Swenson named DNR deputy commissioner

Bob Swenson, who has led the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys for nearly a decade, has been appointed deputy commissioner for the Department of Natural Resources, filling the vacancy created when Joe Balash was appointed commissioner on Nov. 13.

“Bob’s significant leadership experience and his breadth of knowledge of Alaska energy and geology-related issues make him an excellent fit for this important post at DNR,” Balash said in a Nov. 21 statement.

Swenson will begin work in his new job in Anchorage Nov. 25. He will oversee the divisions of Oil and Gas and Geological and Geophysical Surveys, the Mental Health Trust Land Office, the State Pipeline Coordinator’s Office and the Gas Pipeline Project Office. DNR’s other divisions and offices remain under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner Ed Fogels.

Swenson comes to the commissioner’s office with 22 years of experience in natural resource assessment and management in Alaska. He received degrees in geology from the University of Montana and the University of Wyoming and he began his geologic pursuits in Alaska in 1991, analyzing oil and gas resource potential in frontier areas, Cook Inlet and the North Slope for ARCO and ConocoPhillips.

Swenson became deputy director of geologic research for DNR in 2004, and in 2005, he became the Alaska state geologist and DGGS director, leading DNR’s geological research effort and serving on federal and state advisory boards dealing with energy and mineral resources and geologic hazards.

—Petroleum News