"We see the Cook Inlet basin as one of the four top gas regions in the world," he said, noting that his interest is mainly in Cook Inlet and Interior Alaska, not the North Slope.
Gardes is in the market for more gas assets in the state, he said: "North Fork is just the first one of several we have been negotiating."
Gardes Holdings, which was registered in Nevada four years ago, is affiliated with his main company, Gardes Energy Services of Lafayette, Louisiana, which was incorporated in May 1977.
But Bob Gardes said his company is not interested in establishing itself as a service company in Alaska.
"Natural gas is the fuel of the future," he said, and in Alaska Gardes is looking to be a top gas producer. "We hope to be gold star presence among oil and gas companies in Cook Inlet."
"We plan on acquiring our service needs from local Alaskan companies," Gardes said.
When asked why his company sold North Fork, Glacier President Stephen Ratcliff told Petroleum News that Glacier is focused on the North Slope, in particular the Badami unit, and that selling the Cook Inlet gas producing asset helped provide capital the company needs in this tough economy.
"We put the asset in someone's hands who wants to invest in it despite the tough economic conditions," Ratcliff said. "We did a phenomenal job with North Fork, but Gardes has got the ability to push it forward past what we've done. We're happy for them."
Savant Alaska, a Glacier company, restarted the eastern North Slope Badami pad in October and during the 24 days the field produced that month it yielded more than 2,000 barrels of oil a day, Ratcliff said.
- KAY CASHMAN
See full story in Nov. 15 issue of Petroleum News, available Friday, Nov. 13 at www.PetroleumNews.com
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