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North Slope oil production averaged 742,002 barrels per day in March, a 0.5 percent increase from February, the state Department of Revenue said.
The Slope's biggest field, Prudhoe Bay, saw a 3 percent increase to 375,745 barrels a day on average. This total includes oil from the small satellite fields called Aurora, Borealis, Midnight Sun, Orion and Polaris. The second-largest field, Kuparuk River to the west of Prudhoe, averaged 153,655 barrels a day in March, down 2 percent. Kuparuk's numbers include oil from the nearby Tabasco, Tarn, Meltwater, West Sak and Oooguruk fields. The third-largest producer, Alpine, which lies west of Kuparuk, averaged 111,900 barrels a day, up 1 percent. Alpine includes oil from its Fiord, Nanuq and Qannik satellites. Among other fields: • Lisburne averaged 33,849 barrels a day, down 9 percent from February. Lisburne production includes oil from the nearby Point McIntyre and Niakuk fields. • Northstar averaged 24,098 barrels a day, up 3 percent. • Endicott averaged 12,970 barrels a day, down 6 percent. In Cook Inlet, production averaged 10,940 barrels a day in March, down 7 percent from February. Production has been shut down from some platforms that ship their oil to a terminal at the mouth of Drift River. The river has been flooding because of the erupting Mount Redoubt volcano.