The company drilled the well to a measured depth of over 16,000ft. The shore-based rig directionally drilled under the Beaufort sea to the targeted gas reservoir more than 1.5 miles offshore.
In addition, a 60-mile ice road has been completed from Endicott to Point Thomson, which enables the transport of heavy equipment and materials to the site.
Lee Bruce, senior project manager of ExxonMobil, said: “PTU-15 pushed the limits of drilling technology and demonstrated that the Point Thomson drilling plan is sound.”
The rig will be moved to the second development well at Point Thompson (PTU-16) and continue drilling. Work continues on front-end engineering and design for the initial production system.
The Point Thomson project, located approximately 60 miles east of Prudhoe bay, is scheduled to commence production in 2014. Point Thomson holds an estimated 8 trillion cubic feet of gas and about 200 million barrels of condensate.
