Fiord West Kuparuk is a satellite development of the Alpine field that is being developed from the existing CD2 pad in the Colville River Unit. Extended reach drilling technology is being used which eliminates the need for a new gravel pad, additional pipelines, or more roads. Instead, a small expansion of an existing pad was made to accommodate the Doyon 26 rig that drilled a total measured depth of 35,526 feet.  

Doyon 26, the largest mobile land rig in North America, is a technologically advanced rig, capable of drilling in excess of 40,000 feet, which substantially extends the reach from a single pad. That means the rig will be able to develop 154 square miles of reservoir from a 14-acre drilling pad versus 55 square miles using today’s conventional rigs.  

ConocoPhillips has worked collaboratively on the Doyon 26 rig since 2011 when use of an extended reach drilling rig was being evaluated. From front-end engineering and design studies to our ConocoPhillips Canada colleagues collaborating with Doyon Drilling during construction, the rig arrived on the North Slope of Alaska in 2020.  

Fiord West Kuparuk is located in the Colville River Unit and is 100 percent owned and operated by ConocoPhillips Alaska.  

Read more about the project in the press release here.