Q. What is the official name of your company?
A. Alaska Clean Seas (ACS)
Q. Is your firm a subsidiary or affiliate of other companies? If so, please name those firms and their relationship to your company.
A., ACS is based on a cooperative concept and is unaffiliated other than their member companies. Current members of the ACS cooperative are: Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc., Brooks Range Petroleum Corporation, Caelus Energy Alaska, LLC, ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc., Eni U.S. Operating Company Inc, ExxonMobil Production Company, Great Bear Petroleum Operating LLC, Repsol Services Company, Savant Alaska LLC, and Shell Exploration and Production.
Q. What do you most want people to know about your company?
A. ACS is a not-for-profit oil spill response cooperative with membership available to oil and pipeline companies that engage in or intend to undertake oil and gas exploration, development, production and/or pipeline transport activities on the North Slope of Alaska and in the leased portions of the Outer Continental Shelf of the State of Alaska.
Q. Where is your company located?
A. ACS base of operations is located in Deadhorse, Alaska, with a business office in Anchorage. ACS spill responders provide 24-hour, on site spill prevention, preparedness, and response services at fifteen locations across the North Slope in addition to supporting seasonal activities such as exploration – both on shore and off shore.
Q. What year was the company founded and by whom?
A. ACS was originally established in 1979 as the Alaskan Beaufort Sea Oil Spill Response Body (ABSORB). In 1990 it was restructured from an equipment cooperative to an Oil Spill Removal Organization (OSRO) with safety as the primary core value.
Q. What is your company’s primary business activity?
A. Oil spill prevention, preparedness, and response. ACS personnel are assigned to all the fields across the North Slope and off shore providing world class service daily. Oil spill response training is also provided weekly to the 500+ volunteer participants of the North Slope Spill Response Team and incorporates Village Response Team personnel into their response operations and exercises.
Q. Are there important projects the company is currently a part of or has done recently?
A. ACS is providing spill prevention oversight, waste management assistance, spill preparedness, and spill response for the ExxonMobil Point Thomson project, the Alpine CD-5 expansion project, and Repsol exploratory drilling activities on the North Slope.
Q. How many employees does your company have?
A. ACS maintains 90+ full-time staff, plus additional contractors, all of whom are available for response operations.
Q. Describe the equipment your company uses and are there any new equipment purchases planned?
A. Oil spill response equipment totaling over $75,000,000 is owned by ACS and its member companies. All equipment is maintained by ACS, and member owned equipment is available through a Mutual Aid Agreement. Equipment includes over 60 miles of deployable ready oil containment boom ,including 4 miles of fire boom,, 210+ skimmers, eight helitorch aerial ignition systems, 130+ vessels, two 125 barrel mini-barges, twelve 249 barrel mini-barges, one 650 barrel barge, and 250+ storage tanks and bladders. ACS also maintains numerous pumps, ATV’s, wildlife response capability and mobile facilities such as command centers, staging area offices, mechanical trailers, etc. with new equipment purchases, supported by the member companies, occurring on an annual basis.
Q. Is your company expanding any of its operations or locations?
A. ACS continues to expand to support its current member companies and new member company activities based on value, experience, and reputation. A new office facility is presently under construction in Deadhorse. Occupancy is expected in early 2015. When complete, the new facility will provide offices, training & conference rooms, fiber optic communications, and improved safety and environmental working conditions.
Q. Is the company changing any of its services or products?
A. ACS is continually improving its capabilities and expertise in cold weather spill response. We have maintained an active oil spill Research and Development (R&D) program since the early 1980’s. The R&D program focuses on spill response in arctic conditions. Specific areas include oil spill recovery techniques in, on, and under ice during broken ice conditions. Other areas include viscous oil pumping, aerial observation, methods to detect and track oil under ice, and alternative response options such as in-situ burning.
Q. What is your company’s main strength or its edge over the competition?
A. With over 35 years of technological, proven Arctic experience, ACS is recognized nationally and internationally as the leader in cold weather oil spill prevention and response services. ACS maintains its premier reputation in part by actively supporting Research and Development projects along with membership in national and international organizations to remain on the forefront of spill response capabilities. ACS serves as a member of both the Global Response Network (GRN) - a collaboration of seven international major oil industry funded response organizations whose mission is to harness cooperation and maximize the effectiveness of oil spill response services worldwide and the Association of Petroleum Industry Cooperative Managers (APICOM) – a primarily U.S. based organization for the purpose of exchanging information related to the management of oil spill response co-ops. Additionally, ACS maintains a unique, trusted relationship with Federal & State partners as well as environmentally focused Non-Governmental Organizations based on the shared vision of safely protecting the environment, spill prevention, and effective, efficient, nonprofit response when needed.
Q. What is the most challenging work the company has undertaken?
A. Most recently, the response to the Deep Water Horizon incident in the Gulf of Mexico was the most challenging. From staging area management, to aerial observation, and development of a fishing vessel response task force, over 40 ACS employees were assigned to the Gulf. The biggest challenge was building an on-water recovery group using existing commercial shrimp and oyster boats. ACS conducted intensive evaluations of the boats, obtained necessary equipment, ensured the highest level of safety, provided training, and organized approximately 100 boats into response task forces.
Q. What are the biggest challenges to completing work your company undertakes?
A. The extreme environmental conditions of safely working in the Arctic and maintaining the employee knowledge of all applicable environmental regulations. ACS employees not only provide spill response preparedness and response capabilities, but they are also involved in hazardous waste management, wildlife response, environmental protection activities, and maintenance of operating permit requirements.
Q. What is the average length of time employee’s work for the company?
A. 8.25 years reflected in ACS being recognized in 2014 by the Alaska Journal of Commerce as one of the top ten best places to work in Alaska based on employee satisfaction.
Q. What is your company’s safety record? What steps does the company take to ensure a safe work environment?
A. ACS is an OSHA Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Star site. In 2014 ACS surpassed 13 years and 2 million hours worked without a Days Away From Work incident. Our HSE goals provide the foundation to all activities, from North Slope activities to being safe at home. ACS strives to reach out and engage every employee to be involved. Employees and contractors are encouraged to participate in the ACS HSE programs by incorporating the use of safety tools to include Tailgate forms, Job Hazard Analysis, and participate in member company HSE programs as well.
Q. Has your company been involved in any community projects or charity events?
A. ACS annually participates in the United Way campaign, the Independence Fund and Hunt of a Lifetime charities, and supports the Clare House in Anchorage, Habitat for Humanity, the Alaska Sea Life Center, Armed Services YMCA, and the Coast Guard Foundation.
Q. What is the address of your company’s Web site?
A. www.alaskacleanseas.org
