Alaska governor committed to drilling offshore ANWR strat well

Kay Cashman

Petroleum News publisher & managing editor

Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski has decided to continue to pursue drilling a stratigraphic test well offshore the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

“We’re still evaluating the project (and) …. looking for ways to move it forward,” Becky Hultberg, the governor’s press secretary, told Petroleum News July 20 when she was asked about the July 9 deadline set by the state for commitments from oil and gas companies to join an ANWR strat well drilling consortium. Hultberg said the project was important to the governor.

She had no comment when asked how many companies had committed by July 9 to participating in the project.

She did say that no decision had been made on whether to continue permitting the project, which would be essential if the well were to be drilled during the upcoming Beaufort Sea winter drilling season.

Hultberg said the state Division of Oil and Gas needed “to sit down with ASRC Energy Services E&P Technology,” the contractor in charge of permitting the ANWR strat well, and discuss the project.