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Union Oil wants to use Kustatan storage
Chevron is seeking permission from the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission for Union Oil to use tanks at Cook Inlet Energy’s Kustatan facility to store oil from the Trading Bay and McArthur River fields.
The company said in a March 2 letter that there are two 10,000 barrel tanks not presently in use which could store a portion of Trading Bay and McArthur River crude oil; the oil would then go into the Cook Inlet Pipe Line for delivery. The Union Oil crude would be stored in tanks 133 and 134, which would be separated from the remaining tanks at the facility by means of valves and seals. Those tanks are presently empty, as is the line from the tanks to Union’s Trading Bay production facility.
Oil shipments to Kustatan would take place between tanker loading events.
Storage formerly at Drift River Oil was formerly stored at the Drift River Terminal prior to loading, but that facility was closed in 2009 following volcanic activity at Mount Redoubt which sent mud flows down Drift River, raising concerns about the nearby storage facilities. Oil is now sent directly to the Christy Lee platform for tanker loading.
In a related letter to the commission, Cook Inlet Energy requested permission to comingle production from its facilities at West McArthur River and Redoubt at Kustatan, using tanks 142 and 135.
AOGCC has tentatively scheduled a public hearing for April 14, but said it may issue an order without a hearing if it receives no hearing requests. The commission will accept written comments on the application through April 11; if a hearing is held, it will accept comments through the end of the hearing.
—Kristen Nelson
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