The Alaska Division of Governmental Coordination said Nov. 14 that it has completed coordinating the state's review of the proposed Thetis Island oil and gas exploration project and has found the project consistent with the Alaska Coastal Management Program.
The project, proposed by Armstrong Oil & Gas Inc. of Denver, Colo., is being taken over by Dallas-based Pioneer Natural Resources Co., which has signed an agreement giving it a 70 percent working interest in 10 leases and operatorship.
Armstrong's plan called for drilling as many as three wells offshore between the Kuparuk River unit and Thetis Island in the 2003 winter season. Drilling will be from ice islands.
The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation is requiring a fully executed contractual agreement with Alaska Clean Seas to provide response resources. DEC is also requiring more information on the ice islands and monitoring plans and procedures and is requiring that drilling into hydrocarbon-bearing formations be completed by March 31.
