THE EXPLORERS 2004: Ken Thompson joins AVCG, Brooks Range

Former ARCO senior executive Ken Thompson has invested in Alaska Venture Capital Group LLC and been named the fifth managing partner for the Kansas-based independent. AVCG, which holds 142,000 acres in oil and gas leases on Alaska’s North Slope, is owned by eight Kansas independent oil and gas companies — Thompson’s Alaska Energy Partners LLC is the first Alaska-based owner.

According to an Oct. 10, 2004 interview with AVCG managing partner Bo Darrah, Thompson will also serve as chairman of Brooks Range Petroleum Corp., a company AVCG formed earlier this year as a subsidiary to operate its Alaska leases. Darrah will continue serving as president and CEO of Brooks Range.

Thompson said his key role at Brooks Range will be “overseeing strategy, providing input on exploration prospects and future leasing, and I will continue to build relationships with partners in the state.” He said one of the things that attracted him to AVCG and Brooks Range was their “promising” prospects, including “a couple of past ARCO prospects that I was familiar with.”

Thompson will continue in his role with Pacific Star Energy LLC, an Anchorage-based company he formed to give Alaskans a vehicle for equity investment in a natural gas pipeline from the North Slope to outside markets.

—Kay Cashman