Evergreen Resources begins permitting two groups of shallow gas wells in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Cook Inlet basin

Kristen Nelson

PNA Editor-in-Chief

Evergreen Resources (Alaska) Corp. has applied to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission for drilling permits for two groups of wells in the Pioneer unit in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.

Evergreen Resources, a Denver, Colo.-based coalbed methane producer, acquired the Pioneer unit in 2001 from Unocal and Ocean Energy Resources Inc. Evergreen told the state earlier this year that it plans an eight-well exploration project to test the ability of coals in the 72,000-acre unit to produce gas. The company said when it acquired the properties that it believes area coal seams may hold some 500 billion cubic feet of gas.

One group of four proposed wells is on fee acreage and state of Alaska oil and gas lease ADL 374121 south of Houston. Each of the wells will be vertical. They include: the D.L. Smith No. 1 at 3,293 feet from the north line and 293 feet from the west line of section 1, township 17 north, range 3 west, Seward Meridian; the Gary & Jo Ann Stromberg No. 2 at 1,386 feet FNL and 933 feet FWL, section 1 T17N-R3W, SM; the Robert L. Smith No. 3 at 3,272 feet FSL and 606 feet FEL, section 2 T17N-R3W, SM; and the Cornhusker No. 4 at 2,426 feet FNL and 141 feet FEL, section 2-T17N-R3W, SM.

The second group of proposed wells are on state oil and gas lease ADL 384685 east of Houston. These are also vertical wells: Cook No. 1 at 991 feet FSL and 888 feet FEL of section 30-T18N-R1W, SM; the Lowell No. 2 at 967 feet FSL and 1,329 feet FEL of section 30 T18N-R1W, SM; the Bering No. 3 at 1,523 feet FSL and 471 feet FEL of section 30 T18N-R1W, SM; and the Baranoff No. 4 at 504 feet FSL and 423 feet FEL of section 30 T18N-R1W, SM.

The commission published notices of a public hearing Sept. 11 because the wells are close enough to each other that they require exceptions to the commission’s regulations. Public hearings have tentatively been set for Oct. 15, although the commission said that if it does not receive requests for hearings by Sept. 27, it will consider ruling on the request without a hearing.

Evergreen Resources is currently “building locations, gravel pads and roads to the well sites,” a company spokesman told PNA Sept. 11.

Once drilled the wells “will take approximately 12 months to test … and even longer to determine how much gas is there. ... Unlike conventional gas, unconventional gas is easy to find but hard to produce,” he said.