AVCG drops Ataruq area leases

The Alaska Venture Capital Group LLC transferred working and royalty interests in six North Slope leases located between the new Kachemach and Southern Miluveach units. The Kansas-based independent transferred a 25 percent working interest and 20 percent royalty interest in the leases to partners TG World Energy Inc., a 20 percent working interest and 16 percent royalty interest to Brooks Range Development Corp. and a 25 percent working interesting and 20 percent royalty interest to Ramshorn Investments Inc.

(Ramshorn acquired TG World’s Alaska oil and gas interests in November.)

AVCG also allowed two leases — ADL 390502 and ADL 390507 — to expire. Those leases included the Ataruq No. 2 well and Ataruq No. 2-A sidetrack, a pair of dry holes that Kerr-McGee drilled in 2005 and the foundation of current exploration efforts.

Armstrong Oil & Gas CEO William Armstrong transferred a small royalty interest in 18 Beaufort Sea areas leases to Vice President for Land and Business Ed Kerr. Meanwhile, GMT Exploration Co. LLC transferred a 22.5 percent working interest and 18 percent royalty interest in eight Beaufort Sea leases to 70 & 148 LLC, an Armstrong subsidiary.

Independent investors Daniel K. Donkel, R. James Newton, H. Jerry Hodgden and Samuel H. Cade transferred a range of small royalty interests in two Cook Inlet leases — ADL 390722 and ADL 390723 — to True North Energy Corp., and True North in turn transferred a roughly 3.75 percent royalty interest in those leases to Apache Alaska Corp. Also in November, the Division of Oil and Gas approved expansions and contractions at the BP-operated Prudhoe Bay unit and the ConocoPhillips-operated Colville River unit.

NOTE: A copyrighted oil and gas lease map from Mapmakers Alaska (www.mapmakersalaska.com) was a research tool used in preparing this story.

—Eric Lidji