2013 Yearbook - Alaska Clean Seas

OPERATIONS
2012 has been an extremely busy year for the Operations Department at ACS. ACS personnel provided on-site
support at nine producing fields, exploratory drilling support from the Brooks Range foothills to the Chukchi and
Beaufort Seas, and start-up activity support at Point Thomson.
Exploratory Drilling Support Activities
ACS supported many drilling operations in 2012. Exploratory drilling was conducted in the Colville River Delta
area by ConocoPhillips, Pioneer Natural Resources, Repsol, and Brooks Range. Great Bear Petroleum drilled in
shale oil formations along the Dalton Highway.
In addition to land based drilling support, ACS supported Shell with exploration activities in drilling surface
holes in the Chukchi Sea and the Beaufort Sea. ACS has also provided dedicated staff on a full time basis to
ConocoPhillips in their efforts in planning and permitting for drilling in the Beaufort Sea. ConocoPhillips has a
target date of 2014 to begin drilling activities.
Due to recent regulatory changes post Deepwater Horizon, companies engaged in drilling activities have revised
Worst Case Discharge calculations in their contingency plans for Federal Outer Continental Shelf prospects.
Increased worst case discharge volumes require larger spill response kits and more comprehensive spill plans.
As the Oil Spill Removal Organization for both Shell and ConocoPhillips, ACS is likely to continue experiencing an
increased demand for resources in the coming years.
Looking forward, the 2013 exploration activities are expected to be as robust as 2012. ACS anticipates a minimum
of twenty-six trained drilling technicians working eleven locations, most of which are accessible by ice road only.
In preparation for the upcoming drilling season, ACS provides a training program designed to prepare each
technician for their role in arctic exploration drilling. Thirty-five drill technicians attended this training in the fall of
2012.
Marine Activities
The marine season got off to a good start. We were able to launch vessels at West Dock in mid-July. North Slope
Spill Response Team and Captain/Crew training began almost immediately as did many of the marine projects
ACS supports.
Operators in arctic environments expect the unexpected. In August winds over 40mph blew in from the Southwest
straight at the mooring barges and response vessels at West Dock. To protect the response vessels, ACS moved
them around to the leeward side of West Dock. The mooring barges were left unprotected and began to pull loose.
One barge lost a bollard and was at risk of breaking free from the beach. To stabilize the barges, the ACS Marine
crew added ballast by pumping water into the holds, thereby setting them on the bottom until the storm subsided.
Beach debris cleanup and refloating the barges took several days and was conducted safely with minimal damage
to equipment.
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Many of the ACS nearshore vessels are nearing the end of their service life. In 2012 ACS established a Marine
Committee comprised of member company representatives and ACS personnel. Also a marine survey was
conducted on all ACS’ larger vessels. With this information as a starting point, the committee will develop marine
vessel requirements based on the spill response needs for the areas in which ACS member companies operate.
Currently ACS’ main vessels have three to five years of service remaining before replacement becomes critical.