AIDEA to bid in ANWR O&G lease sale

Kay Cashman

Petroleum News

The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority unanimously voted Dec. 23 in favor of a resolution that allows the state-owed public corporation to bid in the upcoming federal Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coastal plain oil and gas lease sale, currently scheduled for Jan. 6.

Resolution G20-31 notes that one of the purposes of AIDEA is to develop and provide financing for industrial development and facilities that “are essential to the development of the natural resources and the long-term economic growth” of Alaska, directly and indirectly alleviating unemployment in the state.

The resolution gives AIDEA the power to allocate up to $20 million in the first year to evaluate and submit bids among the 22 tracts identified by Interior’s Bureau of Land Management for the lease sale.

“The Alaska Legislature established AIDEA back in 1967 to participate in opportunities exactly like this,” AIDEA Chairman Dana Pruhs said in a Dec. 24 press release.

“Our goal is to partner with private industry to ensure that these types of development projects that deliver tangible, economic benefits for all Alaskans move forward,” he said.

“The fact is no one has a better track record for responsibly developing oil and gas resources, especially in the Arctic, than Alaska,” said Gov. Mike Dunleavy in a show of support for AIDEA’s decision.

Opening new areas of the Arctic for responsible oil and gas development is vital for Alaska’s economy and to promote the sustainable utilization of Arctic infrastructure facilities including the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, the resolution notes.

The tiny 1002 portion of the 19 million-acre refuge is a narrow strip of coastline that was set aside for potential development by Congress because of its hydrocarbon rich geology.

To date, only one well has been drilled in the ANWR 1002 area - the onshore KIC well, drilled in 1985 and 1986 by operator Chevron and partner BP from surface land owned by Kaktovik Inupiat, the Native village corporation for Kaktovik, and into the subsurface oil and gas mineral rights owned by Arctic Slope Regional Corp., the Native regional corporation for northern Alaska.

- KAY CASHMAN