RCA considers pipeline company transfer

Anchor Point Energy operates line serving North Fork gas field on Kenai Peninsula; sale to Cook Inlet Energy needs approval

Wesley Loy

For Petroleum News

The Regulatory Commission of Alaska is considering whether to approve the proposed transfer of Anchor Point Energy LLC to new ownership.

APE’s primary asset is the nine-mile pipeline serving the North Fork natural gas field on the southern Kenai Peninsula.

Anchorage-based oil and gas producer Cook Inlet Energy LLC recently bought the North Fork field, and now is seeking to complete a deal for APE.

A transfer of APE to Cook Inlet Energy requires regulatory approval, as APE holds an operating certificate from the commission.

The commission, in a March 5 order, said it would issue a final decision by Aug. 8 on the transfer application.

The same partnership that formerly owned the North Fork gas field currently owns APE. The partnership includes Armstrong Cook Inlet LLC, GMT Exploration Co., Dale Resources Alaska LLC, Jonah Gas Co. and Nerd Gas Co.

If the transfer is approved, Cook Inlet Energy will become APE’s sole owner.

Cook Inlet Energy is a subsidiary of Miller Energy Resources Inc., a publicly traded company based in Tennessee.

In their joint application filed Feb. 10, the APE owners and Cook Inlet Energy asked commissioners to “find the proposed transfer to be in the best interest of the public.”

Cook Inlet Energy has the technical and operational capability to take over the North Fork pipeline, the application said, noting the company already operates 34 miles of onshore and offshore pipelines associated with its oil and gas properties on the inlet’s west side.

The North Fork pipeline, under current operating conditions, has a capacity of about 19 million cubic feet of gas per day, the application said.

The pipeline consists of two parallel nine-mile lines, each 4 inches in diameter, extending from the North Fork field to an interconnection with an Enstar pipeline near Anchor Point. Enstar, the natural gas utility in Anchorage, buys North Fork gas.

No physical, operational, tariff or contractor changes are planned once the pipeline changes hands, the transfer application said.

Under Cook Inlet Energy ownership, APE will continue operating the North Fork line as “a regulated common carrier pipeline, accessible to all shippers on nondiscriminatory terms and conditions, operating in accordance with sound safety and environmental practices,” the application said.

Two companies, Chugach Electric Association and Agrium, filed letters supporting the transfer.

Chugach called Cook Inlet Energy “fit, willing and able to own and operate APE.”

Agrium has a shuttered Kenai Peninsula fertilizer plant that uses a great deal of natural gas when operational.