GeoAlaska awarded another Augustine geothermal prospecting permit
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources' Division of Oil and Gas issued the final written finding of the director on Jan. 10 for the 2024 Augustine Island noncompetitive geothermal prospecting permit and having found that issuing the permit is in the best interests of the state will award the permit to GeoAlaska LLC to explore for geothermal resources on state-owned unencumbered lands within the prospecting permit area.
The division issued a call for public comments and competing proposals on May 31 for 62,961 acres in 27 tracts on and around Augustine Island.
On July 3 the public comment period and call for competing proposals ended, and no competing proposals or comments were received. Therefore, the current GeoAlaska proposal is being offered as an exclusive noncompetitive prospecting permit for a period of 2 years with an annual rental rate of $3 per acre. This disposal is assigned to ADL 394174.
Augustine Island is in Kamishak Bay on the west side of Lower Cook Inlet, approximately 68 miles southwest of Homer and approximately 170 miles south-southwest of Anchorage.
The permit area consists of the southern portion of Augustine Island, containing about 7,205 acres of onshore portions of two tracts. The state owns the land within the permit area, and Augustine Island is entirely located within the Kenai Peninsula Borough.
GeoAlaska's CEO and majority owner Paul Craig told Petroleum News Jan. 12 that GeoAlaska and its partner company, Ignis Energy Inc., are "delighted with Director Derek Nottingham's final written finding."
The acreage surrounds GeoAlaska's existing permit, expanding and upgrading GeoAlaska's position on Augustine.
During 2023, GeoAlaska collected magnetotelluric and gravity data at Augustine Island. Craig said "analyses of these data has identified an attractive anomaly -- a 'sweet spot'" -- that the company is planning to drill in 2024.
GeoAlaska is working closely with Alaska Drilling & Completions to plan the 2024 temperature gradient drilling program. The plan is to core the exploration well to a depth sufficient to determine temperatures at various depths and to clarify whether a commercial hydrothermal system is present.
Richard Calleri, CEO of Ignis Energy, told Petroleum News Jan. 12: "Ignis Energy is delighted to continue our partnership with GeoAlaska and extend our area of interest on Augustine Island. Our aim remains and has always been to provide affordable, clean and renewable base load geothermal energy to the Rail Belt region of Alaska. Extending our area of interest on Augustine Island is in line with our overall strategy. The subsurface geophysical data that we have collected to date, is very promising and we are now identifying additional targets to test within the greater Augustine permit."
--KAY CASHMAN
See full story in Jan. 21 issue of Petroleum News, available online Thursday, Jan. 18 at www.PetroleumNews.com
Aurora Gas has applied to the state of Alaska to expand its Nicolai Creek unit on the west side of Cook Inlet at the mouth of Nikolai Creek, west of Tyonek.
Both the unit and one of two existing gas pool participating areas would be expanded “to include lands proven capable of production in paying quantities,” the state said. The unit would be expanded by 94 acres, based upon Aurora’s 2003 Nicolai Creek 3-D seismic program.
Production from south participating area wells in expected to begin in the fourth quarter of the year, following construction of a six-inch gathering line, which began in August. Aurora said production facilities are installed and commissioned. It is the south participating area which will be expanded.
See story in Nov. 16 issue of Petroleum News.
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