North Slope has two fields cleared for gas sales, AOGCC tells Senate

The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission told the Senate Finance Committee on Friday that only two North Slope fields have regulatory approval to supply gas to a major sales project. Lawmakers are weighing tax legislation for Alaska LNG as the commission clarified which fields can supply it.

Prudhoe Bay can deliver 3.6 billion cubic feet of gas per day under a 2015 order. Point Thomson is authorized for 1.1 billion cubic feet per day under a separate 2015 order. Commissioner Greg Wilson said those volumes are enough to supply the Alaska LNG project through its first two phases. Other small gas offtakes exist on the North Slope for other purposes, but only Prudhoe Bay and Point Thomson are approved for major gas sales.

Point Thomson's current facility is designed for about 200 million cubic feet per day. It would need expanded facilities and additional wells to reach the authorized 1.1 billion cubic feet per day rate, senior reservoir engineer Dave Roby said.

North Star and Endicott fields could obtain gas offtake orders within months if operators apply, but neither has done so, Wilson said. The commission has not received applications from those fields. "By relatively quickly, a matter of months, and you could have a gas offtake order for a field that's a known entity like North Star," Wilson said.

Great Bear Pantheon discoveries south of Prudhoe Bay have not submitted required development plans to the commission, Wilson said. That contradicted testimony to the House Finance Committee last week that suggested those discoveries had satisfied regulatory requirements. "Great Bear implied that they had satisfied all the AOGCC regulations to go to production with their discoveries," Wilson said. "What I am saying is that they have not satisfied 517 here putting a plan of development before the AOGCC."

The commission presentation came as the Senate Finance Committee considers tax legislation tied to the Alaska LNG project. Developer Brandon Duvall of the Glenfarne Group has said the project is on track to start delivering gas in 2029. The committee will receive updated modeling from the Department of Revenue on Monday.