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Unocal seismic program being shot north of Ninilchik Work would provide gas to Enstar-Homer Electric-Unocal Kenai-Kachemak pipeline project under study to provide gas to lower peninsula Kristen Nelson PNA Editor-in-Chief
Unocal Corp. has seismic and permitting under way for Ninilchik area gas exploration prospects which could feed a proposed Kenai to Homer natural gas transmission line.
The Unocal Alaska seismic program north of Ninilchik will be completed and reviewed before final drilling decisions are made on gas exploration prospects being permitted in the area, Unocal Alaska spokeswoman Roxanne Sinz told PNA May 2.
Wells in the area are also dependent on the plan announced in December when Homer Electric Association Inc., Enstar Natural Gas Co. and Unocal signed a memorandum of understanding to study a 75-mile natural gas transmission line, the Kenai to Kachemak pipeline, which would provide natural gas to Ninilchik, Anchor Point, Clam Gulch, Kasilof and Homer, and would also move gas north to Enstar and other gas consumers.
Sinz said a $465,000 feasibility study now under way for the Kenai-Kachemak pipeline project should be completed by March 2002 and will determine whether or not it is practical to build the pipeline. Once the feasibility study is complete, she said, additional studies may be required, or it may be possible to move directly to the construction phase.
Unocal’s role in the project would be to provide the gas. Feasibility study under way Sandra J. Ghormley, manager of marketing and member relations for Homer Electric, told PNA May 3 that the first phase of the feasibility study, conceptual engineering for the pipeline, is nearing completion and the partners expect to release a formal statement within a few weeks. Homer Electric is the primary owner of Alaska Electric Generation and Transmission Cooperative, which would own the Kenai-Kachemak pipeline once it is constructed.
After conceptual engineering the next step will be exploration and drilling, and Unocal is looking at that now, she said. Enstar would be the retail distributor and would build distribution lines.
Ghormley said that Enstar has designed the preliminary pipeline route and construction methods to “avoid wetlands, ensure zero impact on stream crossings and, essentially, result in constructing a natural gas pipeline that will be in balance with the environment.”
Most of the original assumptions for the pipeline have been verified, Ghormley said, “and no major flaws identified.” The Kenai-Kachemak pipeline project group is still trying to determine which permits will be needed and which agencies will have jurisdiction. Construction could begin as early as 2002.
The pipeline would make natural gas available to Ninilchik, Anchor Point, Clam Gulch, Kasilof and Homer. In addition to serving retail customers along its route, the pipeline would transport gas north to Enstar and other gas consumers.
The companies said they would prefer to build the project all at one time, but it may be a phased development, beginning with construction from Kenai to Ninilchik. A second phase would extend the line to Anchor Point and Homer. April-May seismic program Unocal said in an April 23 statement that the seismic program north of Ninilchik would be conducted by Fairweather Geophysical, in a joint venture with Kuukpik Corp., over the next four weeks.
The survey activity will be low impact, Unocal said, and involves sending small amounts of energy into the earth and measuring the reflected vibrations to help identify potential underground hydrocarbon structure. The survey will use a helicopter, several seismic crews and a boat for the offshore portion. The company said special equipment brought in by helicopter eliminates the need to clear trees or drive vehicles.
“Unocal believes there is still significant hydrocarbon potential in the Cook Inlet and on the Kenai Peninsula,” said Chuck Pierce, vice president for Unocal Alaska. “We are taking the first steps in expanding our exploration program in the Ninilchik area to add new natural gas resources to ensure that gas supplies are available to meet not only current needs, but future needs as well.”
Unocal is permitting as many as two wells at the Albright prospect some 3.5 miles north of Ninilchik and could also drill a third well, the Pearl, in that area.
Some 7 miles east-southeast of Ninilchik on Ninilchik Native Association surface land and Cook Inlet Region Inc. subsurface Unocal is permitting as many as two wells, NNA 1 and NNA 2, from separate gravel pads.
The exact number and timing of the wells is going to depend on the success of any of the initial efforts and the progress of the regulatory process, Sinz said.
“Depending on the results from this seismic survey, wells could be drilled as early as later this year,” she said. This will be a one-rig program, and depending on the success of initial drilling, Unocal is considering doing directional drilling to reach at least some objectives.
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