The Explorers, an annual publication from Petroleum News Explorers The Oil & gas companies investing in Alaska’s future Explorers Oil & gas companies investing in Alaska’s future Pantheon discovers oil at Alkaid; London firm merges with Great Bear page 5 l EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION l EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION l GOVERNMENT Vol. 24, No. 18 • www.PetroleumNews.com A weekly oil & gas newspaper based in Anchorage, Alaska Week of May 5, 2019 • $2.50 see BEAUFORT LEASE SALE page 12 Hilcorp plans new Milne Point R Pad; just developed Moose Pad Following on the heels of the Moose Pad, which began pro- duction at Milne Point in April, Hilcorp Alaska is planning to add another new pad at the unit, R Pad, as well as expand existing pads. The new pad and extensions of existing pads are mentioned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in its description of an application from Hilcorp Alaska to expand gravel mining at the field. The application — under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act for work in waters of the United States — was pub- lic noticed April 24; the comment period closes May 24. Hilcorp became operator at Milne Point in 2014 when it acquired several North Slope properties from BP, including a see MILNE POINT PAD page 12 see WELL BONDING page 10 see RCA REVIEW page 10 Interior suspends Beaufort Sea lease sale after court decision According to an April 25 report in the Wall Street Journal, the Department of the Interior has indefinitely suspended plans for a Beaufort Sea lease sale. The suspension follows a March 29 ruling by the federal District Court in Alaska that President Trump’s cancellation of President Obama’s with- drawal of Beaufort and Chukchi sea lands from oil and gas leasing was illegal. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt told the Wall Street Journal that the prospect of a lengthy appeal process over the District Court decision is disrupting the lease sale plans. BOEM had been preparing an environmental impact state- ment for a lease sale this year, potentially spanning much of the Beaufort Sea planning area. The Department of the RCA reviews grid unification, considers letter to Legislature In one of a series of Regulatory Commission of Alaska public meetings that will lead to a letter to the Alaska Legislature on the status of unification efforts for the Alaska Railbelt electrical sys- tem, on April 24 the RCA commissioners reviewed some of the steps taken by the utilities in those endeavors. The commissioners also reviewed comments they have received on potential statuto- ry language, designed to clarify the commission’s legal authority over changes to the operation of the electrical system: The com- ments and the commissioners’ responses highlighted some of the complex issues involved in grid unification. Big area, small system The interconnected electrical system, which extends from the southern Kenai Peninsula north through Southcentral Alaska to AOGCC well bonding amounts go up significantly effective May 18 Following a lengthy hearing into proposals for changing the surety bonding of oil and gas wells in Alaska, the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has issued new bonding regula- tions, requiring major increases to the bonding levels. The new regulations go into effect on May 18, having been signed by the lieutenant governor on April 18. State statutes require bonding of not less than $100,000 for a single well and not less than $200,000 for blanket coverage of all an operator’s wells in the state. Traditionally the commission has only required bonding at these minimum levels, other than in sit- uations where there have been regulatory violations. A production increase ConocoPhillips reports an uptick in its rate of Alaska oil production in Q1 By ALAN BAILEY Petroleum News I n its Securities and Exchange Commission fil- ing for the first quarter of 2019, ConocoPhillips reported an increase in its Alaska oil production, a reflection presumably of the company’s active development program in the state. According to the SEC filing, the company produced an average of 210,000 barrels per day in the first quarter, com- pared with an average daily rate of 171,000 barrels for the whole of 2018. Production in the first quar- ter of 2018 was 174,000 bpd. By comparison, the company’s production in the Lower 48 was 229,000 bpd in 2018 and 245,000 bpd in the first quarter of this year The company’s adjusted earnings in Alaska in Q1 2019 were $384 million, compared with $445 million in Q1 2018 — quarterly earnings in 2018 ranged from $347 million to $445 million. Curiously, full year earnings in Alaska for 2018 came in almost identical to those in the Lower 48, at around $1.6 billion. North Slope crude tends to Alberta counterattack Kenney strategy to ‘use every means at our disposal’ against foreign-funded groups By GARY PARK For Petroleum News T he new Alberta government under Premier Jason Kenney and petrole- um industry leaders have been putting the final touches on a full-blown strategy to retaliate against foreign-funded activist groups that have been working to