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Gas Drilling Plan Open for Public Comment

Posted on: Friday, 2 September 2005, 12:00 CDT

Aug. 31--WASILLA -- Public comments are sought on a plan by Denver-based Forest Oil Corp. to test drill for natural gas at Point MacKenzie.

Forest Oil proposes to reopen a 1969 oil well, originally drilled by Gulf Oil Corp., nearly one mile into the Susitna Flats State Game Refuge. The exploration project is part of a search for new natural gas sources. Bob Elder of Forest Oil in Anchorage said that if productive, the Gulf Oil well on Point MacKenzie may kick off a larger project the company hopes would boost natural gas stores for Southcentral Alaska for the next several years.

"The well wasn't commercially productive enough," Elder said. "But they were looking for oil. They drilled through a lot of zones that potentially hold gas."

The well site and road leading to it predate the Susitna Flats State Game Refuge. The location is ideal, Elder said, because a road and large well site are already on the property. A temporary bridge will have to be placed over a salmon-rearing stream to get to the site, and eventually more road improvements may need to be made, said wildlife biologist Mark Fink with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Fink said a stream now flows over the abandoned road that leads from Holstein Avenue, off Point MacKenzie Road, to the well site. Fish and Game staff found juvenile silver salmon in the stream and, although Fink said more studies must be done to be sure, the salmon may migrate to the stream from the Little Susitna River.

Fink said any permit issued by his department for exploration at the site would likely require Forest Oil to install a culvert under the road and reroute the stream. The department, he said, may also restrict development to only the winter months.

The Susitna Game Refuge was primarily established for waterfowl and fish, Fink said. The area is also home to a lot of moose. In the fall, it's home to a lot of rutting moose. Fink said the permit would likely restrict development to after the rut, in early winter.

"It's hard to say what kind of impacts we might have," Fink said, "but we don't want to start any activities until afterward."

Fink said that portion of the refuge, being mostly wetlands, is also off-limits to off-road vehicle users. It's likely the permit may require that steps be taken to prevent four-wheeler use within the area, he said.

Ben Greene, with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources' Coastal Management office, said at least two other oil companies are active in the Susitna basin.

Marathon Oil, he said, is producing off wells in the area. Pelican Hill Oil is exploring natural gas reserves nearby. Unocal, Fink said, is also operating in the area, near the Beluga River.

People wishing to comment can do so until Sept. 27 by mailing comments to Ben Greene, Oil, Gas & Energy Projects manager, Alaska Coastal Management Program, OPMP, 550 W. Seventh Ave., Suite 1660; Anchorage 99501. Call Greene at 269-7474, or e-mail him at ben_greene@dnr.state.ak.us. A decision from the Department of Natural Resources is expected by Oct. 17.

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Copyright (c) 2005, Anchorage Daily News, Alaska

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FST,

Source: Anchorage Daily News

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