Cook Inlet

by Jackie Bartz Tuesday, July 27, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- On the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' second day in Anchorage, lawyers battled over the Clean Water Act. Environmentalists say Cook Inlet's oil platforms dump billions of gallons of pollution into the inlet, while the Environmental Protection Agency says it issued discharge permits to the oil companies in accordance with state guidelines.  Cook Inlet Keeper and several other groups want the EPA to reissue a permit for oil and gas platforms in Cook Inlet.

A Texas-based oil company plans to begin exploratory drilling in Cook Inlet this spring. Escopeta Oil and Gas applied for lease operation approval from the Department of Natural Resources.   A spokesperson for Escopeta Oil and Gas says the company still needs to be approved for some permits, but expects to begin exploratory drilling for oil in Cook Inlet in April or May. Escopeta scored a contract with Spartan Offshore Drilling to bring a jack up rig to Alaska. The rig will take about 55 days to get here.

by The Associated Press Saturday, June 5, 2010 KENAI, Alaska -- The Alaska Earthquake Information Center reports a magnitude 4.0 earthquake Friday evening in the Cook Inlet region. The light quake was felt in Kenai, Anchorage, Homer, Soldotna, Eagle River and Anchor Point but there were no reports of damage. The quake was centered about 30 miles west of Kenai at a depth of about 52 miles. Kenai is about 80 miles southwest of Anchorage. The earthquake center is a cooperative program of the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska and the U.S. Geological Survey.

by Ted Land Wednesday, May 26, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Thousands of acres of Cook Inlet are now in the hands of a few bidders after the state's oil and gas lease sale at the Dena'ina Center Wednesday morning. Smaller producers like Armstrong, Buccaneer and Escapada spent more than $100,000 on certain plots of land and water. The 30-minute sale brought in nearly $2.5 million for the state. The money goes to the Permanent Fund, an education fund and the state's main spending account.

A huge gas discovery in Cook Inlet by Escopeta Oil & Gas could have significant consequences in Anchorage and other Southcentral communities. 3.5 trillion cubic feet of gas -- that's how much Escopeta says it found. It sounds like a lot, but is it? That amount of gas "based on our average annual usage today, for home heating and power generation, could last approximately 45 years,” said Tony Izzo, an energy consultant, “that's very significant.” “It's equivalent to the largest gas discovery ever in Cook Inlet, which was the Kenai gas field, discovered in 1959,” said David Hite, a consultant who has studied Cook Inlet for decades.

by Ted Land Wednesday, June 9, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The Native corporation CIRI announced this week a formal agreement with a Texas-based energy company to develop what they say is an abundant resource on the west side of Cook Inlet. The joint-venture, called Stone Horn Ridge, plans to drill holes into massive coal deposits and burn the coal underground. CIRI says the heat and pressure create an ultra-clean gas, called syngas (sin-gas), which can be used to run a power plant in Southcentral Alaska.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a final rule designating more than 3,000 square miles of Cook Inlet as critical habitat for beluga whales Friday morning. According to the Center for Biological Diversity, which praises the designation, the habitat area is similar to one proposed in 2009 but clears small areas around the Port of Anchorage and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson's Eagle River Flats Range. The ruling comes after a 2008 decision by NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service to list the beluga whale as an endangered species.

A longwave trough aloft is still positioned over Alaska and making for some snowy and wet weather for areas of the state.  Another low is rotating through the base of this trough over the Gulf of Alaska.  Warmer air, rain and snow are in store for Southeast.  Winds will kick up to 30 mph as the frontal boundary pushes through.  Several warnings and advisories are in effect from Juneau northward for snow and blowing snow. Southcentral is still dealing with light snow.  Weak upper level dynamics along with low level instability due to lifting associated with vertical temperature and density variations are sufficient to keep snow in the forecast through the week.  Low based flurries or showers will persist in Anchorage and the Valley with light accumulations possible.  The heavier snow showers will be in eastern PWS.  Valdez has already had over 200 inches of snow and with the stationary pattern continuing, more is on the way. The rest of the state will have another day of below normal temperatures and patchy low clouds and flurries. 

by Jackie Bartz Friday, March 19, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Experts say the demand for Cook Inlet natural gas will exceed its supply by as early as 2013. Petrotechnical Resources of Alaska says Cook Inlet has enough natural gas to last another decade, but developing it will cost anywhere from $1.9 to $2.8 billion -- roughly three times what was spent in the previous decade. "We don't have a local source for gas if we don't increase that local source for gas, so there's going to be a requirement to import natural gas from somewhere within the basin, unless we are very active in exploring and developing in Cook Inlet," said the group's Tom Walsh.

by Ted Land Wednesday, January 06, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A new study shows just how much natural gas is left out in Cook Inlet. The state Division of Oil and Gas presented the numbers to Mayor Dan Sullivan's Energy Task Force Wednesday morning. Director Kevin Banks says 2.4 trillion cubic feet of gas are available for development over at least the next decade. He says the basin is not running out of gas, but it is running out of cheap gas, and upgrades to the current system will be costly.