STATEDismal sockeye run predicted for Bristol BayANCHORAGE -- The forecast for Bristol Bay reds doesn’t look promising.Alaska’s largest and most valuable salmon fishery is expected to produce an extremely low commercial red salmon catch next summer, according to government and university forecasts being released Nov. 13 in Seattle.The state Department of Fish and Game was expected to predict a catch of 9 million fish. Last year’s catch was 14 million reds -- in itself a weak harvest, considering the usual average of more than 25 million fish.The University of Washington also has prepared a forecast that also is expected to be low. That forecast was done with funding primarily from Seattle-based fish-packing companies.Should the numbers turn out as expected, business could be worse than even the disastrous catches of 1997 and 1998. That could add further injury to Alaska’s salmon industry, which is already suffering from low prices because of competition from foreign farmed salmon.AIDEA sells former MarkAir hangarFAIRBANKS -- A former MarkAir facility at Fairbanks International Airport is once again in the hands of an airline. The structure, vacant since MarkAir’s 1995 demise, was finally sold by the state agency that’s owned it for a decade.The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority earlier this month announced the sale of the facility to a company owned by Fairbanks businessman Robert Everts, owner of Air Cargo Express and the Tatonduk Flying Service.The hangar complex will be used for maintenance, administration and storage associated with Air Cargo Express and Tatonduk, as well as Everts Air Fuel Inc., a company owned by Everts’ father.AIDEA had owned the building since it agreed to help out MarkAir in a 1991 attempt to expand the airline. AIDEA was left with the hangars when MarkAir declared bankruptcy and ceased operations in 1995.Ketchikan borough calls loan to millKETCHIKAN -- The Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly has voted to foreclose on its 1999 loan of $7 million to Gateway Forest Products, the struggling veneer maker at the former site of the Ketchikan pulp mill.Gateway is continuing to produce veneer at the Ward Cove site with more than 50 employees as it attempts to rebuild the business under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.The $7 million loan from the borough came from a federal disaster fund. It was used to build the veneer mill.As collateral, the borough got mostly undeveloped lands, valued at about $7.7 million, around all three sides of Ward Cove. The loan was part of about $16.5 million the company owes the borough. That money all came from the disaster fund.Gateway purchased Ketchikan Pulp’s property at Ward Cove in 1999 and built the veneer mill in 2000.NATIONWholesale prices take a plungeWASHINGTON -- Wholesale prices, helped by sharp decreases for energy and new cars, plunged 1.6 percent last month in the biggest decline in more than a half-century of record keeping. Analysts said recession in the United States would keep the lid on inflation for many months to come.The bigger-than-expected drop Nov. 9 in the Labor Department’s Producer Price Index highlighted one of the few benefits a weakening economy can provide."The worsening downturn in industrial activity has spilled over into a general recession that is driving down prices,’’ said Jerry Jasinowski, president of the National Association of Manufacturers.GM announces SUV recallDETROIT -- General Motors Corp. said Nov. 9 it is recalling 86,312 2002 Chevrolet TrailBlazer and GMC Envoy sport utility vehicles for a problem that could cause the gear shift lever to suddenly move out of "park.’’The shift collar on some of the vehicles was not machined according to specifications, GM spokesman Michael Morrissey said.There have been no accidents, deaths or injuries reported as a result of the problem, he said.-- Compiled from business wire services.

ANCHORAGE -- A rocket sent aloft from the Kodiak Launch Complex had to be destroyed seconds after lift-off Nov. 9 when trackers lost communication with the missile.It was the first time a rocket used in testing for the missile defense program had to be destroyed after launch, said Col. Rick Lehner, spokesman for the missile defense program in Washington, D.C.The rocket was launched from the complex, operated by the Alaska Aerospace Development Corp., at 9:12 a.m. It was destroyed 52 seconds later when launch officials lost telemetry data and data transmission from the missile, Lehner said."It seems to be a telemetry problem and safety rules dictate that, if you lose that type of data transmission, you have to destroy the missile," Lehner said. Despite the loss of data, the rocket remained on course until it was destroyed. A board would be convened to investigate the problem, Lehner said.

