The gas to oil ratio is very low in Cosmopolitan, Owens said, but based on the well tests, Pioneer plans to build a 16-mile pipeline.html'>gas pipeline to connect Cosmopolitan north to the Kenai Kachemak pipeline at Ninilchik, he said.
Pioneer spud the well using Rowan Rig 68 in September and completed the drilling in November, to test a known oil accumulation originally discovered in 1967. The company is determining whether production from Cosmopolitan would be viable — Owens said that a decision regarding whether to develop Cosmopolitan would likely follow drilling of the next well in 2009.
Even if the U.S. Court of Appeals gives Shell approval to drill oil exploration wells in Alaska's Beaufort Sea this year, the company has decided not to drill in 2008, Shell's Alaska operations manager Susan Moore said Feb. 14.
However, the company does plan to drill some shallow wells, termed "top-hole wells," that would not go deep enough to penetrate petroleum reservoirs. Shell has been discussing its plans with regulators, Moore said.