Hilcorp seeks federal permit for new North Slope gravel mine; comment closes Aug. 18

Hilcorp Alaska wants to open a new gravel mine in the Putuligayuk River area of the North Slope. The public has until Aug. 18 to weigh in.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Alaska District published the permit notice on Aug. 3. It describes a new mine site called Put 29 and an access road about 1,000 feet long and 36 feet wide at the surface. The road would leave an established gravel road that serves Drillsite 15. The plan is dated May 2026.

Kristen Hoppe of Hilcorp Alaska is listed as the applicant contact. The notice says the purpose is to develop a new gravel source and access road, which is "necessary for continued oil and gas development, as current gravel sources are being depleted throughout the North Slope."

The notice does not state how many acres of wetlands or tundra the mine and road would disturb. It quantifies neither the wetland impact nor any effect on subsistence resources. Conservation-oriented reviewers who have commented on other North Slope gravel filings contend such projects can cause uncompensated wetland loss and warrant stronger mitigation.

The notice includes no response from North Slope subsistence users, tribal organizations, or local government about this proposal. It presents only the applicant's account.

North Slope oilfield roads, pads, and related infrastructure are built on gravel. Alaska News has covered a series of similar filings this summer, including two ConocoPhillips gravel expansions in the Kuparuk River Unit that were open for comment through late July.

Hilcorp became operator of major North Slope fields in 2020, when state agencies approved the transfer of BP's upstream Alaska assets and the formation of Hilcorp North Slope, LLC. In a 2024 state water quality filing for Phase II of its Ugnu Mine Site E, Hilcorp reported 24.2 acres of new wetland impact, for a Phase I and II total of 50.5 acres. The company proposed that no compensatory mitigation was required because the impacts were temporary and minimal.

The permit is not approved. Written comments go to Andrew Kastning, the Corps regulatory project manager, at [email protected]. The filing is listed as POA-2026-00362.

Gravel comes before everything else the oil fields are built on.