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Oil Patch Insider It’s official: Shell opens Alaska office; Pombo coming to Alaska
In the July 3 Oil Patch Insider, Petroleum News reported that Shell Exploration & Production Co. had opened an Alaska office in Anchorage, taking over space and personnel from outgoing EnCana.
On Aug. 1, Shell confirmed the news, including the hiring of EnCana’s top man in Alaska, geologist Tom Homza, as Shell’s office manager in the Frontier Building on C Street. Edna Beuhler, also a former EnCana employee, was retained as Shell’s Anchorage office coordinator.
The Aug. 1 press release also announced the official award of 84 U.S. Minerals Management Service leases that Shell Offshore won offshore Alaska in MMS’s March Beaufort Sea outer continental shelf lease sale. In the release Shell executives re-confirmed their belief in the prospectivity of Alaska’s oil and gas basins.
“… We believe that we can build a significant position in Alaska, starting in the Beaufort. We also plan to make additional investments in Alaska,” said Chandler Wilhelm, the executive in charge Shell’s exploration in the state.
But, he said, “For Shell to be successful, and to achieve our vision for Alaska, we need to work in partnership with key stakeholders for our mutual benefit. We are committed to doing our part.” Pombo to visit Alaska U.S. Congressman Richard Pombo, Chairman of the House Resources Committee, will address a special luncheon of the Resource Development Council at noon Aug. 16 at the Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage. Pombo will address federal issues influencing Alaska’s economy and its resource industries, including the recently passed energy bill, modernization of the Endangered Species Act and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
To sign up to attend online go to http://www.akrdc.org/ or call RDC at 907 276-0700 by noon Aug. 12. The cost of the luncheon is $35. Alaska has two winners: Crowley and BP Two companies prominent in Alaska — Crowley Marine Transport and BP Shipping — were honored in July for their work in oil spill prevention, preparedness and response.
The Pacific States/British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force said its 2005 Legacy Awards for Oil Spill Prevention, Preparedness and Response, awarded at its annual meeting in Anchorage July 27 went to Crowley, BP, U.S. Coast Guard Commander (retired) William Whitson, U.S. Coast Guard District 11 and Cholly Mercer, president of Seattle-based Rainier Petroleum Corp. Crowley’s Marine Transport Lines subsidiary was recognized for outstanding commitment to safety and spill prevention. Crowley, the largest independent operator of petroleum barges and tankers in the United States, designed, built and operates an articulated tug and barge fleet of four Reliance Class vessels which have been on operation on the West Coast since 2002, delivering more than 50 million barrels of cargo with no spills.
BP Shipping was recognized for “sustained superior performance in the prevention of petroleum spills along the West Coast.” BP has voluntarily directed its captains to maintain an 85-mile distance from shore to preclude shoreline impact if problems arose during transit, a directive extended beyond tankers involved in the Alaska trade to all tankers owned, operated or chartered by BP Shipping.
Whitson was recognized for “his outstanding work ethic and history of valuable initiatives.”
Coast Guard District 11 was recognized for its role in developing the “Probe for Oil Pollution Evidence in the Environment,” an air-deployable, oil-sampling buoy.
Mercer was recognized for “an outstanding commitment to spill preparation and preparedness.”
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