Investment experts, entrepreneurs and students are gearing up for the second annual Alaska Business Plan Competition, beginning at 7 p.m. on Nov. 28 at Alaska Pacific University’s Atwood Building.The contest is the brainchild of APU assistant professor of entrepreneurship Bruce Borup, who saw it as a way of getting his masters in business administration students involved in a real-world funding exercise.The judges were recruited by Allan Johnston, regional manager for Wedbush Morgan Securities. They include representatives from the Alaska Industrial and Export Authority, the Alaska Manufacturers’ Association, First National Bank Alaska, First Interstate Bank, Key Bank, Northrim Bank, Wells Fargo Bank Alaska, and Alaska Growth Capital.During the competition, the entrepreneurs will be given eight minutes to make their case to the judges and then answer questions. The winner will be featured in the Alaska InvestNet Venture Fair in March, an event attended by numerous investors, including venture capital firms from the Lower 48.Borup said that the competition is more than just an exercise -- it could lead to funding for the start-up companies."Entrepreneurs can’t reach these type of investors in any other format," he said.Johnston said he is working to expand the competition to include other universities and to hold preliminary competitions throughout the state. He said his long-term goal is to encourage Alaska students to start new businesses in Alaska with funding from Alaska firms."We’re growing leaders, and when you do that, you grow the future," he said.The competition is open to the public at no charge.

Name of the company: DAT/EM Systems InternationalEstablished: 1985Location: 8240 Sandlewood Place, Suite 101, AnchorageTelephone: 907-522-3681Web site: www.datem.comMajor focus of services: DAT/EM Systems International develops software and hardware products for digital mapping and photogrammetric applications.History of the company: The firm originally was an internal department at Aeromap US, an Anchorage aerial mapping company. DAT/EM began in 1985 and its products were commercially available in 1987.The company has grown from a handful of employees to a total of 15 employees today. DAT/EM serves more than 350 photogrammetric companies, engineering firms and government agencies in more than 50 countries. Clients range from the U.S. Geological Survey to governments in Asia.The map making industry has changed in recent years, shifting from reliance on precise mechanical instruments to software programs and special computer hardware.DAT/EM General Manager Jeffrey Yates listed several advantages to operating from Alaska although most clients are outside the state. From the Alaska time zone DAT/EM employees can telephone Europe in the morning and dial Asia in the afternoon. One challenge to the location, though, is finding skilled employees to fit the company’s needs, he said.Top accomplishment of the company: Yates cited DAT/EM’s record of "establishing ourselves as being one of the major players of manufacturing software and hardware in the field." The firm sets itself apart from others in the industry by its pricing and service to clients in fine-tuning products per their requests.Major player: Jeffrey Yates, general manager, DAT/EM Systems International.Yates, who came to Alaska in 1982, has a background in surveying. He was one of DAT/EM’s initial software developers before working on the firm’s sales and marketing efforts. In 1995 Yates was chosen general manager of the company.-- Nancy Pounds

Despite lackluster metals markets, one Alaska-based mining company is profitable this year thanks mainly to sales of sand and gravel for industrial and real estate development.But looking to the long term, NovaGold Resources is plowing its profits back into minerals development, notably the company’s project to develop the large Donlin Creek gold mine on Calista Corp. land near the Kuskokwim River.NovaGold took over the Donlin Creek project last year from Placer Dome, a major mining company, on a farm-out agreement that allows NovaGold to earn an interest in the mine by investing in exploration. Placer still owns the lease with Calista Corp., the Native regional corporation for Southwest Alaska.Donlin Creek has an estimated 13 million ounces of gold resources, NovaGold said in its financial statement released Oct. 31.Unlike most of the other "junior" mining companies operating in Alaska, which finance their exploration out of stock sales, NovaGold owns producing assets that provide income for investment in exploration. The company purchased land and property formerly belonging to Alaska Gold Co. near Nome.The company also has no debt, and thanks to the Donlin Creek venture, has access to one of the