State plans to approve third revision to Pikka-area plant's air permit

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation announced a preliminary decision Friday to approve a third revision to the air permit for Oil Search (Alaska) LLC's Nanushuk Processing Facility, the plant that serves the Pikka oil development on the North Slope.

Oil Search asked DEC to revise and rescind conditions from the permit's second revision. The notice does not say which conditions would change.

The proposed Revision 3 lists nitrogen oxides at 187.39 tons, down from 236.72 under Revision 2, and volatile organic compounds at 200.28 tons, up from 152.30. Carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter each rise by less than 9 tons, and greenhouse gases also rise. The total for pollutants other than greenhouse gases goes from 832.92 tons to 845.69.

The plant sits on a 17-acre gravel pad near the border of the Pikka and Quokka units and is built to process roughly 80,000 barrels of oil a day, according to an EPA fact sheet. The Pikka Unit is about 52 miles west of Prudhoe Bay, and Nuiqsut is about 12 miles southwest of the development. Pikka began producing oil in May.

DEC first noticed the plant's permit in November 2022, with owner-requested limits meant to keep it out of the federal Prevention of Significant Deterioration permitting process.

Comments are due by 11:59 pm Alaska time Nov. 16. DEC will then decide whether to issue or deny the permit.