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Oil Patch Insider NW NPR-A open for travel, other areas still closed; Pearce sworn in
The Bureau of Land Management said Dec. 13 that it is allowing tundra travel in the northwest planning area of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, provided that operators ensure that they meet the stipulations of the Integrated Activity Plan and Environmental Impact Statement for the area. The northeast NPR-A and state land in the central North Slope and Brooks Range foothills remain closed — Petroleum News understands that an abnormally low snow cover on the North Slope is the prime reason for the delay in the openings.
The tundra travel stipulations for the NPR-A northwest planning area state “ground operations shall be allowed only when frost and snow covers are at sufficient depths to protect the tundra.” Except for low ground pressure vehicles such as Rolligons, all travel must occur on ice roads.
But the northeast area requires frost to a depth of 12 inches and an average snow cover six inches deep.
“Frost conditions have been met within the northeast, while the average snow cover is not yet six inches,” BLM said. However, the bureau said that it might entertain exceptions to the stipulations on a case-by-case basis.
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources said Dec. 14 that all areas of state North Slope and foothills lands remain closed to tundra travel.
“Soil temperatures are cold enough in some tundra opening areas, but others are still too warm,” DNR said. “Snow depths are below what is required for tundra opening at all stations.”
The foothills tundra opening requires nine inches of snow and a 23 degree Fahrenheit soil temperature at a 30 centimeter depth. The coastal areas require six inches of snow and a 23 degree F soil temperature.
DNR said the east and west coastal areas are mainly cold enough for projects to begin, provided the work takes account of thin snow cover and DNR approval is obtained.
“Lower and Upper Foothills areas need more cold and much more snow,” DNR said. “Only off-road travel with summer approved vehicles or other low-impact vehicles will be authorized.”
Apparently the snow cover is especially low in the Franklin Bluffs area near the Haul Road.
—Alan Bailey
Chena geothermal project wins national awards The new geothermal power plant at Chena Hot Springs Resort in Alaska’s interior has won two awards for the innovative use of renewable energy.
On Dec. 1 the Alaska Energy Authority announced that Power Engineering Magazine had named the Chena development as “Project of the Year” in the renewables category of an international competition with hundreds of submissions. And hot on the heels of that announcement came the “2006 On-Site Generation Award” from the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Funded in part by an Alaska Energy Authority power project fund loan, the Chena power plant, known somewhat perversely as the “Chena Chiller,” pumps energy out of the ground using a process rather like a reversed refrigerator — hot water from underground vaporizes a refrigerant that then powers a turbine electrical generator before being condensed and recycled through the system. The refrigerant cools the geothermal water, which is then recycled underground.
The truck-sized 400 kilowatt plant, the first of its kind in Alaska, was built by United Technologies to replace a 200 kilowatt diesel generator that consumed more that 97,500 gallons of diesel fuel per year. Eventually geothermal energy from the new plant will meet all of the Chena Hot Springs Resort’s electricity needs.
The resort received the DOE/EPA award at a ceremony in San Francisco on Dec. 4, in conjunction with the 11th National Renewable Energy Marketing Conference.
“It is the outstanding leadership of companies like Chena Hot Springs Resort that is significantly advancing the development of renewable electricity sources through green power markets,” said Susan Carollo, awards coordinator for DOE and EPA.
—Alan Bailey
Pearce sworn in as federal coordinator for Alaska gas line Vice President Dick Cheney swore in Drue Pearce Dec. 13 as the first federal coordinator for Alaska natural gas transportation projects. Pearce was confirmed Aug. 4 by the U.S. Senate.
Pearce was accompanied at the ceremony by her husband, Michael Williams.
As federal coordinator, Pearce will integrate activities by federal agencies for permitting and construction of a pipeline to bring North Slope gas to markets in the Lower 48. She will report directly to the president.
Pearce said she looks forward “to advocating for the Alaska Gas Project throughout the nation and in Canada.”
In addition to close family and friends, the ceremony was attended by Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, Deputy Secretary of Energy Clay Sell, Deputy Secretary of Transportation Maria Cino, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Joe Kelliher and Canada’s Ambassador to the United States Michael Wilson.
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