largest undeveloped gold prospects of any junior mining company, according to NovaGold President Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse.In the latest financial report, NovaGold said revenues for the first nine months of 2001 were up 11 percent to $2.45 million compared with $2.2 million for the same period of 2000. Most of the increase is the result of sales of sand and gravel from the company’s holdings near Nome, on the Seward Peninsula.Revenues of $4 million for this year from operations at Nome are expected."Currently, two very large commercial and industrial projects related to the Nome airport and Port of Nome expansion are expected to have a favorable impact on the company next year," Van Nieuwenhuyse said.NovaGold has just concluded a program of 42 drill holes at Donlin Creek, involving 42,000 feet of drilling. Assay results have been obtained from the first 29 holes and all have intercepted significant high-grade gold mineralization, Van Nieuwenhuyse said.The project is intended to demonstrate the presence of enough high-grade gold mineralization at Donlin Creek to make a smaller-scale development possible. Placer Dome had earlier done extensive work on the entire ore body, which contains substantial amounts of lower-grade gold mineralization.Once a mine is in operation, the hope is that it can be expanded to eventually produce the low-grade ores, according to Jeff Foley, a geologist with Calista Corp., the landowner.

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration will convene a series of economic town meetings around the country in coming months to assess how businesses are coping in the wake of the terrorist attacks, Commerce Secretary Don Evans said Nov. 13.Evans said that he and other members of Bush’s economic team would schedule round-table discussions in various cities and report back to the president on what more needs to be done to deal with the disruptions caused by the Sept. 11 attacks and the slumping economy.He said that those invited to participate will include small business owners, workers, economists and chief executive officers of major U.S. companies."It will be a chance to listen and to learn," Evans said in speech to be delivered to the National Association of Manufacturers. A copy of his remarks was obtained by The Associated Press.The aim will be to assess how the government’s various efforts to deal with the terrorist attacks and stimulate the economy are working and determine what more needs to be done.In his speech, Evans joined a chorus of other administration officials in urging quick congressional passage of an economic stimulus package.

JUNEAU -- Coeur Alaska Inc. says it has restructured its plans for the Kensington mine, a hard rock gold mine 45 miles north of Juneau, to meet environmental objections and reduce costs.Opening Kensington mine would create 325 jobs at the peak of construction, 225 jobs during operation and 180 support jobs, said Rick Richins, senior vice president of Coeur, at the Juneau Chamber of Commerce luncheon Nov. 9 at Guesthouse Inn and Suites.Construction would cost about $155 million, and the company would pay an estimated $9 million in local taxes and $21 million in local purchases during the anticipated 10-year life of the mine, plus additional expenditures during two years of reclamation after it closed, Richins said.Coeur has been working with Goldbelt Inc. and Sealaska Corp., possible subcontractors, to solve objections raised in the past to its Kensington project, Richins said. Goldbelt is Juneau’s urban Native corporation and Sealaska is the Juneau-based Southeast regional Native corporation."We have also been talking to legislators and the fishing community and are about to talk to the environmental community" about adjustments made in Coeur’s operating plans for the mine, Richins said."We have had no negative feedback so far," he said, and have made friends with commercial fishermen "who like this project better than the project currently permitted."Sarah Keeney, mining specialist with the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, did not attend the chamber meeting and said she did not know the specifics of Coeur’s new plan."But this company has put forth so many plans, I am skeptical," Keeney said. "The devil’s in the details."The new plan would replace a previously proposed onsite work camp with bringing in workers daily by bus and boat. Without a work camp, the site would have reduced inventories of supplies and fuel and less possibilities of spills.Transporting workers and supplies would mean two to three trips a day by water bus across Berners Bay and two to three shipments of ore concentrate a month, "so we are not talking about a huge amount of traffic," Richins said.Instead