HEX/Furie has brought in a jack-up rig to Cook Inlet and is getting ready to drill for more natural gas. It’s good news for people living in Southcentral Alaska and as far north as Fairbanks.
HEX Cook Inlet, through its affiliates Furie, and Cornucopia Oil & Gas Company, own natural gas leases, natural gas production, and processing infrastructure.
HEX is the only 100% Alaskan oil and gas company operating in Alaska. Majority owned by John Hendrix of Homer and Anchorage, HEX plans to commence a multi-year infield development program, sidetracking non-performing wells and drilling grass roots wells to access previously untapped natural gas reserves in the Kitchen Lights Unit.
Hendrix, a petroleum engineer, bought Furie out of bankruptcy in 2020 with a $7.5 million loan from Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority that was fully paid off eight months early.
“We are immensely pleased with the progress made by HEX in repaying the loan eight months early,” said Randy Ruaro, Executive Director of AIDEA, at the time of the loan completion in October, 2023.
Drilling at the Kitchen Lights Unit can take place during ice-free periods, which is about seven months of the year in Cook Inlet.
Anchorage is in serious need of natural gas. Enstar Natural Gas Company, which provides the natural gas that heats and lights homes in the city, said it expects the city will be out of locally produced natural gas by 2026, unless action is taken. Last winter, during record cold stretches, the city surpassed supply and Enstar asked residents, governments, and organizations to conserve by turning down thermometers to 65, unplugging unused appliances, and to postpone washing clothes.
Alaska is rich in natural gas but the economics of drilling and production in Alaska are made more difficult by the harsh regulatory environment at the federal level, as well as the incessant lawsuits by environmental nonprofit groups.
“The news that HEX/Furie is in possession of a jack-up rig that could bring new gas to market is exciting. HEX’s ability to add to Cook Inlet production is needed, and with today’s announcement, they are one step closer to doing so,” said Rick Whitbeck, Alaska director for Power The Future. “Reliable, abundant, and affordable power is a necessity in Alaska. Alaskans know that tapping our vast reserves of coal, natural gas and oil will keep the lights on and buildings heated like nothing else can.”
Well some common sense is shown.
Now let’s see who is going to court to stop it.
Wow, this is great news! I’ve been waiting (what seems to be far too long) for some solutions to be presented, and I didn’t want to see “importing gas” as one of them!
Thank you for sharing this important article.