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Unocal explores Kenai Peninsula prospects Goal of $1 million in geophysical work to find more natural gas in area around Swanson River oil field, Kenai gas field by The Associated Press
Unocal is spending about $1 million this winter doing seismic exploration on the Kenai Peninsula, searching for new pockets of natural gas. If the surveys around the Swanson River oil field and near Kalifornsky Beach Road find promising formations, exploratory wells could be drilled next year.
Fairweather Geophysical LLC started seismic work about a month ago in the area between Kalifornsky Beach Road and the Sterling Highway, said Roxanne Sinz of Unocal. Workers expect to finish there soon, then move to sites around the Swanson River oil field north of Sterling.
Hope seismic shows more gas pockets Between Kalifornsky Beach Road and the Sterling Highway, Sinz said, the goal is to find new pockets of gas associated with the Kenai Gas field.
Sinz said the Kenai gas is essentially a bubble trapped under a dome-shaped formation. Unocal hopes the seismic work will reveal ridges along the slope of the dome that may hold additional pockets.
Workers have been setting dynamite charges in holes about 20 feet deep along about 25 miles of seismic lines. Helicopters are being used to move the portable drilling rig, to reduce the impact of the work.
“Before, we basically had to clear a road,” Sinz said. “Now, doing it this way, no trees are cut, and there is virtually no impact to the surface.”
The seismic project is 100 percent Unocal’s, Sinz said, but Marathon Oil Co. operates the Kenai and Cannery Loop gas fields. If Unocal makes a significant find, she said, it will have to work with Marathon to develop it.
Exploration within Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Land between Kalifornsky Beach Road and the Sterling Highway is a mix of Native corporation, state, Kenai Peninsula Borough and privately owned parcels. Areas Unocal plans to explore near the Swanson River oil field lie within the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.
Unocal planned to start work in mid-March on nine miles of seismic line east of its Swanson River field. The work area lies roughly between Fish Lake, near Swanson River Road, and Crane Lake, near Captain Cook State Recreation Area.
Unocal also has sought permits to work on 14 miles of seismic lines west of the Swanson River oil field. The U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife, which oversees refuge land, has not yet authorized that project.
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