88 Energy Ltd., Perth, has acquired Umiat oil field on the North Slope of Alaska from Malamute Energy Inc. and Renaissance Umiat LLC.
The field lies immediately south of 88 Energy’s Project Peregrine blocks and to the west of its Project Icewine acreage.
Consideration for the purchase is a 4% overriding royalty interest (ORRI) and the assumption of liability for the abandonment of the Umiat-18 and Umiat-23H wells drilled by Linc Energy in 2013-2014 where abandonment costs are estimated at $1 million.
Umiat field is covered by two leases comprising 17,633 acres which are in a unit formed in September 2019 with an initial 10-year term.
Gross 2P reserves are independently estimated to be 123.7 million bbl of oil with 94 million bbl of that attributed to 88 Energy’s 76% net revenue interest.
Current commitments for the field stipulate the drilling of an appraisal or exploration well by Aug. 31, 2022.
Umiat field was discovered in the mid-1940s. Eleven appraisal wells were drilled by 1953. Some were tested, including a 3-month test on Umiat-5 which flowed on average at 268 b/d and Umiat-8 with a peak flow of 5.9 MMcf/d of gas during a 4-day test.
Linc Energy drilled two more wells in 2013-2014 resulting in a maximum flow rate of 800 b/d and a sustained flow of 200 b/d.
88 Energy plans a full field review to determine if Umiat can be developed as a standalone project.
If there is success at the company’s Project Peregrine, where drilling is imminent, Umiat could also contribute value to any planned Peregrine development.