of damming tailings, which are the crushed rock that results after ore is extracted, they would go into 180-foot piles near Comet Beach, sandwiched between layers of drain rock and capped. Some tailings would go to the bottom of a 40-acre muskeg called Slate Lakes and be capped when the mine closes.The company wouldn’t use cyanide at the site because it would take the gold ore concentrate elsewhere for processing, Coeur said.A tunnel connection with the historic Jualin mine would keep all mining underground. The mine would disturb 120 acres compared with 250 acres under the previous plan, the company said.Much of the work would be on patented land, which would minimize federal involvement, Coeur said.In a deal made in 1987, Coeur shared ownership of Kensington with Echo Bay Mines. Coeur subsequently bought out Echo Bay and became primary developer, Richins said. Since 1997, Coeur has spent about $20 million on environmental impact studies and permitting for the project, he said.In 1992, mining was permitted at the site with two elements that concerned environmentalists and fishermen: building a 280-foot-high dam across a creek bed to contain tailings and running a discharge into Lynn Canal.Both were "controversial," Richins said, "so we decided to redesign the project." Use of cyanide at the site was "another hot button," he said.Since 1989, the price of gold fell from $480 an ounce to $280, so Coeur would have to cut costs to make operating the mine profitable. In the past two years, Coeur has spent millions coming up with an alternate, cheaper plan, Richins said."We have good feedback from the (U.S.) Forest Service so far to carry out the permitting in 12 months," Richins said.He said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been "waffling" on the subject of tailings in lake waters, claiming such waters become "not waters of the nation but a waste treatment facility."The Forest Service and the EPA could not be reached immediately for comment."It’s going to really take your continued support to push this thing through," Richins told the chamber audience, "and we won’t be bashful about coming to you and asking for it."Mike Dalessi, vice president of investments and branch manager for Salomon Smith Barney Inc., was optimistic. "I think that anything that creates jobs for the city is a good thing," Dalessi said.

The Joint Committee on Natural Gas Pipelines, chaired by Sen. John Torgerson, R-Kasilof, wrapped up two days of hearings in Kenai Nov. 8. The purpose of the meetings was to evaluate the supply and demand for natural gas in Cook Inlet."Natural gas will run out in Cook Inlet, and we need more to come here from different areas," Torgerson said. "All agree that if there are no changes, and we go full speed ahead, by 2015 we’ll be dry."He said if new discoveries in Cook Inlet are brought on line, the reserves could be pushed seven to 10 years further out. There are "really wide swings" in what reserves may or may not be out there, he said.Committee member Rep. Mike Chenault, R-Nikiski, said that for years petroleum companies did not seek gas, only oil. Now that they are looking for gas again, new reserves could be found.No matter how much gas is found in Cook Inlet, it will run out at some point, Torgerson said. The solution is a natural gas pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to Cook Inlet."And the sooner the better," he said. "We can’t go into the future without a plan."A gas pipeline from the North Slope to Nikiski is not the front-runner in the pipeline scramble, but a spur line from either the Alaska Highway or Prudhoe Bay to the Valdez route could be possible."It’s very, very important that natural gas come to the Kenai Peninsula and Cook Inlet basin," Torgerson said.Alaska’s vast natural gas reserves on the North Slope, estimated at more than 35 trillion cubic feet, have lacked markets in the past. But rising demand and declining supplies are likely to make their development feasible before the end of the decade.Torgerson said the Nikiski petrochemical industry would be the first to go if reserves began to dwindle. Two, and soon three, North Road plants depend on natural gas: The Phillips Petroleum Co. creates and ships liquefied natural gas to Japan, while Agrium turns gas into fertilizer. BP’s gas-to-liquid pilot plant will turn gas into synthetic crude oil once it is operational."We certainly don’t want to see our industry shut down, so timing is essential," he said.Tony Izzo, president of Enstar Natural Gas Co., showed slides of the company’s projected demand and supply for the next 15 years. By 2010, if no new natural gas is discovered or brought into Cook Inlet, one slide showed Enstar’s demand outstripping supply more than two-to-one.Enstar purchases its