undermine plans for upstream develop- ment of the oil sands and pipelines to off- shore markets. The Kenney administration has earmarked an initial C$30 million for a “war room” to counter what the freshly installed premier said are the “lies and myths” about his province’s energy sector that have been spread globally over the past decade. Kenney told supporters at his election night victory on April 16 that he will use every means at his disposal, including legal action, as well as launching a “pub- lic inquiry into the foreign source of funds behind the campaign to landlock Alberta energy.” He listed the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (which made billions from oil and gas), the Tides Foundation, Lead Now and the David Suzuki Foundation for special attention. (Others expected to face counter-attacks include see CONOCO UPTICK page 8 see KENNEY STRATEGY page 9 Company spokeswoman Natalie Lowman told Petroleum News that the company has drilled eight wells, including two re- entries of previously drilled wells, during this winter’s exploration season. Oil Search evolves Talk of third partner dropped for now, Repsol says Alaska ‘game-changing’ By KAY CASHMAN Petroleum News W hat Oil Search didn’t say about its Alaska operations in an April 30 update was almost as interesting as what it did say. For more than a year the ASX-listed oil and gas company has expressed inter- est in bringing in a third working-interest partner in coordination with exercising its June 30 option to purchase the balance of Armstrong Energy’s interest in the North Slope Pikka/Horseshoe area assets, where a major oil find in the Brookian Nanushuk formation was announced in 2016. But the timing of allowing a third partner to enjoy the rewards of develop- ing the largest North Slope oil field dis- covery in decades has changed. Expectations were that Oil Search, which just celebrated its 90th anniver- sary, and partner Repsol would name a winner in the next few weeks. But there was no mention of a poten- tial third partner in the April 30 update; instead Oil Search indicated it could “easily” fund capital expenses from its cash and cash flow, inviting speculation that perhaps both Oil Search and Repsol might be interested in keep- see OIL SEARCH page 11 KEIRAN WULFF JASON KENNEY
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The Explorers, an annual publication from Petroleum News
ExplorersThe
Oil & gas companies
investing in Alaska’s future
ExplorersOil & gas
companies investing in
Alaska’s future
Pantheon discovers oil at Alkaid;London firm merges with Great Bear
page5
l E X P L O R AT I O N & P R O D U C T I O N
l E X P L O R AT I O N & P R O D U C T I O N
l G O V E R N M E N T
Vol. 24, No. 18 • www.PetroleumNews.com A weekly oil & gas newspaper based in Anchorage, Alaska Week of May 5, 2019 • $2.50
see BEAUFORT LEASE SALE page 12
Hilcorp plans new Milne Point RPad; just developed Moose Pad
Following on the heels of the Moose Pad, which began pro-
duction at Milne Point in April, Hilcorp Alaska is planning to
add another new pad at the unit, R Pad, as well as expand
existing pads.
The new pad and extensions of existing pads are mentioned
by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in its description of an
application from Hilcorp Alaska to expand gravel mining at
the field. The application — under Section 404 of the Clean
Water Act for work in waters of the United States — was pub-
lic noticed April 24; the comment period closes May 24.
Hilcorp became operator at Milne Point in 2014 when it
acquired several North Slope properties from BP, including a
see MILNE POINT PAD page 12
see WELL BONDING page 10
see RCA REVIEW page 10
Interior suspends Beaufort Sealease sale after court decision
According to an April 25 report in the Wall Street Journal,
the Department of the Interior has indefinitely suspended
plans for a Beaufort Sea lease sale. The suspension follows a
March 29 ruling by the federal District Court in Alaska that
President Trump’s cancellation of President Obama’s with-
drawal of Beaufort and Chukchi sea lands from oil and gas
leasing was illegal. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt told
the Wall Street Journal that the prospect of a lengthy appeal
process over the District Court decision is disrupting the lease
sale plans.
BOEM had been preparing an environmental impact state-
ment for a lease sale this year, potentially spanning much of
the Beaufort Sea planning area. The Department of the
RCA reviews grid unification,considers letter to Legislature
In one of a series of Regulatory Commission of Alaska public
meetings that will lead to a letter to the Alaska Legislature on the
status of unification efforts for the Alaska Railbelt electrical sys-
tem, on April 24 the RCA commissioners reviewed some of the
steps taken by the utilities in those endeavors. The commissioners
also reviewed comments they have received on potential statuto-
ry language, designed to clarify the commission’s legal authority
over changes to the operation of the electrical system: The com-
ments and the commissioners’ responses highlighted some of the
complex issues involved in grid unification.
