ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska North Slope region produced more oil in July than it had since 2013.
The area’s final production averaged 477,896 barrels per day in July, the highest monthly figure since 497,300 barrels were pumped daily in July 2013, the Anchorage Daily News reported Wednesday. Roughly 466,000 barrels per day were produced in North Slope in July 2019, according to Revenue Department records.
The summer months are traditionally a time when producers administer facility maintenance that can require them to curtail or outright stop production.
The state’s largest oil producer, ConocoPhillips, said it would slow production by roughly 100,000 barrels per day for about six weeks in May as a response to low oil prices. The company returned to normal production levels in July.
ConocoPhillips reported a decrease in production of about 45,000 barrels per day in the second quarter.
Hilcorp’s production at Prudhoe field generated an average of 287,341 barrels per day in July, more than 30,000 barrels per day greater than July 2019, according to Revenue records. The company became the field’s operator on July 1, taking over from BP.
One month into the 2021 fiscal year, the average oil price of $43.38 per barrel for Alaska North Slope Crude is 17% higher than the state’s official forecast of $37 per barrel for the year.
