State expands North Fork gas pool PA

Nearly two months after approving an expansion of the North Fork unit, the state has also approved an expansion of the Gas Pool No. 1 participating area in the Cook Inlet unit.

The expansion increases the participating area to 800 acres. When operator Armstrong Cook Inlet LLC requested an expansion of both the unit and the participating area in January 2012, it asked the state to increase the 640-acre participating area to some 2,600 acres. The revision includes a contraction of the original participating area at its northeast corner and an expansion on its western edge, though not as large as Armstrong requested.

Under state regulations, the boundaries of a participating area must be limited to an area believed to be “capable of producing or contributing to the production of hydrocarbons in paying quantities,” as determined by geological, geophysical and engineering data. The state approved the expansion retroactive to March 1, 2011.

—Eric Lidji