06-05-08 This year new drilling is planned by Alaska operators for natural gas in the Cook Inlet.
ConocoPhillips applied for permits for three new development wells in the North Cook Inlet field, as well as two new wells in the onshore Beluga gas field, company spokeswoman Natalie Loman said. The wells would be the first new drilling in several years in the two fields. ConocoPhillips is operator in both fields.

Chevron and Marathon Oil are also planning two new gas wells in the McArthur River field in west Cook Inlet, according to Mitch Little, Marathon's Alaska manager. Chevron is the operator of the field.
Chevron's drilling plan is part of a $ 250 mm effort the company has under way to stimulate production from aging offshore Cook Inlet fields it took over in 2005 when it bought Unocal.

Marathon also plans continued drilling in the Kenai and Ninilchik gas fields on the Kenai Peninsula, where it is operator, at levels consistent with 2007 levels, Little said. Marathon plans six to 10 development wells in the two fields, he said.
Marathon is also assessing seismic data on two prospect areas near its existing fields on the Kenai Peninsula and may drill one exploration well late this year or in early 2009, Little said.

Armstrong Oil and Gas, a Denver-based independent, is also planning a Cook Inlet well, at the small North Fork gas field on the southern Kenai Peninsula, according to Matt Rader, a state Division of Oil and Gas permit officer. The Cook Inlet wells would be the first new drilling in several years there by ConocoPhillips and Chevron, and the first southern Alaska well for Armstrong, which had previously been active on the North Slope.
The Armstrong well in the small North Fork field is aimed at proving up reserves to fulfil a contract the company has with Enstar Natural Gas, the regional gas utility. Enstar says it is willing to buy gas from North Fork to serve nearby communities but wants a second well as a backup to one now drilled in the field.