Big area, small systemThe interconnected electrical system, which extends from the
southern Kenai Peninsula north through Southcentral Alaska to
AOGCC well bonding amounts goup significantly effective May 18
Following a lengthy hearing into proposals for changing the
surety bonding of oil and gas wells in Alaska, the Alaska Oil and
Gas Conservation Commission has issued new bonding regula-
tions, requiring major increases to the bonding levels. The new
regulations go into effect on May 18, having been signed by the
lieutenant governor on April 18.
State statutes require bonding of not less than $100,000 for a
single well and not less than $200,000 for blanket coverage of all
an operator’s wells in the state. Traditionally the commission has
only required bonding at these minimum levels, other than in sit-
uations where there have been regulatory violations.
A production increaseConocoPhillips reports an uptick in its rate of Alaska oil production in Q1
By ALAN BAILEYPetroleum News
In its Securities and Exchange Commission fil-
ing for the first quarter of 2019, ConocoPhillips
reported an increase in its Alaska oil production, a
reflection presumably of the company’s active
development program in the state. According to
the SEC filing, the company produced an average
of 210,000 barrels per day in the first quarter, com-
pared with an average daily rate of 171,000 barrels
for the whole of 2018. Production in the first quar-
ter of 2018 was 174,000 bpd.
By comparison, the company’s production in
the Lower 48 was 229,000 bpd in 2018 and
245,000 bpd in the first quarter of this year
The company’s adjusted earnings in Alaska in
Q1 2019 were $384 million, compared with $445
million in Q1 2018 — quarterly earnings in 2018
ranged from $347 million to $445 million.
Curiously, full year earnings in Alaska for 2018
came in almost identical to those in the Lower 48,
at around $1.6 billion. North Slope crude tends to
Alberta counterattackKenney strategy to ‘use every means at our disposal’ against foreign-funded groups
By GARY PARKFor Petroleum News
The new Alberta government under
Premier Jason Kenney and petrole-
um industry leaders have been putting
the final touches on a full-blown strategy
to retaliate against foreign-funded
activist groups that have been working to
undermine plans for upstream develop-
ment of the oil sands and pipelines to off-
shore markets.
The Kenney administration has earmarked an
initial C$30 million for a “war room” to counter
what the freshly installed premier said are the “lies
and myths” about his province’s energy sector that
have been spread globally over the past
decade.
Kenney told supporters at his election
night victory on April 16 that he will use
every means at his disposal, including
legal action, as well as launching a “pub-
lic inquiry into the foreign source of
funds behind the campaign to landlock
Alberta energy.”
He listed the Rockefeller Brothers
Fund (which made billions from oil and
gas), the Tides Foundation, Lead Now and the
David Suzuki Foundation for special attention.
(Others expected to face counter-attacks include
see CONOCO UPTICK page 8
see KENNEY STRATEGY page 9
Company spokeswoman Natalie Lowmantold Petroleum News that the company
has drilled eight wells, including two re-entries of previously drilled wells, during
this winter’s exploration season.
Oil Search evolvesTalk of third partner dropped for now, Repsol says Alaska ‘game-changing’
By KAY CASHMANPetroleum News
What Oil Search didn’t say about its
Alaska operations in an April 30
update was almost as interesting as what
it did say.
For more than a year the ASX-listed
oil and gas company has expressed inter-
est in bringing in a third working-interest
partner in coordination with exercising
its June 30 option to purchase the balance of
Armstrong Energy’s interest in the North Slope
Pikka/Horseshoe area assets, where a major oil
find in the Brookian Nanushuk formation was
announced in 2016.
But the timing of allowing a third
partner to enjoy the rewards of develop-
ing the largest North Slope oil field dis-
covery in decades has changed.
Expectations were that Oil Search,
which just celebrated its 90th anniver-
sary, and partner Repsol would name a
winner in the next few weeks.
