Hilcorp seeks state lease for 1,330-acre gas storage field in Kenai

Hilcorp Cook Inlet filed Friday for a state lease to develop natural gas storage on 1,330 acres of subsurface reservoir in the Tyonek sand formation within Kenai city limits. Luke Saugier, speaking for Hilcorp, told state legislators the company is pursuing multiple storage projects because "the market has to have it over the next, I don't know, 5 to 10 years."

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources publicly noticed the proposed Kenai Loop gas storage lease June 5. The June 5 DNR newsroom entry also included a public notice correction for a Beluga River storage lease application. A DNR Cook Inlet map shows gas storage leases already exist in the region.

Written comments on the proposed lease must be received by 5 p.m. July 7. The Division of Oil and Gas notice states that written comments are required to preserve eligibility to appeal the department's final written finding.

The proposal includes approximately one mile of pipeline right-of-way subject to future permitting. Hilcorp must also obtain a Storage Injection Order from the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission before proceeding. The current documents are notices and a newsroom correction, not an approval order or finalized construction permit.