ExxonMobil mobilizes drilling rig for Point Thomson Project

ExxonMobil Production Company has mobilized a drilling rig for the Point Thomson Project. The rig, owned by Nabors Alaska, has been upgraded to drill the high pressure wells at Point Thomson on the North Slope of Alaska. It was moved from Deadhorse to the drilling site in modules, some weighing more than one million pounds.

As there are no permanent roads to Point Thomson, Fairweather E&P Services and Nanuq/AFC have constructed over 30 miles of ice road to enable the transport of heavy equipment and materials while protecting the North Slope environment. Most of the ice road follows the shore line along the Beaufort Sea.

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has authorized the ice-road permits on January 27, 2009 allowing mobilization of the drilling rig and provided guidance to other regulatory agencies to expedite permitting to allow drilling to begin.

The initial phase of the project will process approximately 200 million cubic feet per day of Point Thomson gas in order to produce approximately 10,000 barrels per day of liquid condensate into the Trans Alaska Pipeline System by year end 2014.

The remaining gas will then be recycled into the Point Thomson reservoir. The Point Thomson Unit working interest owners committed $120 million to the drilling and development activities in 2008, with additional investments of about $250 million expected in 2009.

Craig Haymes, Alaska production manager for ExxonMobil, said: "We are moving forward with drilling and development activities at Point Thomson, for the mutual benefit of Alaskans and the Point Thomson Unit working interest owners. DNR staff and other local, state and federal agencies have worked tirelessly to process permits necessary to allow drilling to begin."

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