An environmental group is praising oil and gas company Hilcorp after it announced a new pipeline project in Cook Inlet. Hilcorp said the project would eliminate the need to store oil at the Drift River Terminal.
That terminal has worried environmental groups for years because it sits at the bottom of Mount Redoubt, an active volcano.
Today, tankers are used to carry the oil from Drift River to the Tesoro refinery in Nikiski. Hilcorp plans to both build new pipelines and repurpose existing pipelines to carry the oil to the refinery.
Bob Shavelson of Cook Inletkeeper is one of Hilcorp’s frequent critics, but he said the project is a good idea.
“Storing oil at the base of an active volcano is crazy,” Shavelson said. “And the added risk of tankering this oil across Cook Inlet is a heightened risk. So we support bringing the oil across in a pipeline.”
The company aims to permit and build the $75 million project by the end of next year. Hilcorp Alaska executive David Wilkins announced the project during a speech to business leaders in Anchorage.
Wilkins also addressed the company’s recent difficulties in Cook Inlet. One of its fuel lines in the Inlet leaked gas for months, leading to fierce criticism from local environmental groups. Due to that leak and two other incidents, Hilcorp was forced to shut down multiple pipelines and platforms.
After the speech, Wilkins said Hilcorp plans to spend more money on inspections to prevent additional leaks in Cook Inlet.
“We are going to do a full lessons learned on this, and we will apply it not only to Middle Ground Shoal, but to all the pipelines and platforms and infrastructure,” Wilkins said. “Our goal is not to be having these kind of incidents.”
During the speech, Wilkins said Hilcorp is increasing its spending across the state this year, and plans to continue operating in Alaska “for decades.”
“We’re in this for the long haul,” Wilkins said.
Shavelson of Cook Inletkeeper said he’s hopeful that Hilcorp is dealing with the problems that led to the gas leak.
“The fact that they’ve had multiple incidents recently has got their attention, and I see them trying to be more diligent in terms of their operations and their maintenance,” Shavelson said. “Hopefully, that will carry on to the future.”
Cook Inletkeeper threatened to sue Hilcorp in February after it learned about the gas leak. But Shavelson said because Hilcorp shut down the gas line, the group is no longer pursuing the lawsuit.
Elizabeth Harball is a reporter with Alaska's Energy Desk, covering Alaska’s oil and gas industry and environmental policy. She is a contributor to the Energy Desk’s Midnight Oil podcast series. Before moving to Alaska in 2016, Harball worked at E&E News in Washington, D.C., where she covered federal and state climate change policy. Originally from Kalispell, Montana, Harball is a graduate of Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
