Hilcorp eyes gas exploration near Anchor Point

Hilcorp’s Seaview drill site located in Anchor Point. (Photo courtesy of Willy Dunne)

Hilcorp, Alaska is looking to build two gas exploration wells near Anchor Point later this year.

The Texas-based company has requested approval from the Alaska Department of Natural Resources to build an oil-gas combination well and gas-only well in Whiskey Gulch, three miles northeast of Anchor Point. It also wants to build a gravel pad and access road on the privately owned property above the lease.

The proposal is for a gas prospect. An ENSTAR Natural Gas line runs by the site down to the southern part of the Kenai Peninsula.

Hilcorp’s proposal for an access road and pad in Whiskey Gulch. (Department of Natural Resources, Division of Oil and Gas)

Hilcorp is the biggest oil and gas producer in Cook Inlet. The Texas-based company owns several onshore gas wells, including the Seaview Unit south of Anchor Point, and operates most of the inlet’s offshore platforms.

Hilcorp drilled five stratigraphic wells in Whiskey Gulch last summer, including two on the lease involved in its current proposal. All were plugged and abandoned in July, according to data from the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

In its application, the company proposed constructing the gravel access road and pad in April. DNR says the company could start drilling June 1. Any future production would need to be approved in a separate permitting process.

You can find Hilcorp’s application here. Send comments to DNR by March 4 at dog.permitting@alaska.gov.

KDLL - Kenai

KDLL is our partner station in Kenai. KTOO collaborates with partners across the state to cover important news and to share stories with our audiences.

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