allow better cost control not just on Pikka but subsequent developments as well. Quokka was discovered in 2020 with estimates of millions of barrels of oil. Horsehoe was discovered in 2017 and Stirrup in 2020. Pikka itself was discovered in 2013 in an exploration initiative led initially by Bill Armstrong, of Armstrong Oil and Gas, and Repsol. Armstrong eventually sold his share to Oil Search, of Papua, New Guinea. The discovery was made in the Nanushuk, a geologic formation that extends across much of the west-central North Slope on state lands as well as parts of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, the federal lands to the west of the Colville River. Meanwhile, Oil Search assumed a 51 percent interest at Pikka and became operator after Repsol, for internal corporate reasons, decided to reduce its share from 51 percent to 49 percent. Oil Search was eventually acquired by Santos, which retained the 51 percent share. Arctic Slope Regional Corp., the Alaska Native regional corporation for the North Slope, shares the mineral rights at Pikka with the state of Alaska and will receive a share of the production royalties. Under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971, or ANCSA, the federal law that allowed Alaska Native corporations to select lands, ASRC must share 70 percent of royalties with other Native corporations. Kuupik Inc., the Native village corporation for Nuiqsut, the nearby Inuit village, owns surface lands in the Pikka area also conveyed under ANCSA. The discovery in the Nanushuk by Bill Armstrong is an example of an exploration effort using advanced technologies that unlocked large new reserves in an area that was previously explored, but where companies missed the production potential of the Nanushuk. The formation has actually long been known to geologists and companies, as well as the fact that oil was present. Most of the prior drilling in the area had penetrated the Nanushuk rocks while aiming for other formations but it was felt that the Nanushuk oil could not be economically produced. The work by Armstrong and Repsol changed that thinking, and the availability of new drilling techniques like horizontal drilling helped shift the industry’s thinking. Still, it’s also the case that there has not yet been commercial production from the Nanushuk. Santos feels that it has minimized this risk with extensive production tests of wells at Pikka. — Tim Bradner 14 2024 Meet Alaska Conference & Trade Show Linking Alaska’s Resources to Alaska’s People CONTINUED from PAGE 12
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