The Explorers 2009: Rampart Energy

Explorers drilled in the Nenana basin in the 1960s and the 1980s, but never developed the gas-prone area southwest of Fairbanks. This past summer, though, a four-company partnership drilled the Nunivak No. 1 well, the first well drilled at the prospect in 25 years. Denver-based Rampart Energy, previously Babcock & Brown Energy Inc., operated the program in partnership with Arctic Slope Regional Corp., Usibelli Energy and Doyon, the Native regional corporation for Interior Alaska.

This recent effort dates back to an exploration license purchased from the state in 2002 and a seismic package shot in 2005. A change in the tax code in 2006 challenged the project, but another change in 2007 paved the way for drilling. The companies spud in July 2009, but have not released detailed results from the program. Those results will dictate drilling over the next three years, but the companies have said the field could go into production as early as 2013.

Current exploration focus