CIE to expand West McArthur River pad

Cook Inlet Energy LLC is looking for more elbow room at its West McArthur River oil field on the inlet’s west side.

The Anchorage-based company is seeking a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to place 7,570 cubic yards of sand and gravel in nearly an acre of wetlands. The West McArthur pad will be expanded by a total of 3.1 acres, including wetlands and uplands.

The expansion is needed for oil and gas drilling operations, said a Jan. 16 public notice from the Army Corps. Specifically, room is needed for a lay-down area and equipment storage.

The wetland parcel to be filled has been degraded by past industrial development including roads, and is no longer connected hydrologically to surrounding wetlands.

“Therefore, compensatory mitigation is not warranted for this low value, previously degraded, isolated wetland parcel,” the Corps notice said.

Cook Inlet Energy operates an assortment of oil and gas properties on the west side, including the offshore Redoubt unit and Osprey platform.

Cook Inlet Energy is a subsidiary of publicly traded, Tennessee-based Miller Energy Resources Inc.

—Wesley Loy