Oil Patch Insider 02/15/2009
NANA leases 2.2M acres; BRPC sells Stinson leases; Benchmark pulls out; Rutter bringing in rig
NANA Regional Corp. has leased 2.2 million acres onshore in the northwestern Alaska Kotzebue basin to Trio Petroleum, a Bakersfield, Calif., independent oil and gas producer. Trio, which has hired Ala...

The Explorers 2008: Other explorers keep pressing forward 11/23/2008
Despite many challenges, tiny companies continue to prep drilling programs across the state
High operating costs, remote locations and extensive regulations and bonding requirements can make Alaska a challenge for smaller independent oil and gas companies, but that doesn't always stop them f...

THE EXPLORERS 2007: Benchmark Oil and Gas buying seismic, talking to operators 11/18/2007
It took more than a year, but Benchmark Oil and Gas, along with other successful bidders, finally received its lease assignments from the State of Alaska for the 20 tracts it won in the May 2006 Cook...

Alaska agency issues Cook Inlet leases 08/05/2007
The long wait is over for people who made successful bids at the State of Alaska's May 2006 areawide lease sale. Alaska's Division of Oil and Gas mailed the leases on July 30 for signature by the bidd...

Benchmark gathering data; waiting on leases 07/29/2007
Benchmark Oil and Gas exploration in Alaska's Kenai Peninsula remains in something of a holding pattern while the company waits for the state to issue the leases that the company bought in the May 200...

Spotlight on Cook Inlet 02/11/2007
DNR team hopes to facilitate exploration by developing public-domain model
A growing supply/demand crunch for natural gas in Southcentral Alaska is catching many people's attention, not least the Kenai Peninsula industrial gas users who have had to curtail some operations an...

Oilpatch Insider 12/24/2006
Coastal tundra travel open; Chavez comes to Alberta's rescue; Hite joins Benchmark; Interior picks Nageak; Katz stays
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources opened the eastern and western coastal areas of state land on Alaska's North Slope for winter tundra travel effective 8 a.m. Dec. 19. The department said the...

THE EXPLORERS 2006 - Benchmark expanding exploration horizons 11/12/2006
Independent plans to apply state-of-the-art techniques in the search for gas in Cook Inlet basin
Since acquiring 20 Kenai Peninsula tracts in the State of Alaska's May 2006 Cook Inlet basin areawide lease sale, Alaska-newcomer Benchmark Oil and Gas Co. has articulated a clear mantra for explorati...

Benchmark expanding exploration horizons 10/22/2006
Swedish independent plans to apply state-of-the-art techniques in its search for natural gas in Alaska's Cook Inlet basin
Since acquiring 20 Kenai Peninsula tracts in the May 2006 Cook Inlet areawide lease sale, Alaska-newcomer Benchmark Oil and Gas Co. has articulated a clear mantra for exploration in the region: apply...

Benchmark looks to apply new technology 05/28/2006
Newcomer to Cook Inlet Houston-based subsidiary of Swedish company, has been in OandG business in Texas for some 30 years
Cook Inlet newcomer Benchmark Oil and Gas Co. bid on 22 tracts across Alaska's Kenai Peninsula in the state of Alaska's May 24 Cook Inlet areawide lease sale. Andrew Wight, a Benchmark landman and the...

Alaska sales score $6.7M 05/28/2006
Foothills draws $1.85 million, best sale since 2001; Cook Inlet nets $4.8 million
The state pulled in almost $6.7 million at two lease sales in Anchorage May 24: $1.85 million at its sixth North Slope Foothills sale, the best since the first areawide sale there in 2001, which drew...