BP and Chevron join forces on Alaska's North Slope

BP Exploration (Alaska), and Chevron USA have entered into an agreement that aligns their leasehold interests in the eastern part of Alaska's North Slope. The alignment area covers more than 450,000 acres and encompasses the Sourdough, Flaxman and Point Thomson discoveries.
Under the agreement, BP will hold a 56 % interest in the companies' joint lease holdings in the area and Chevron will hold 44 %.
Also under the agreement, work teams from both companies will combine for geophysical, geological, reservoir, drilling and facility-related activities, they said
The effect of the agreement will be "leveraging the expertise of two companies to look at exploration and development opportunities at that area," BP spokesman Paul Laird said.
In addition, the agreement resolves some of the ownership questions surrounding the Point Thomson unit, Laird said. The Exxon-operated Point Thomson unit, which holds a discovery of mostly condensate gas, has 5 major owners, and other issues have yet to be resolved between them, Laird said.
Dave Birsa, Chevron's exploration manager for Alaska, hailed the agreement in the companies' joint statement.
"It enables us to move more quickly on proposed exploration and development plans for the area, and it continues our focus in the eastern North Slope of Alaska, which is one of Chevron's targeted growth areas for North America," Birsa said.
BP and Chevron have worked together on eastern North Slope projects since 1984. In 1994, the companies drilled the Sourdough prospect. The findings -- about 100 million recoverable barrels -- were announced in 1997.
In a recent state lease sale, Chevron and BP jointly obtained 16 tracts in the eastern part of the North Slope.