Storm Cat prepares to drill Northern Dancer natural gas well
On Jan. 25 the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission issued a permit for Storm Cat Energy’s Northern Dancer No. 1 gas well near Big Lake, in Alaska’s Matanuska-Susitna Borough, north of Anchorage. And Petroleum News has heard that Kuukpik Rig 5 is moving to the well site for the drilling. The well location is at section 1, township 17 north, range 4 west of the Seward meridian.
Storm Cat is exploring for conventional natural gas but also expects to assess the potential for coalbed methane, company President Scott Zimmerman has previously told Petroleum News.
Storm Cat picked up two leases in the November 2004 Mental Health Trust Land Office lease sale and eight leases in the State of Alaska’s May 2005 Cook Inlet state areawide lease sale. All of the leases lie in the same general area of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. The company has been using existing seismic data to assess its leases and in 2005 engaged an Alaska consulting firm to do a geologic evaluation, with the intent of selecting a drilling location.
Storm Cat is registered in British Columbia and has offices in Denver, Calgary and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Northern Dancer No. 1 will be the company’s first Alaska well.
FERC delivers report on Alaska gas line to Congress
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission dutifully filed its first report to Congress Feb. 1 on progress made in licensing and constructing the Alaska natural gas pipeline. In 13 pages drafted under provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, FERC summed up the issue, the players and the plan, but offered little new insight into the gas line’s prospects. The new law also requires the commission to make additional reports to Congress every 180 days until first gas flows in the pipeline.
FERC listed three potential projects being seriously considered, including one currently being negotiated by the State of Alaska and North Slope gas producers. Despite ongoing impediments, the industry and governmental agencies are pursuing resolution of all issues, jurisdictional, environmental, permitting and financing raised by development of an Alaska pipeline, the commission said. It also noted that further development of the respective projects “will only occur after the project sponsors have concluded a successful negotiation with the State of Alaska under the state’s Stranded Gas Act.
For a look at the complete report, visit “What’s New” on the commission’s Web site, www.ferc.gov/.
|
