State evaluating Nenana exploration license

Petroleum News Alaska Staff

The Division of Oil and Gas said May 17 that it will evaluate a proposal it has received for an exploration license in the Nenana basin in Interior Alaska. The closing date for comments and competing proposals is July 16.

The proposal is 499,200 acres in an area that includes Nenana and Old Minto, and is crossed by portions of the Kantishna and Tanana rivers, the Alaska Railroad and the Parks Highway.

The division shows two wells drilled in the area, the 1 Nenana drilled by Union Oil Company of California in 1962 west-northwest of Nenana, and the 1 Totek Hills drilled by ARCO Alaska Inc. in 1984 at the southern boundary of the area, west, southwest of Anderson.

Both were shallow wells. The 1 Nenana was drilled to 3,062 feet, found no pay intervals and was plugged and abandoned. The 1 Totek Hills was also shallow with a total depth at 3,590 feet, but that well was cored. ARCO reported that a coal-bearing group was reached at 145 feet and core from 1,443 to 2,674 feet included coals, as did the core from 3,035 to 3,092 feet and from 3,140 to 3,521 feet.

Exploration licenses are based on work commitments and require a description of the area, a specific work commitment expressed in dollars, the term of the lease and the amount and form of security to be posted, based on the projected cost of the planned exploration work.