A small company working to develop Cook Inlet’s first new oil pool in years is urging policymakers to use restraint when considering changes to the state’s controversial oil-tax credit program.
The Alaska Dispatch News reports that officials with BlueCrest Energy, a Texas company founded by a former Alaskan, may not be able to develop a gas field west of Anchor Point without the credits. Company officials say if the state pulls support, they will not be able to continue drilling.
The plea comes as a state Senate working group has been scrutinizing the program, which paid $628 million last year to companies on the North Slope, in Cook Inlet and other areas.
With Alaska facing its second consecutive $3 billion budget deficit, Gov. Bill Walker’s administration says the program should be scaled back.
