North Fork oil and gas well still under review

Petroleum News Alaska

Permits for the North Fork No. 01-36 exploratory well planned by Gas-Pro Alaska LLC on the lower Kenai Peninsula are still under review.

The company has encountered some permitting difficulties because it will be testing a potential oil-bearing zone, as well as a shallower gas zone, Larry Snead told PNA April 16. Snead is manager of land and contracts for North Star Energy Group Inc. in Tulsa, which purchased Alaska-based Gas-Pro last year.

“The oil zone is important because if we find gas there’s not a market for gas right now. We would have oil to sell in the meantime,” Snead said.

If approved, the well will be adjacent to the North Fork Anchor River and drilling is expected to take place this fall.

Gas-Pro has been subjected to some public criticism from landowners in the area.

“We are trying to be as good a neighbor as we can in addressing their concerns,” Snead said. The prospect is off North Fork Road approximately eight miles east of Anchor River. Development would require 250 feet of new road and a 1.5 acre gravel drill pad. A new water well would also be drilled in the area.