But there was no mention of a poten-
tial third partner in the April 30 update;
instead Oil Search indicated it could
“easily” fund capital expenses from its cash and
cash flow, inviting speculation that perhaps both
Oil Search and Repsol might be interested in keep-
Calls for new refinery to offset surging gasoline prices, turningblind eye to taxes, industry’s lack of enthusiasm for refineries
4 From export to import at Kenai LNG plant?
New owner, Trans-Foreland Pipeline, would modify existingfacility to allow importation of LNG to provide gas for refinery
ENVIRONMENT & SAFETY
EXPLORERS PREVIEW
Oil Search evolvesTalk of third partner dropped, Repsol says Alaska ‘game-changing
A production increase Conoco reports an uptick in its rate of Alaska oil production in Q1
Alberta counterattackKenney to ‘use every means’ against foreign-funded groups
ON THE COVER
Interior suspends Beaufort Sealease sale after court decision
Hilcorp plans new Milne Point RPad; just developed Moose PadAOGCC well bonding amounts goup significantly effective May 18RCA reviews grid unification,considers letter to Legislature
Petroleum News Alaska’s source for oil and gas newscontents
l G O V E R N M E N T
BC Premier Horgan tangled in knotsCalls for new refinery to offset surging gasoline prices, turning blind eye to taxes, industry’s lack of enthusiasm for refineries
By GARY PARKFor Petroleum News
B ritish Columbia Premier John Horgan has now
found himself wrestling with his own shadow as he
opposes shipments of Alberta oil sands bitumen across
British Columbia, while urging oil producers to build
more refineries in Western Canada to help curb soaring
gasoline prices at the pumps.
Faced with growing public anger over North
America’s highest gasoline costs — C$1.60 per liter (the
equivalent of US$4.50 per U.S. gallon) in the
Metropolitan Vancouver area that include his govern-
ment’s own tax grab of 35 cents a liter — he called for
the petroleum industry to spend more on refining capac-
ity in B.C.
Ignoring the well-established fact that industry
majors, well aware of the high risks that accompany
refineries, have spurned pleas to invest an estimated
C$15 billion over five years for a
refinery to process 100,000 barrels
per day of raw crude, Horgan said
he plans to talk to “gas (refined
petroleum) companies about why
they are not refining more prod-
uct.”
If those discussions occur,
Horgan will likely be told in blunt
terms that the few refineries that
have been built over the last 20
years are close to large population areas grappling with
shortages of supply, whereas Vancouver has only one
refinery and another five in Washington state that are
operating at full stretch to meet their own domestic
demand.
New legislation an issueHe will also likely get an earful from the industry
about his new legislation introduced a month ago for
moving to zero-emission light-duty vehicle sales by Jan.
1, 2040. Any dealers who fail to meet target will face a
fine of C$500,000 or six months in jail.
As Vancouver Sun columnist Vaughn Palmer
observed, “At the same time (Horgan) is proposing that
within 21 years it would be illegal to sell new vehicles
that would be prime consumers” of the output from
refineries he wants built.
“To put it another way, on the one hand the premier
thinks the oil and gas companies are greedy gougers and
on the other, he thinks they are stupid,” Palmer wrote.
Complicating Horgan’s grand scheme is the Canadian
government’s Bill C-69 — endorsed by the B.C. govern-
ment — which will require all major resource projects to
negotiate a complicated environmental review process
that industry sources warn will drive billions of dollars
OWNER: Petroleum Newspapers of Alaska LLC (PNA)Petroleum News (ISSN 1544-3612) • Vol. 24, No. 17 • Week of May 5, 2019
Published weekly. Address: 5441 Old Seward, #3, Anchorage, AK 99518(Please mail ALL correspondence to:
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Petroleum News and its supple-ment, Petroleum Directory, are
owned by Petroleum Newspapers ofAlaska LLC. The newspaper is pub-
lished weekly. Several of the individ-uals listed above work for inde-
pendent companies that contractservices to Petroleum Newspapers
of Alaska LLC or are freelance writers.
Kay Cashman PUBLISHER & FOUNDER
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Alan Bailey SENIOR STAFF WRITER
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Judy Patrick Photography CONTRACT PHOTOGRAPHER
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expect more for your project deliveryWe provide project-focused professional, technical, and strategic services to Alaska and international clients, in six key practice areas: Buildings, Earth & Environment, Energy, Industrial, and Infrastructure.From large projects like Alaska LNG to blast-proof facility design on the North Slope, exp can provide a team that meets your needs.
+1.907.868.1185
GOVERNMENTBLM seeks nominations for councils
The federal Bureau of Land Management said April 30 that it is seeking public nom-
inations for positions on 31 Resource Advisory Councils nationwide, including five
vacancies in Alaska. BLM said the citizen-
based committees assist in the development
of recommendations addressing public land
management issues.
“It’s a significant tool for BLM leader-
ship that helps us gain insight from a broad
range of stakeholders and users of BLM-
managed public lands in Alaska,” said
BLM Alaska State Director Chad Padgett.
