- 14 -
paragraph 36 of the DL-1 Leases, the lessees may salvage any
remaining equipment within a reasonable time but not less than
3 years after oil production terminates.
The Unit Agreement incorporates therein whatever oil company
DRR obligations existed under the DL-1 Leases with the State of
Alaska. It also stipulates that no well site may be abandoned
until “final cleanup and revegetation, if required, is approved
in writing” by the State. The Unit Agreement modified the
original DL-1 Leases in certain respects not pertinent to the
issues involved herein.
Production of Oil From Prudhoe Bay
From 1980 to 1987, oil production from the Prudhoe Bay field
was at its peak, averaging approximately 1.5 million barrels per
day, approximately 25 percent of total U.S. oil production.
Since 1987, oil production from the Prudhoe Bay field has been
declining. By 1997, more than 70 percent of the recoverable
crude oil located in the Prudhoe Bay field had been recovered.
Current projections by the PBU owners, the Alaska Department of
Natural Resources, the Alaska Department of Revenue, and the
North Slope Borough consistently forecast that oil production
from the Prudhoe Bay field will end approximately in the year
2030, well after estimated production from other known oil
reservoirs on the North Slope will have ended.
Page: Previous 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 NextLast modified: May 25, 2011