SOLAR POWER PLANT

Núñez de Balboa

Project Description

The Prudhoe Bay Unit (also known as the Prudhoe Bay Oil Field or Greater Prudhoe Bay) is the largest conventional oil field in North America, located on Alaska’s North Slope in the Arctic region. Discovered in 1968 and brought into production in 1977, it has been a cornerstone of U.S. energy production for nearly 50 years, feeding the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) and supporting Alaska’s economy.

  • Surface area: Approximately 1,000 hectares (nearly 10 km²).
  • Construction: Completed in record time (approximately 1 year), with a peak workforce of over 1,200 workers (many of them local from Extremadura).
  • Impact: Supplies renewable energy equivalent to the consumption of 250,000 households.
  • Installed capacity: 500 MWp (megawatts peak; some sources indicate 500 MW nominal, with 391 MW of maximum grid connection capacity).
  • Energy produced: Estimated annual production of 832 GWh (gigawatt-hours).
  • CO₂ emissions avoided: 215,000 tons of CO₂ per year.

OIL FIELD

Prudhoe Bay Unit

Project Description

The Prudhoe Bay Unit (also known as the Prudhoe Bay Oil Field or Greater Prudhoe Bay) is the largest conventional oil field in North America, located on Alaska’s North Slope in the Arctic region. Discovered in 1968 and brought into production in 1977, it has been a cornerstone of U.S. energy production for nearly 50 years, feeding the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) and supporting Alaska’s economy.

  • Surface area: Approximately 213,543 acres (about 86,418 hectares or 864 km²).
  • Impact: Supplies a major portion of Alaska’s oil production; has cumulatively produced over 18 billion barrels of oil.
  • Installed capacity / original reserves: Original oil in place estimated at 24-25 billion barrels; initial recoverable oil estimates around 9.6 billion barrels.
  • Production history: Peak production reached about 2 million barrels per day (field-wide North Slope peak in 1988-1989, with Prudhoe Bay as the main contributor); current production (as of 2025-2026) averages around 250,000-300,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
  • Gas reserves: Estimated recoverable natural gas of up to 26 trillion cubic feet (Tcf).

OIL TRANSPORT

Kuparuk Pipeline

Project Description

The Kuparuk Pipeline (also known as KPL) is a key crude oil transportation pipeline on Alaska’s North Slope, USA. It serves as an intermediate gathering and delivery line, moving produced oil from the Kuparuk River Unit (KRU) and nearby satellite fields to Pump Station 1 of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) for onward transport to Valdez.

  • Length: Approximately 37 miles (60 km) for the main segment from Central Processing Facility 2 (CPF-2) in the Kuparuk River Unit to TAPS Pump Station 1 (some associated segments and tie-ins extend the effective system, including connections like the Kuparuk Parallel Extension or Alpine ties).
  • Diameter: Primarily 24 inches for the main line (with segments of 18 inches or other sizes in extensions, such as the Kuparuk Parallel Extension starting at 18 inches).
  • Capacity: Up to 175,000 barrels per day (bpd) in key segments (designed to handle flows from Kuparuk and connected fields; actual throughput varies with production levels, often lower in recent years due to field maturity).
  • Construction/History: Built in the early 1980s (laid in 1984 for the main 24-inch line), coinciding with full development of the Kuparuk River Unit (first production in 1981). It replaced or supplemented earlier lines (e.g., original smaller Kuparuk line converted to Oliktok for gas liquids). The pipeline has supported decades of operations in the Greater Kuparuk Area.
  • Impact/Throughput: Transports crude oil from North America’s second-largest oil field (Kuparuk River Unit) and satellites (e.g., Alpine, Nuna). It feeds into TAPS, which currently moves ~470,000 bpd overall (2025–2026 levels).