THE LINK: JULY 2023 40 2026 startup targets 80,000 barrels per day during phase one A busy winter season is shaping up for the North Slope with drilling underway and the start of pipeline construction by Santos, Ltd. for its Pikka project. This is phase one of Pikka, targeting a 2026 startup up 80,000 barrels per day. A phase two is planned but not yet sanctioned. Contractors will have a lot on their plate even for phase one, however. Some infrastructure for Pikka was built earlier, mainly the one production pad, Drill Site B, that will be part of the initial phase. Drill Sites A and C are planned for the future. Modular facilities are being moved to the North Slope this summer, including modules for an operations center and warehouse being built in Big Lake, in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, and modules for production facilities being moved to the slope from Alberta, where they are being fabricated. About 1,600 workers will be employed this winter at Pikka and 1,800 next winter and about the same in the following season. The project labor workforce will not drop below 1,000 for the duration of the construction. Securing this labor may be a challenge with other work underway this Busy winter season shaping up for Pikka Photos by Judy Patrick Completed pad at Pikka, waiting for equipment.
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