BLM said individuals may nominate themselves or others to serve on the councils.
The Alaska open positions are:
•Category one — representatives of organizations associated with energy/mineral
development; federal grazing permit holders; the timber industry; transportation or
rights of way; off-highway vehicles users; and commercial and developed outdoor
recreation.
•Category two — representatives of archeological and historic organizations; dis-
persed recreation users; wild horse and burro organizations; and nationally or region-
ally recognized environmental organizations.
•Category three — representatives of state, county or local elected office; Indian
tribes located within or adjacent to the area for which the council is organized; acade-
micians employed in natural resource management or natural sciences; employees of a
state agency responsible for management of natural resources; and the public at large.
Nominations will be considered until June 14. For more information contact Jim
BLM said the citizen-basedcommittees assist in the
development of recommendationsaddressing public landmanagement issues.
see KENAI LNG page 8
l P I P E L I N E S & D O W N S T R E A M
From export to importat Kenai LNG plant?New owner, Trans-Foreland Pipeline, would modify existing LNGfacility to allow importation of LNG to provide gas for refinery
Exploration, appraisal aheadIn a presentation at a Jan. 14, 2019, annu-
al general meeting in which the 51/49%
Pantheon/Great Bear merger was approved,
Pantheon unveiled additional exploration
plans for 2020-21 and beyond, saying its
strategy in Alaska was “to prove up acreage
… and sell at a significant premium to a
larger company.”
Pantheon said 2019-20 drilling will
include the Talitha well, which is a re-drill of
the 1986 ARCO Alaska
discovery well, Pipeline
State No. 1. Pantheon
holds a 90% working
interest in that lease.
The new well will
appraise oil sands seen
in the adjoining plugged
and abandoned ARCO
well and “test a topset
exploration play analogous to recent major
discoveries in the area,” Pantheon said.
Extraction techniques “now far surpass
what was available in the 1980s,” the com-
pany noted, saying some 900 million bar-
rels of oil in place had been discovered in
three zones plus there was a 1.7 billion
exploratory upside.
In 2020-21 and beyond Pantheon would
like to drill exploration wells in leases
where it now has between 75 and 90%
working interest, including a well called
Theta, which will test Kuparuk and
Brookian (Nanushuk) zones.
Also listed for this time period are the
Megrez, Tania and Alula wells.
The Alkaid No. 1 and these other
prospects are either on 10 contiguous leases
west of the Dalton Highway or five nearby
leases straddling the highway.
The Phecda prospect was also men-
tioned for this time period in the general
meeting presentation, but that drilling
appears to have been moved up with the
Alkaid No. 1 test results.
Alkaid No. 1 drilled in 2015Great Bear drilled the Alkaid well in
l E X P L O R E R S P R E V I E W
Pantheon discovers oil at Alkaid 1 wellLondon firm merges with Great Bear, says Alkaid success in Brookian bodes well for nearby Phecda prospect, looking for partners
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WE OFFER THE FOLLOWING SOLUTIONS TO PUBLIC AND
PRIVATE SECTORS
Coming
The Explorers, an annual publication from Petroleum News
ExplorersThe
Oil & gas companies investing in
Alaska’s future
ExplorersOil & gas
companies investing in
Alaska’s future
May 26, 2019
MP400
MP405
MP390
MP395
MP385
MERAK 1
ALCOR 1
PHECDA 1
ALKAID 1
TALITHA 1
Copyright 2014MAPMAKERS ALASKA
GBP Proposed Well
GBP Previous Well
Other Well
Mile Post
Dalton Highway
Trans Alaska Pipeline
GREAT BEAR PETROLEUM
2014-2015 Proposed Wells
Many of the wells and prospects on this map are still of interest to Pantheon/Great Bear in2019. The Alkaid No. 1 well was drilled in 2015 but not tested until the first quarter of 2019.
