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NSB facilities investment supports O&G
The North Slope Borough said Sept. 3 that it plans to invest to increase infrastructure at its Service Area Ten operations.
The borough said tax relief provided under Senate Bill 21 passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor earlier in the year “creates a more attractive financial environment for investment by the oil and gas industry,” but limitations on quality basic utility services at Prudhoe Bay “inhibits increased oil and gas activity in the greater Prudhoe Bay industrial complex.”
North Slope Borough Mayor Charlotte Brower said the borough “recognizes its responsibility as the only provider of water, sewer and solid waste services in the greater Prudhoe Bay area,” and said the borough is investing more than $90 million “to increase and improve the services provided by our utilities.”
Study commissioned in 2012 Last year the borough commissioned studies of utility needs at Prudhoe and began the design process.
As a result of the study the borough designed a state-of-the-art 60,000-square-foot facility to house a potable water treatment system, a sewage treatment system and an on-demand hot water system intended for drilling and maintenance.
The borough said the study also identified the need for a 17-acre expansion of the Oxbow landfill, the only solid waste disposal site in the greater Prudhoe Bay area. The design for the solid waste utility will include facilities to assist in waste stream reduction and recycling, the borough said.
The borough recently awarded a competitively bid contract to Alaska Interstate Contractors for a passively cooled insulated pad which will serve as the foundation for the new water and sewer treatment plant. Construction is planned to begin early next year.
Brower said the borough is investing in infrastructure “to join the Governor and Legislature in fostering an environment which encourages responsible development” within the borough’s boundaries.
“The North Slope Borough recognizes that creating an atmosphere which encourages responsible oil and gas development benefits all Alaskans, and we are both pleased and proud to do our part,” she said.
—Petroleum News
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