Asphalt plant to be built at North Pole

Petro Star Inc., a subsidiary of Arctic Slope Regional Corp., is going to construct an asphalt plant at its North Pole refinery, near Fairbanks, Petro Star announced on Oct. 12. The company said that it had already broken ground for the new plant, with construction planned to take place over the winter. The intent is to provide a local source of asphalt for road construction and repair in the Alaska Interior. The Flint Hills refinery, which used to supply asphalt for the region, closed down in May 2014.

“Petro Star Inc. and our parent company, Arctic Slope Regional Corp., are investing more than $20 million in this new production unit,” said Doug Chapados, Petro Star president and CEO. “Had it not been for recent in-state tax-refiner tax credits which passed the Legislature and were signed into law in 2014, this project would not have been possible. I congratulate those lawmakers who had the vision to push the tax credit legislation forward.”

Petro Star anticipates asphalt production beginning in the spring of 2016, ahead of the summer construction season. The largest user of the product will be the Alaska Department of Transportation, with its asphalt contractors, the company says. The availability of a local asphalt supply in the Interior will save the high cost of trucking asphalt into the region, Petro Star says.

The Petro Star refinery uses North Slope crude oil from the trans-Alaska oil pipeline as feedstock.

Petro Star and ASRC are considering other projects that would qualify for the tax credits while also creating value for energy consumers in Alaska, Petro Star says.

- ALAN BAILEY