Usibelli puts coalbed on hold

Patricia Jones

Petroleum News Contributing Writer

Usibelli Coal Mine, Alaska’s only commercially producing coal mine, has put a hold on its budding coalbed methane development program, launched last spring with an application to the state for eight shallow gas leases.

“Right now we aren’t developing it further because of regulation changes,” company President Joe Usibelli Jr. said Jan. 22. “There’s quite a bit of legislation proposed in Juneau … we will have to assess where all that goes and what all will happen.”

The company is continuing to conduct geological assessment of the area, Usibelli said, although plans to drill up to five test wells this summer have been “put on hold.”

Usibelli Coal applied in May for eight shallow gas leases under the state’s non-competitive leasing program. The 46,000 acres are located on and northeast of existing mining claims held by the company. Terms offered by the state’s shallow gas leasing program could be altered under new regulations proposed by state legislators: “We don’t know what the rule changes are going to be,” Usibelli said. “When the rules change in the middle of the game, it can be very frustrating.”