The Explorers 2010: CIRI

As a major landowner in Alaska, Cook Inlet Region Inc. has long been a player in the Alaska oil and gas industries, but in recent years the company has been taking steps into energy production, on top of its resource management. The Alaska Native corporation for the Southcentral region, formed by an act of Congress in 1971, owns significant acreage on the Kenai Peninsula and around Beluga Lake on the west side of Cook Inlet. CIRI is involved in several projects to diversify the electricity grid. The company hopes to produce wind energy from Fire Island and hydropower from assets on the Kenai Peninsula. Through its interest in Stone Horn Ridge LLC, CIRI is also pushing ahead on what could be the first underground coal gasification project in Alaska, using a technology that generates synthesis gas from coal deposits too deep to mine. CIRI is also a landowner on several conventional natural gas plays in the region, including Marathon’s Sunrise prospect, Chevron’s Nikolaevsk unit, Linc Energy’s upcoming well near Point MacKenzie and many projects on the west side of the Cook Inlet basin.

Current exploration focus:

Cook Inlet: As a major landowner in Southcentral, CIRI benefits from several conventional natural gas projects across the Cook Inlet basin. The company is also pursuing renewable and non-traditional forms of energy, from wind on Fire Island, to the Kenai Hydro project, to underground coal gasification with partner Laurus Energy.