|
AOGCC rules to apply to shallow wells Commission says wells deeper than 500 feet in broad area of Matanuska-Susitna, Kenai Peninsula boroughs subject to regulations Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
As interest in underground coal gasification in Southcentral Alaska ramps up, agencies are stepping in to make acreage available (see story in this issue on Mental Health Trust lease sale) and to regulate drilling on such projects.
The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has tentatively scheduled a hearing for July 27 to take comments on a proposal to designate areas where wells could potentially encounter unexpected oil or gas accumulations, and require drilling permits for wells deeper than 500 feet.
The commission took a similar approach to geothermal drilling, designating areas where wells could encounter oil or gas and requiring that those wells have AOGCC drilling permits and that operators follow the commission’s regulations. Geothermal drilling had been under the authority of the Alaska Division of Oil and Gas. The Legislature put geothermal drilling under the commission’s control earlier this year.
For underground coal gasification, the commission has designated areas within the Matanuska-Susitna and Kenai Peninsula boroughs where a drilling permit will be required for wells deeper than 500 feet.
CIRI project area included A large portion of the area is outside the boundaries of the state’s Cook Inlet areawide lease sale to the northwest, with the northern edge at township 18 north, ranges 8 west through 16 west (west of Houston), Seward Meridian. Within the boundaries of the Cook Inlet areawide lease sale the designated area runs as far south as township 10 north. This southern area picks up the former GeoPetro Cook Inlet acreage acquired by Linc Energy, which has a stated interest in underground coal gasification.
The bulk of the designated area is where Cook Inlet Region Inc. plans an underground coal gasification project, announced last year for the area north of the Beluga River.
In describing its resource last year, CIRI said it has a 55-foot coal seam at a depth of 1,850 feet. CIRI has thousands of acres in the area.
The area designated by the commission includes a portion of the acreage which the Mental Health Trust is offering for lease, but does not include areas the Trust is offering on the southern Kenai Peninsula, including an area northwest of Soldotna, acreage in the Wasilla area and in the Denali Borough.
The commission is taking written comments on the proposal through July 21. Requests for the scheduled hearing must be received by July 8 and if there are no requests for a hearing, the commission may issue an order without a hearing.
—A copyrighted oil and gas lease map from Mapmakers Alaska was a research tool used in preparing this story.
| 