Legislature(2001 - 2002)
05/02/2002 04:11 PM House O&G
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON OIL AND GAS
May 2, 2002
4:11 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Hugh Fate, Vice Chair
Representative Mike Chenault
Representative Gretchen Guess
Representative Reggie Joule
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Scott Ogan, Chair
Representative Fred Dyson
Representative Vic Kohring
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 527
"An Act relating to entry into the Minto Flats State Game Refuge
for purposes of exploration and development of oil and gas
resources."
- HEARD AND HELD
PREVIOUS ACTION
BILL: HB 527
SHORT TITLE:MINTO FLATS GAME REFUGE
SPONSOR(S): RESOURCES
Jrn-Date Jrn-Page Action
04/30/02 3238 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME -
REFERRALS
04/30/02 3238 (H) O&G, RES
05/02/02 (H) O&G AT 1:00 PM CAPITOL 124
WITNESS REGISTER
MARK MYERS, Director
Division of Oil & Gas
Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
550 West 7th Avenue, Suite 400
Anchorage, Alaska 00501-3560
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on HB 527.
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 02-25, SIDE A
Number 0001
VICE CHAIR HUGH FATE called the House Special Committee on Oil
and Gas meeting to order at 4:11 p.m. Members present at the
call to order were Representatives Fate, Chenault, Guess, and
Joule.
HB 527-MINTO FLATS GAME REFUGE
Number 0040
VICE CHAIR FATE announced that the committee would hear HOUSE
BILL NO. 527, "An Act relating to entry into the Minto Flats
State Game Refuge for purposes of exploration and development of
oil and gas resources." [HB 527 was sponsored by the House
Resources Standing Committee.]
Number 0141
MARK MYERS, Director, Division of Oil & Gas, Department of
Natural Resources (DNR), testified via teleconference. In
response to Vice Chair Fate's question about the location of the
most valuable resource in the Nenana basin, he explained:
When I look at the geologic potential of the area, we
have several data sets. One is a seismic data set, so
we have seismic lines over mainly the southern part of
... the license area; we have gravity data, which
indicates where the basin actually is located, over
the entire basin; and we have two wells in the
southern part of the basin. When we look at it, the
basin geometry is very well defined; in other words,
the shape and ... relative thickness of the potential
section is well defined on the gravity data. That
corresponds with a good match to the seismic data. So
[we're] pretty confident that the gravity data, which
is over the entire basin, is a good representation of
the thickness [and] shape of the basin.
From that, what we see is, the deepest part of the
basin is just north of the Tanana River in the Minto
Flats State Game Refuge. The depth becomes important
not only because you have more section for having
potential reservoir rocks - so you can drill deeper
and have more potential targets - but also that the
gas being generated in the basin needs to come from
the deeper depths, so the temperature and pressures
are higher, and the coals, then, would produce the
gas. That [is] often referred to as the kitchen area,
or the area where you actually create the gas. ...
Number 0270
MR. MYERS continued:
The best potential for that is in the northern area.
Generally, the best place ... to find economic
quantities of gas is near where it's [generated]. The
gas ... will generate out of these coal beds, which is
the primary source for the gas, into nearby
reservoirs.
So all that supports that the northern part of the ...
proposed license area north of the Tanana River, which
corresponds, unfortunately, to the Minto Flats State
Game Refuge area, [which] is the area of highest
potential, by a considerable amount. And in our
preliminary best-interest finding, we have a map that
sort of illustrates that shape, size of the basin, and
where ... the best potential is.
Number 0335
VICE CHAIR FATE asked what the certainty is for finding gas if
the lessee explores in this area, and whether the lessee would
have to be in the core area to "find that high potential."
MR. MYERS answered that he believes there probably is gas
distributed throughout the basin. There are two kinds of gas:
biogenic gas, from the "chewing on rock" by microorganisms that
create the gas; and thermogenic gas, created "under temperature
and pressure." If the target is thermogenic gas, then the
northern part of the refuge is critical to finding economical
quantities. If it is biogenic gas, however, there is a
possibility of finding it in the southern part, but probably not
as high because the basin is thinner.
MR. MYERS said that commercially, if he looks at the basin from
an explorationist's viewpoint, the northern part would be
critical to exploration success. In addition, it appears that
the basin's structural geology is best suited in the northern
part for "certain types of trapping mechanisms" related to gas
potential. As to certainty, the two wells on the flank of the
basin outside this core area were drilled where the basin is
relatively thin; they did encounter quantities of gas, so gas
has been generated in the basin. However, there aren't
commercial quantities of gas, and there isn't any geologic
structure there that would trap the gas in an economical
quantity. He reiterated that the northern part is critical for
someone who is exploring to have a reasonable probability of
success in the basin.
Number 0513
VICE CHAIR FATE thanked Mr. Myers and called an at-ease at 4:17
p.m. He called the meeting back to order at 4:20 p.m. and
announced that the meeting would be recessed until the following
morning. [HB 527 was held over.]
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting of the House Special Committee on Oil and Gas was
recessed at 4:20 p.m. until May 2, 2002, at 8 a.m.
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