Since its discovery, the Liberty oil field has encountered many problems preventing the field from being developed. Due to the field's shallow water depth, its sensitive environmental area and the high costs of developing the project, the field was abandoned for 12 years. Situated on the outer Continental Shelf in 20 feet (6 meters) of water, the Liberty oil field is located about 15 miles (24 kilometers) east of the Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. The field lies within two leases, OCS-Y1650 and OCS-Y1585, and is wholly owned and operated by BP.

BP acquired the lease in 1996 and began exploring the area a year later and made a discovery on the Liberty #1 well in May 1997. On Feb. 17, 1998, BP submitted a development plan for the field entailing construction of an artificial island with full production facilities and the construction of a buried subsea pipeline to shore. In 2002, MMS rejected the plan and issued a final environmental impact statement on the offshore project. BP shelved the project and decided to further evaluate it by reviewing the design and economics of the development plan. However, Liberty has not been abandoned since the oil field is estimated to contain 100 million barrels of recoverable oil.

In August 2005, BP revised their development plan, deciding to use ultra-extended-reach drilling from the existing Endicott Satellite Drilling Island (SDI), located onshore about 8 miles (13 kilometers) from the Liberty field.

Field Development

At a development cost of US $1.5 billion, the plan calls for six wells to be drilled from the artificial island, Endicott's SDI, which was enlarged to accommodate the new Liberty drilling rig, wells and manifolds. Development drilling will commence in the first quarter of 2010 and first oil is expected to come online in 2011 with production reaching up to 40,000 bopd.

Oil will be transported to the Trans Alaska Pipeline System via the existing Endicott oil pipeline. Gas will be used for fuel and as an artificial lift for Liberty, with the balance being re-injected into the reservoir for enhanced oil recovery.

In 2007, a contract was awarded to Parker Drilling Company to construct an ultra-extended-reach top-drive drilling rig to drill ultra-extended-reach wells with a horizontal departure of six to eight wells. The drilling rig has been called the world's most powerful onshore drilling rig ever constructed. The Liberty rig will be powered by natural gas and equipped to handle the Arctic weather conditions, and is equipped with low-temperature tolerant steel and thermal sound dampening insulation. The Liberty drilling rig's ultra-extended-reach wells, guided by 3-D seismic imagery, extends 2 miles (3 kilometers) deep and as far as 8 miles (13 kilometers) out, some with measured depths exceeding the current record of more than 7.5 miles (12 kilometers).

In July 2009, the Liberty drilling rig was transported to its destination and arrived at the end of the month. Then in August 2009, Parker Drilling received a two-year operations and maintenance contract for the rig, which is the third phase of the Liberty field development projected awarded to the company.

Current Status

BP is shelving its Liberty project in Alaska, after deciding that the current development plan is not up to the stricter standards the company has enforced. The company stated it is working with regulators to discuss potential ways to move the project forward.