ABR Inc.AcurenAfognak Leasing LLCAirgas, an Air Liquide companyAK LoftsAK Supply, Inc.Alaska DreamsAlaska Frac Consulting LLCAlaska Frontier Constructors (AFC)Alaska Marine LinesAlaska MaterialsAlaska RailroadAlaska Rubber & Rigging Supply Inc.Alaska Steel Co.Alaska TextilesAlaska West ExpressAlpha Seismic CompressorsAmerican MarineArctic ControlsARCTOS Alaska, Division of NORTECHArmstrongAspen Hotels of AlaskaASTAC Broadband, LLCAT&TAvalon DevelopmentAviator HotelBombay DeluxeBPBrandSafway ServicesBrooks Range SupplyCalista Corp.Carlile TransportationChosen ConstructionCMS, Inc./Hepworth Agency
Colville Inc.Computing AlternativesCONAM ConstructionCook Inlet Tug & BargeCruz ConstructionDenali Universal Services (DUS)Doyon AnvilDoyon AssociatedDoyon DrillingDoyon, LimitedDril-Quip Inc.EEIS Consulting Engineersexp Energy ServicesF. R. Bell & Associates, Inc.FairweatherFlowline AlaskaFluorFoss Maritime Co.Frost Engineering Service Co. - NWFugroGMW Fire ProtectionGolderGreer Tank & WeldingGuess & Rudd, PCICE Services, Inc.InspirationsJudy Patrick PhotographyLittle Red Services, Inc. (LRS)Lounsbury & AssociatesLynden Air CargoLynden Air FreightLynden Inc.Lynden InternationalLynden Logistics
Lynden TransportMapmakers of AlaskaMaritime HelicoptersMotion & Flow Control ProductsNabors Alaska DrillingNalco ChampionNANA WorleyParsonsNEI Fluid TechnologyNordic CalistaNorth Slope TelecomNorthern Air CargoNorthern SolutionsNRC AlaskaOil Search
PENCOPetroleum Equipment & Services, Inc.PND Engineers, Inc.PRA (Petrotechnical Resources of Alaska)Price Gregory InternationalRaven Alaska – Jon AdlerResource Development CouncilSecurity AviationSolar Turbines IncorporatedSourdough ExpressStrategic Action AssociatesSummit ESP, A Halliburton ServiceTanks-A-LotThe Local PagesTOTE – Totem Ocean Trailer ExpressWeston Solutions
Dave Wilkins and team, we congratulate you and your team on bringing the new Moose Pad at Milne Point online — the first new pad built at Milne since 2002, with initial production at 3,000 barrels of oil per day and peak output expected to be 22,000 bopd. We appreciate the $400 million Hilcorp Alaska will ultimately invest to fully develop Moose Pad and its facilities.
David Wilkins, senior vice president , Hilcorp Alaska
Congratulations on bringing Moose Pad online!
8 PETROLEUM NEWS • WEEK OF MAY 5, 2019
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ADVERTISER PAGE AD APPEARS ADVERTISER PAGE AD APPEARS ADVERTISER PAGE AD APPEARS
Companies involved in Alaska’s oil and gas industry
All of the companies listed above advertise on a regular basis with Petroleum News
Foss Maritime announces new general counselFoss Maritime Co. announced April 8 that seasoned corporate executive
Sloane Perras has joined the company as vice president, general counsel andchief ethics officer. Perras will lead the company’s legal and risk managementgroup where she will provide legal counsel, advise on business strategies andbest practices, and direct ethics and compliance programs.
Prior to joining Foss, Perras served as chief administrative and legal officerfor The Krystal Co., a privately held retail brand. Perras regularly reviewed thecompany’s enterprise risk strategies, financial controls and flows of revenue.She managed the risk management functions and provided enterprise strategyfor innovation, regulatory compliance and HR risk mitigation. In addition, Perras
worked closely with the leadership team on corporate governance, includingreporting directly to the audit committee on cyber and privacy issues.
“We are very pleased to have Sloane join Foss Maritime,” said John Parrott,president and CEO of Foss Maritime. “She has impressive experience and is anexcellent fit on our team.”
“I’m proud to join a company with such a rich history of safety and innova-tion in waterway commerce,” said Perras, “I’ve worked in a variety of complexbusiness and regulatory environments and look forward to putting my years ofexperience into safeguarding the values and reputation of Foss — and in beinga part of its continued growth.”
Perras has a degree in finance from University of Florida and earned her lawdegree, cum laude, from University of Georgia School of Law.
2.8 million acres not withdrawnObama did not withdraw a 2.8 million
acre strip of the Beaufort Sea with rela-
tively high oil and gas potential, immedi-
ately north of the coastline, between
Smith Bay and the western side of
Camden Bay. This area that can still be
leased includes the location of Hilcorp
Alaska’s Liberty oil field development,
the Nikaitchuq North leases operated by
Eni US Operating Co. Inc., and prospects
on the western side of Camden Bay,
where Arctic Slope Regional Corp.
