Say G'Day to 88 Energy: Australian firm explores the North Slope, but not ANWR.

• Date: 01 August 2022
• Author: Rhode, Scott

Western Australia, the home of 88 Energy, is in some ways the antipodean Alaska. The state shares the distinction of being its country's largest by area. Although not as thinly populated as Australia's Northern Territory, most of its people are concentrated in a single city, Perth. It also has a Barrow Island, named after the same Sir John Barrow for whom Alaska's northernmost point was named in 1826. And the state economy is dominated by oil and gas production, responsible for 61 percent of Australia's total petroleum output.

Far from the oil fields at home, 88 Energy looks across the globe, describing itself as an "Alaskan-focused oil exploration and appraisal company." Even for the North Slope, though, 88 Energy is oriented Down Under, working on units far to the south of most other operators. Its portfolio spans 440,000 net acres of the central North Slope region and into the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A), on land leased both from the state and federal governments.

Meet the Project Areas

Since 2015, 88 Energy has held leases at Project Icewine, which encompasses 193,000 acres south of Prudhoe Bay. The company has conducted seven well penetrations across that project area, at sites designated lcewine-1 and Charlie-1. Icewine is the only North Slope asset that 88 Energy operates but does not have a 100 percent working interest, instead owning a 75 percent share.

To the west, 88 Energy has two working areas on the south side of NPR-A. Project Peregrine is on 195,973 acres acquired in August 2020 via an off-market takeover of fellow Western Australia oil explorer XCD Energy. Sitting on top of the Nanushuk and Torok oil...