The Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Oil and Gas received a lease plan of operations application in April from Hilcorp Alaska, requesting authorization to drill seven stratigraphic test wells on state subsurface leases on the southern end of the Kenai Peninsula in the Ninilchik and Anchor Point areas. A notice was provided to the general public should they be interested in an opportunity to comment.
Three of the wells will be on private surface lands and four wells will be on State of Alaska surface lands. Each well will be drilled to an approximate depth of 600 feet. Drill cuttings, according to the Division of Oil and Gas, will be contained in a portable tank and disposed of at the grind and inject facility in the Kenai gas field. Samples will be collected at 30-foot intervals for evaluation and they, then, will be plugged and abandoned after evaluation.
Equipment used for the project includes a truck-mounted water well rig, a vac-truck, and a flatbed truck. The footprint at each site will be 35 feet by 70 feet. The project is scheduled to last through August 2022.
All comments must be received by the comment deadline: 4:30 pm, Alaska Standard Time, June 26, 2022.
NOTE: The application package is available for review at the Division’s Permitting Section, 550 West 7th Avenue, Suite 1100, Anchorage, or online here. Send comments to the Division by email to dog.permitting@alaska.gov, or by regular mail to the Division address above. All comments must be in writing. A copy of the final decision will be sent to any person who provides written comments. An eligible person affected by this decision may appeal or request the commissioner’s reconsideration in accordance with 11 AAC 02.