The Kuparuk field was discovered in 1969 and began producing in December of 1981. Originally thought to contain 1.6
billion barrels of recoverable oil, Kuparuk has produced more than 2.4 billion barrels by its 30th anniversary. Today,
Kuparuk produces 120,000 barrels a day from five different reservoirs. A footprint that was initially 65 acres has been
reduced to just 11, thanks to advancements in technology developed at Kuparuk and expanded to fields like Alpine. The
remaining oil at Kuparuk is increasingly challenging and costly to produce. ConocoPhillips believes that, working with
the state, it is possible that we could continue to produce opportunity for Alaskans at Kuparuk for another 30 years.
1969
Sinclair Oil and Sohio (now BP) discover oil near the Kuparuk River
on Alaska’s North Slope.
1974
Construction begins on the 800-mile Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS).
1977
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez is completed in May.
1981
The first oil from Kuparuk enters TAPS at Pump Station 1. Kuparuk owners and State of
Alaska sign an operating agreement.
1984
The second processing facility at Kuparuk (CPF-2) begins operating.
1987
The third processing facility at Kuparuk CPF-3 begins operating.
1993
Kuparuk reaches peak production rate of 320,000 barrels per day.
CPF-2 receives the ARCO President’s Safety Award and the Kuparuk
spill response center is completed.
1996
Large-scale, enhanced oil recovery (LSEOR) starts at Kuparuk and
the first ARCO/BP Alaska Safety Handbook (ASH) is published.
1997
Kuparuk receives ARCO’s Environmental Achievement Award for
pollution prevention. The first North Slope Environmental Field
Handbook is published. The BEAR employee safety process is
initiated. The ARCO/BP Alignment Agreement for Joint Exploration
and Appraisal is signed. West Sak begins producing in December.
1998
Kuparuk’s FLIR system receives ARCO’s Environmental Achievement
Award. Kuparuk satellites Tarn and Tabasco begin producing.
Kuparuk receives Arctic Green Star Certification.
1999
Kuparuk wins EPA Region 10 Evergreen Award. By April, Kuparuk
River Unit produces 1.6 billion
barrels of oil, which was the initial expected recoverable volume for
the unit. In August, Kuparuk reaches 1 million man-hours without a
loss time injury.
2000
ConocoPhillips purchases ARCO Alaska and becomes Kuparuk
operator. Kuparuk River Unit
receives IOGCC Environmental Stewardship Award. In May, the
fourth Kuparuk satellite discovery, Meltwater, is announced.
2001
Kuparuk River Unit receives Phillips Shield Award for Environmental
Achievement followed by the Alaska Governor’s Safety Excellence
Award for CPF-2. The first Palm exploration well drilled.
2005
The $500-million-dollar expansion of West Sak gets under way. By
July, Kuparuk River Unit has produced 2 billion barrels of oil.
2006
OSHA nominates Kuparuk Operations for its VPP Star certification for
the entire field, which will make Kuparuk ConocoPhillips’ largest
upstream entity to receive such an award.
2011
The field celebrates 15th anniversary of working with ASRC Energy Services, an Alaska
Native Corporation subsidiary, as Kuparuk’s primary operations and maintenance labor
contractor.