Conoco raises its stake in Alaska

Anchorage Daily News ^ | December 11, 2004 | Wesley Loy

[thackney]

Conoco Phillips Co. plans to spend about $700 million in Alaska next year on exploration and production activity, executives with the Houston-based energy firm said Friday.

The planned spending is part of a $6.9 billion global capital budget that commits $1.4 billion for exploration and production in the North Sea and West Africa; $900 million for the Asia Pacific region; $900 million for the Lower 48 and Latin America; $700 million for Canada; and $400 million for Russia and the Caspian Sea region.

The Alaska money will go toward drilling four North Slope exploratory wells this winter, plus work to possibly develop oil from "satellite" oil accumulations near the Alpine oil field. The company also plans to continue funding a major project to boost production of so-called heavy oil from the Slope's massive but technically difficult West Sak field.

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The capital budget is in addition to $870 million that Conoco will spend next year for salaries and operation and maintenance of existing Alaska assets, Patience said.

[thackney]

Nice to see them match BP spending for next year. Shame they don't get into a spending war...

[thackney]

For the location of the expansions in NPRA:

[Eska]

Like most Alaskans, at one time or another; worked up the slope. Had to stop when I got to likin that great homecookin up there over the wifes.

Remember the ice road out to colville river near nuiqsut. Had been a push on back then to employ local natives; probably been several. Just seemed there were so many problems in the villages; it just couldn't come about. I know the oil industry up there has provided the most modern schools found anywhere in alaska. Have seen native kids excell but it seems to require village leadership. Has anything on the slope changed for the better?

[thackney]

I only get up there once in a while, I'm Anchorage based.

I did go to the Anchorage Public Hearing for the Alpine expansions in NPRA. One of older men from Nuiqsut only complaint about the expansion into their general area. His only complaint was the planned road didn't go down to their village. Some of the villagers worked at Alpine and if there was a road, they could go home at night.