AOGCC to hold hearing on fracking notice proposal

Alaska’s oil and gas regulatory oversight body, the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, is required to make public the locations, depth and operating data of oil and gas wells, but not information about how the wells may be treated with hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. This may change if the commission rules in favor of a proposal requiring public hearings for fracking permits.

On Oct. 19, the conservation nonprofit Cook Inletkeeper requested the AOGCC make fracking permits subject to the public notification and public hearing requirements with which the AOGCC evaluates proposals for other oil and gas activities. AOGCC commissioners will discuss the proposal in a public meeting in Anchorage on Dec. 15 and will take public comments until the date of the hearing.

BlueCrest Energy plans to use fracking methods to extract oil from the Cosmopolitan formation, located offshore beneath Cook Inlet near Anchor Point. The company plans to begin drilling a well into the formation in late November and to produce oil from it this spring, said BlueCrest Health, Safety and Environment Manager Larry Burgess.

BlueCrest applied to AOGCC on Aug. 11, 2016 for a permit to frack its Cosmopolitan wells. Under present notification requirements, notice was sent to residents living within a half mile of its wellpad at Mile 151 of the Sterling Highway, who were able to view the application on request.

Shavelson said because Cook InletKeeper had taken an interest in the BlueCrest project, AOGCC officials decided to give them a copy of BlueCrest’s fracking permit application although they weren’t required to do so. Cook InletKeeper has posted a copy of the permit on its website.

BlueCrest’s planned fracking well will extend horizontally 3 miles from the shore of Cook Inlet and 7,000 feet deep — 6,881 feet deeper than the deepest water well in the area, according to a BlueCrest presentation. Although BlueCrest’s operation has attracted public protest, Shavelson said Cook InletKeeper’s concern was more about future fracking wells.

“We looked at (BlueCrest’s) permit and didn’t get super excited about it just because it was so deep and far offshore,” Shavelson said. “But a lot of people got concerned because fracking was coming into the populated areas of Cook Inlet. I think we’re going to see more of that. So what we’re trying to do is address that public concern and give people an opportunity to weigh in.”

BlueCrest President Benjamin Johnson said his company doesn’t plan to make any formal presentations at the hearing, though some BlueCrest employees may be present.

Johnson said a notice and hearing process for fracking permits would have no additional benefit over the regulations currently in place and would create a new public cost, adding that the oversight of the AOGCC is sufficient to ensure the suitability of a prospective fracking project.

According to its hearing notice, AOGCC estimates public notices and hearings for fracking projects would cost $14,000 per year.

 

Reach Ben Boettger at ben.boettger@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

Soldotna High School senior Josiah Burton testifies in opposition to the proposed cut of Kenai Peninsula Borough School District theater technicians while audience members look on during a board of education meeting on Monday, March 6, 2023 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
School board finance group reviews expenditures ahead of upcoming budget cycle

As the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District prepares to grapple with another… Continue reading

Members of the Kenai/Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Committee raise hands to vote in favor of a proposal during a meeting at Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Silver salmon, personal use fishing discussed by advisory committee

The group set their recommendations on a variety of proposals to the State Board of Fisheries

Hoses pump water along Patrick Drive to help mitigate flooding near Kalifornsky Beach Road on Friday, July 21, 2023, near Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Borough spent almost $78k responding to flood events during disaster declaration

Most of the funds were spend in the northwest area of Kalifornsky Beach Road

The National Weather Service’s map shows a winter weather advisory, in orange, effective for much of the eastern Kenai Peninsula. (Screenshot)
Heavy snow, blowing winds forecast for Turnagain Pass on Wednesday

Snow accumulations of up to 16 inches are expected

The Kenai Courthouse is seen on Monday, July 3, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Grand jury adds charges in October killing of Homer woman

The indictment was delivered on Nov. 8

Alaska State Troopers logo.
Anchorage resident arrested in Nikiski after troopers investigate reports of stolen vehicle

Troopers responded to a residential address in Nikiski around 11:30 a.m. after being notified by Sirius XM that a stolen vehicle was there

Santa Claus greets Hudson Reinhardt during Christmas Comes to Kenai festivities at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Friday, Nov. 24, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Getting into the holiday spirit

Christmas arrives in Kenai with fireworks, Santa and a lot of rain

Kinley Ferguson tells Santa Claus what she wants for Christmas during Christmas in the Park festivities on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022, at Soldotna Creek Park in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Creating a winter wonderland

Christmas in the Park to bring Santa, sleigh rides, fireworks on Saturday

Flowers bloom at Soldotna City Hall on Wednesday, June 24, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna to repair failed wastewater pipe

The pipe to be repaired discharges treated effluent into the Kenai River

Most Read