The state is proposing a $380,000 fine for Alaska Native corporation Ahtna, Inc., for safety violations at a gas well near Glennallen.
The Native corporation started drilling the exploration well last September, hoping to find natural gas to use as cheaper fuel for interior Alaska communities.
The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission stated the violations posed a “serious and significant risk to public health and the environment.”
In an order sent May 24, the commission charged that an oil and gas exploration company owned by Ahtna, Tolsona Oil and Gas Exploration, didn’t install proper safety equipment.
The commission also said the company “stonewalled” the agency’s attempts to address the issues.
Ahtna is challenging the fine. In a statement released yesterday, the corporation disputed parts of the commission’s account. The company said it took “immediate action” to comply with the state’s order, installing the required equipment this week.
Ahtna added the project has an “outstanding safety record,” but also stated that it lacks the “decades of experience that Alaska’s major oil and gas producers do.”
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.
