New AOGCC commissioner named

Kristen Nelson

The governor has appointed Dan Seamount, senior advising geologist with Unocal Alaska Resources, to the geologist seat on the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. The appointment was made Jan. 13; the term for this position runs to Dec. 31, 2004.

Seamount has been with Unocal since 1988 and in Alaska since February of 1993. Prior to that, he worked for Marathon Oil Co. and Chevron. He has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in geology from the University of California at Riverside.

Seamount has been a geologist, a district development geologist and now senior advising geologist for Unocal. He worked as a geologist for Marathon from 1981 to 1988 and for Chevron in California as a geologic and engineering assistant from 1973 to 1979.

Seamount earned his bachelor’s degree in 1973, his master’s degree in 1981.

Prior to coming to Alaska in 1993, Seamount worked for Unocal in Wyoming and New Mexico. His Alaska experience includes both Cook Inlet and Kuparuk and Endicott on the North Slope. He is presently working on coalbed methane development plans for the Matanuska Valley and other Cook Inlet exploration projects.

Seamount said he became interested in the geology seat on the commission in 1998, when Unocal had its Alaska properties up for sale. The commission provides, he said, an opportunity both in stay in Alaska and the opportunity to work in the public sector.

“I’ve been in private industry for over 20 years and I’ve only been seeing one side of the fence and I really got interested in the concept of going into public service for a while,” he said.

Seamount said he has worked pretty closely with different state agencies, conservation commissions and natural resources divisions, in a number of different states — New Mexico, Wyoming, Utah and Alaska.

“I’m real excited about the appointment. I know they have a good team and good staff over there, because I’ve worked with them,” Seamount said.

Seamount has a wife, Barbara, three children, ages 18, 21 and 27, and one grandson. Two of his children are attending college in Alaska and one in Wyoming.