ConocoPhillips Welcomes First Oil from Coyote Project in Kuparuk Unit
A map of ConocoPhillips Alaska holdings on the North Slope.
Photo Credit: ConocoPhillips Alaska
Ahead of schedule, a new project in the Kuparuk River Unit west of Prudhoe Bay has achieved first oil. ConocoPhillips Alaska announced that the Coyote 3SX development delivered crude to the metering valve on Friday, August 7.
On Time and Under Budget
Coyote, a reservoir in the northwest corner of Kuparuk, is considered a companion project to Nuna, a field that ConocoPhillips Alaska brought into production in late 2024. Coyote is the fiftieth drill site in the Greater Kuparuk Area. Funding for the approximately $800 million project was approved in October 2025, and construction began in early 2026.
“Coyote 3SX demonstrates our commitment to maximizing the value of our legacy assets while continuing to deliver safe, reliable domestic production,” says ConocoPhillips Alaska President Erec Isaacson.
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August 2026
The project involves approximately 20 miles of new pipeline, but it also leverages existing infrastructure to bring the new production online more efficiently. Isaacson says, “The additional pipeline required for the project will support increased production from Coyote as volumes rise in 2026 and beyond.” Expected peak oil rate is 12,000 barrels per day gross from nineteen development wells.
At peak construction in April 2026, there were approximately 365 workers on the project. “The Coyote project is a testament to the hard work, commitment to safety and excellence of our dedicated team,” says Isaacson.
Work is continuing farther west in the Bear Tooth Unit, where ConocoPhillips Alaska is developing the Willow project inside the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. Approximately 2,000 workers were engaged in construction at Willow in the past year, aiming for first oil in 2029. Willow is expected to produce 200,000 barrels of oil per day, or six times the volume added to the Trans Alaska Pipeline System by Nuna and Coyote combined.