Exploration operates some leases. And
the land withdrawal only applied to the
federal outer continental shelf, and not to
state land under the nearshore waters of
the Beaufort.
Shortly before making the Arctic off-
shore land withdrawal, Obama had with-
drawn some lands in the northern Bering
Sea. However, there were no land with-
drawals in federal waters of Cook Inlet.
Obama carried out his withdrawal
order under the terms of section 12(a) of
the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act,
the act that provides the statutory frame-
work for resource development on the
outer continental shelf. Section 12(a) of
the act states that “the president of the
United States may, from time to time,
withdraw from disposition any of the
unleased lands of the outer continental
shelf.”
No explicit statement on reversalThe wording of the act makes no
explicit statement regarding the circum-
stances, if any, under which a land with-
drawal may be reversed. However,
District Court Judge Sharon Gleason
ruled that the structure of the act supports
a view that section 12(a) does not give a
president the authority to revoke or modi-
fy a previous land withdrawal. In addi-
tion, Gleason ruled, if Congress had
intended to allow a president to revoke a
withdrawal, the act would have specifi-
cally stated this.
Thus, only an act of Congress can
overturn Obama’s order, Gleason ruled.
—ALAN BAILEY
50% interest in Milne and operatorship
of that field. Since then Hilcorp has
been working to increase Milne pro-
duction. In early April it brought the
Moose Pad online on the far western
side of the field.
Moose Pad is the first new pad at
Milne since 2002, David Wilkins,
Hilcorp’s senior vice president for
Alaska, told the Resource
Development Council in November.
Hilcorp currently has production
from 12 pads at Milne, including the
new Moose Pad.
Two to three padsHilcorp told the Corps it required
“enough gravel for 2 to 3 pads initial-
ly.”
The R Pad development would be
south of F Pad, the company told the
Corps, noting that additional pad
expansions would be required for new
wells to increase Milne Point unit pro-
duction.
F Pad is the most northerly of the
Milne Point pads, near the Beaufort
Sea coast and northeast of L Pad.
The Corps notice did not provide a
timeline for any pad construction but
did say the new mining was estimated
to occur from 2019 to 2024.
Expansion of existing material siteThe proposed work in the Corps
notice is an expansion of the existing
material site, Mine Site E, with the
addition of a 27-acre cell at the mine
named Cell 6 and rehabilitation of the
project site after completion of material
extraction.
The Corps said the area to be mined
is 900 feet long and 850 feet wide, a
total of 16 acres; the additional 11 acres
would include overburden storage and
construction of a thermal barrier and an
access road.
In its description of mining and
rehabilitation planned for Ugnu Mine
Site E at Milne Point, Hilcorp said the
mine site is some 2 miles east of the
Oliktok Road, some 5 miles southeast
of Oliktok Point and 2 miles southeast
of Simpson Lagoon, with the
Ugnuravik River some one-half mile
east of the mine site.
Gravel mining began at the site in
the early 1980s. The existing Ugnu
Mine Site E permitted area is some 157
acres. Hilcorp is proposing an expan-
sion of some 50.5 acres in one cell,
with final site configuration dependent
on gravel requirements. The proposed
expansion, Cell 6, is east of Cell 1, with
some 27 acres of be impacted by gravel
mining activities in Phase 1.
Hilcorp said Cell 6 is the shortest
distance between development projects
at Milne and the Ugnu Mine Site E
expansion area.
Cell 6 would produce an estimated 1
million cubic yards of gravel.
“Mining will only be done in the
winter from an ice road constructed
across the Ugnuravik River,” Hilcorp
said.
—KRISTEN NELSON
continued from page 1
MILNE POINT PAD
continued from page 1
BEAUFORT LEASE SALE
President Obama’s withdrawal of Arctic offshore lands from oil and gas leasing encom-passed most of the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, but did not include a fairway of prospectiveland immediately north of the Beaufort Sea coastline.
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API 653 Tank Inspection Exam Prep Class – Anchorage – July 8-12, 2019
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Contact Kirsten Ballard at [email protected] if you want toknow more and/or sign up for the course prior to May 17, 2019, so she can makenecessary arrangements if the number of students exceeds the capacity of our of-fice. Registrants will be accepted until June 14 for the class, but note that you willnot be able to take the test in July/August 2019 and the code may change beforethe next testing dates of October 26-November 8, 2019.
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