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Oil patch insider: Fitch confirms Chugach, Fairbanks Alliance snares Santos, Hilcorp
Kay Cashman Petroleum News
Pantheon Resources Ltd. recently announced that it has received an independent expert report confirming estimates of 962 million barrels of oil (which is the best estimate of contingent resource) for the Lower Basin Floor Fan reservoir of the Kodiak field.
Kodiak field?
Per a spokesperson for the company, as Pantheon begins the task of bringing its Alaska North Slope fields into production, it "is necessary to define the field areas for fiscal and regulatory purposes. In order to simplify that process and reduce the number of separate approvals, the company has reclassified its various projects into two defined two fields; Kodiak and Ahpun," adding that the "reclassification of the accumulations into these two fields does not alter any previously announced resource estimates."
So, the Theta West prospect falls under the new field name, Kodiak.
Furthermore, the company said it has commissioned Netherland, Sewell & Associates to complete a similar independent expert report on the Alkaid horizon at the Ahpun project in Q4 2023 and that All-American Oil Rig 111 has been contracted for the re-entry of the Alkaid-2 well to test the SMD horizon.
Anchorage-based Great Bear Pantheon operates London-based Pantheon's Alaska acreage. Great Bear Pantheon is run by Pat Galvin, chief commercial officer and general counsel.
Fitch affirms Chugach's A-rating On Aug. 24, Fitch Ratings, New York, affirmed Chugach Electric Association Inc.'s Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'A-'.
The rating outlook is stable.
The rating affirmation reflects Fitch's expectation that Chugach's leverage ratio, measured as net adjusted debt to adjusted funds available for debt service, or FADS, will migrate toward 8.0x through 2025 as the cooperative benefits from anticipated rate increases stemming from its recent rate filing, and continues to integrate the operations of Municipal Light and Power, which it acquired from the Municipality of Anchorage on Oct. 30, 2020.
According to Fitch, leverage fell below 10x in 2022 but remains elevated after peaking at 16.2x in 2020 as a result of the $757.8 million purchase of ML&P and the issuance of $800 million in debt to fund the purchase and integration costs. Operating income and FADS have improved since the acquisition as a result of the combined utility operations, as well as the operational and financial efficiencies realized.
For more details check out Fitch's news release at:
https://www.fitchratings.com/research/us-public-finance/fitch-affirms-chugach-electric-ak-idr-at-a-outlook-stable-24-08-2023
Fairbanks Alliance snares Santos, Hilcorp The Fairbanks Alliance has captured two notable oil company speakers for its annual industry update forum on Oct. 5 in Fairbanks: Listed under featured speakers are Hilcorp Alaska Senior Vice President Luke Saugier, who heads up Hilcorp in Alaska and an unnamed speaker from Santos, whose Alaska subsidiary Oil Search (Alaska) is developing the big North Slope Pikka project.
The event takes place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Westmark Hotel Fairbanks.
Saugier is the lunch keynote speaker for the event.
Solar farm event draws 100-plus guests The hosts of the Aug. 29 grand opening and tour of the 8.5 MW Houston, Alaska, solar farm said the event went well with the sun shining brightly and more than 100 people showing up for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The hosts were the Matanuska Electric Association, Renewable IPP, CleanCapital and Alaska Energy Authority.
The event included the ribbon cutting ceremony and a tour of Alaska's largest solar farm.
Jenn Miller, CEO of Renewable IPP, delivered opening remarks and served as emcee for the ceremony. The roster of speakers included Thomas Byrne, CEO of CleanCapital; Curtis Thayer, executive director of Alaska Energy Authority; Mayor Edna DeVries, Matanuska Susitna Borough; Mayor Carter Cole, City of Houston; and Tony Izzo, CEO of Matanuska Electric Association.
Following the remarks, the attendees witnessed the ribbon-cutting, led by Byrne, Izzo, Thayer, Miller, and Chris Colbert, Co-Founder & CFO, Renewable IPP.
"MEA is excited to partner with Renewable IPP to expand the amount of renewable energy on our system," said Izzo. "Member surveys indicate people want MEA to produce more power with renewable energy, but not at an additional cost. We believe this project achieves that goal while helping MEA responsibly meet the board's clean energy target."
Building Utqiaġvik seawall On Aug. 29, U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan, R-AK, participated in the signing of the U.S. Corps of Engineers Alaska District Project Partnership Agreement with the North Slope Borough for the Barrow Coastal Erosion Project.
This partnership, and the funding for the erosion project, is a result of efforts Sullivan, as a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, has made since in 2018, when the community of Utqiaġvik lost its ocean seawall that protects parts of the downtown area due to coastal storms.
The lack of coastal protection for Utqiaġvik has jeopardized lives and threatened the integrity of the Old Barrow Landfill and critical community infrastructure, including the community's only fresh water source. The community has been spending millions of dollars every year to build temporary dirt berms to protect the city.
"I'm excited that at long last, we've taken the last step in a years' long process to build a seawall to protect the community of Utqiaġvik," Sullivan said, noting he'd worked hand-in-glove with North Slope Borough Mayor Harry Brower, Jr., and other leaders of the Borough, tribes, and the community of Utqiaġvik to secure funding for the seawall.
That work included creating a new program for storm damage prevention and erosion projects with a 10% cost share for economically disadvantaged communities, like Utqiaġvik.
In a press release Sullivan thanked the U.S. Corps of Engineers for their cooperation and the community of Utqiaġvik and the North Slope Borough for their strong leadership.
"We can't thank our partners in this fight for permanent costal protection enough," said North Slope Borough Mayor Harry Brower Jr., especially thanking Sullivan for his "relentless work" on the project, which began in 2016.
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