rely on the oil and gas industry to fund state government and keep the overall state economy humming along. But as of October 6, the ANS West Coast price of oil had climbed to $49.67 per barrel, continuing an upward trend since bottoming out in January.

ConocoPhiliips Alaska

And for Alaska, that is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of good oil industry news. ConocoPhiliips Alaska has had three significant announcements this year: additional funding, a drilling record, and increased drilling capabilities.

In April, ConocoPhiliips Alaska announced funding had been approved for additional wells and on-pad infrastructure to increase production at the CD5 drill site in the Colville River Unit (Alpine) on the North Slope. Originally the CD5 pad had been permitted to accommodate thirty-three wells, but only fifteen wells had been planned and funded. The April allocation would allow for the pad to be utilized to its full potential.

As of October, thirteen of the fifteen original wells had been drilled. Of particular interest is the twelfth well, which set an Alaska drilling record for overall measured length of a well in-state. A horizontal injection well was drilled to a true vertical depth of approximately 7,400 feet with a horizontal leg of 17,228 feet for a total length of26,196 feet.

Shon Robinson, ConocoPhillips Alaska's Drilling and Wells Manager, says that the vertical depth is typical for a well, but the horizontal length is significantly longer than the other wells, "well beyond what we typically drill," he says. He continues, "Drilling a longer injection well is an optimization, essentially replacing another well." One long well can potentially have the same capability as two shorter wells, which is the case here. Robinson says, "From a surface perspective, you don't have any of that infrastructure, and that allows space for other development."

Injection wells are used to maintain the pressure of the reservoir and can be injected with a variety of materials, such as...