Barrett named deputy federal coordinator

Federal Coordinator Drue Pearce, Office of the Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects, said May 6 that Vice Admiral Thomas Barrett, USCG (Ret.), currently deputy secretary of the Department of Transportation, has been named deputy federal coordinator.

Barrett lived in Alaska for 14 years, including from 1999-2002 when he was Alaska Coast Guard Commander. As deputy, Barrett will work with Pearce to direct OFC activities and will also manage the Alaska field office.

Pearce said in a statement that she has worked with Barrett for almost 20 years, in Alaska and in the Lower 48.

“Vice Admiral Barrett brings leadership, experience, and incredible energy to this new challenge which is so crucial to the long-term energy security of the United States and to the State of Alaska. I greatly admire his ability to unite diverse agency and civilian personnel to pursue a common goal,” she said.

Barrett joins OFC May 26.

Barrett has been deputy secretary of Transportation since August 8, 2007; prior to that he was the first administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

“The Alaska natural gas pipeline is a project that has been 30 years in the making,” Barrett said in a statement.

“This pipeline is not just an Alaska project but is a vital national infrastructure project,” he said.

The OFC has also hired an environmental engineer, Christa Gunn, who works in the Alaska field office. Gunn has 10 years experience in the energy and environment sectors, and worked most recently as natural resources and asset optimization flight chief at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.

OFC also said it will be moving in the fall to new Alaska quarters in the 188 Northern Lights Building, the new Midtown building where the Denali project has its offices. The OFC Alaska office currently rents space from the Joint Pipeline Office at 411 W. 4th Avenue in Anchorage.

—Petroleum News