During the winter, there is the drilling rig and camp. In the summer, there is nothing visible except a well head enclosed in a house the size of large closet. This is a disingenuous image, environmentalists say. The closet will become a factory. If the seismic data look good, and the exploratory wells at Trailblazer hit recoverable oil, BP will build a production facility like Alpine.
Drill bits can now twist, turn and burrow horizontally.
Though it is freezing outside, it is warm inside the drilling rig at Alpine. While huge spans of pipe are continually attached to the drill bit and shoved down the well hole, the drilling team actually is surrounded by computer screens. Machines do most of the physical labor. Fresh coffee and cookies sit on a table. Don Mickey, a foreman for Phillips Alaska, explains that when Prudhoe Bay was developed, wells were spaced 120 feet apart.