NEWS BULLETIN

March 28, 2001 --- Vol. 7, No. 34March 2001

Derrick tips at NPR-A, no injuries

The derrick for Rig 19E tipped over on March 26 while Nabors Alaska Drilling Inc. was getting ready to spud the Rendezvous well for Phillips Alaska Inc. in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.

The derrick “fell down in a controlled manner,” Nabors Alaska President Jim Denney told PNA March 28. “There were no injuries.”

The damage “is mostly to the derrick,” he said. A manufacturer’s rep is on site and Denney and insurance representatives will fly to the drilling site tomorrow.

Denney said that the derrick will probably have to be replaced, which will take a “month or two.”

Rig 19 E had just finished drilling the Palm well west of the Kuparuk River unit and was within a day of spudding the Rendezvous well when the mishap occurred.

Phillips Alaska spokeswoman Dawn Patience told PNA March 28 that the problem with the rig is going to have some impact on the company's NPR-A drilling plans this winter. She said Phillips has a team looking at alternatives right now. Phillips has two rigs scheduled for NPR-A work this winter, and Patience said the other rig began drilling the week of March 19.

Anderson expands Yukon holdings

Anderson Exploration, already the largest landholder in Canada's Mackenzie Delta-Beaufort Sea, is extending its quest to the Yukon, locking up about 250,000 acres of exploration rights.

Through a subsidiary, the Calgary-based independent was again the top bidder when the Yukon held its second rights offering since gaining control over its natural resources from the federal government in 1999.

The Yukon government announced March 21 it had accepted Anderson's bid C$2.89 million for 65,000 acres of Eagle Plain, the only offered.

In 1999, Anderson paid C$20.4 million for two Eagle Plain blocks totaling 195,000 acres.

They are also close to the gas-rich Delta-Beaufort Sea region, where Anderson has assembled the largest land position, with 1.63 million acres.

The Yukon permits are for an initial six years, with the right to renew for another four years if a required exploratory well is drilled.

J.C. Anderson, president of Anderson Exploration, said he is confident Eagle Plain has the potential to generate sufficient natural gas accumulations to justify the development costs.

Anderson has started seismic work on its 1999 properties, but has no specific drilling plans.


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