gas under long-term contracts with Marathon Oil Co., Chevron, Municipal Light & Power and Phillips. It has two new contracts, one with Moquakie, comprised of Anadarko and Phillips, which starts Jan. 1. The other with Unocal starts in 2004. The company supplies natural gas to 160,800 homes, Izzo said.A chart he displayed showed the supply of known gas reserves in Cook Inlet falling below Enstar’s average peak demand in 2003 and the average daily demand in 2006, if industrial use were cut in half by 2010."Putting on my Enstar hat, if pushed, I think curtailing industrial use could be considered, but that is the last thing we would like to see," Izzo said.Chris Tworek, vice president of supply management for Agrium, said bringing North Slope gas to Cook Inlet would create more jobs for Alaskans if the company expanded its Nikiski fertilizer plant.Richard Peterson, president of Alaska Natural Gas to Liquids Co., or ANGTL, spoke about transforming North Slope natural gas into synthetic crude and indicated the company would be interested in building a GTL plant in Cook Inlet.He said if the United States really wants to reduce dependence on imported foreign oil, it should look to North Slope GTL, which could add 1 million barrels a day that could be shipped down the trans-Alaska oil pipeline."This can be built in Alaska and provide jobs for Americans," he said.A GTL plant could provide steam, hydrogen and nitrogen to be used as feed stock for fertilizer plants, as well as the synthetic crude for oil refineries.He said the GTL process also can be applied to coal-bed methane, which Alaska and the nation have plenty of. "There is enough coal (methane) reserves in 38 states across the nation to make over 10 million barrels a day of synthetic motor fuels for over 200 years," he said.Mark Sexton, president and chief executive officer of Evergreen Resources of Denver, testified by telephone how his company is poised to drill for coal-bed methane, which he described as nearly identical chemically to natural gas.Sexton said Alaska has half the known coal reserves in the nation, and that the Cook Inlet area possibly holds 200 trillion cubic feet of coal-bed methane. Torgerson estimated that was probably a 1,000-year supply. However, efforts to extract the methane in the Cook Inlet basin have been unsuccessful, he said.In Sexton’s presentation, he described how the company had developed its own technology to extract the gas in Colorado. Torgerson said he was glad to see the company has had success with the technology.Evergreen acquired rights to drill for coal bed methane near Wasilla this year and has sunk several wells.Scott Heyworth, head of an initiative group to promote an all-Alaska natural gas pipeline, wants a line to Valdez where the gas would be turned into LNG for shipment to the Pacific Rim.The plan of the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority calls for a spur line to supply Cook Inlet electric, heating and industry needs."This plan assures cheap gas to Cook Inlet," Heyworth said. "The Beaufort and highway routes have no provisions."The Beaufort Sea gas line route would ship North Slope natural gas to Canada’s Mackenzie River Delta area where it would then make its way to market. The Alaska Highway route would follow the trans-Alaska oil pipeline to Fairbanks and then follow the highway into Canada."(The all-Alaska route) is the gas line project Alaskans want to see," Heyworth said.

Thanks to massive government subsidies, mail is what fuels the airline industry in Bush Alaska.About 35 air carriers, large and small, vie for federal money that comes from tons of mail dispatched from Anchorage and Fairbanks daily to hub communities throughout the state and then on to smaller villages.But now, federal legislation is being drafted to limit the number of air carriers that can handle Alaska mail, which includes everything from food and building materials to medical supplies.The new proposals are being pushed by large "mainline carriers" including Air Cargo Express, Alaska Airlines, Lynden Air Cargo and Northern Air Cargo.Smaller carriers say if new rules become law many of them will go out of business and passenger and cargo service to the Bush will be reduced dramatically and become more expensive.In July, legislation was drafted in the U.S. House that, among other things, allows the Postal Service to tender most mail out of Anchorage and Fairbanks only to an airline that had operated large aircraft since Jan. 1.That legislation drew heavy criticism from small operators and some Bush residents."The major carriers want a greater share of the mail, more revenue and less competition,’’ said Hank Meyers, an aviation consultant representing several of the small airlines.A Senate version of the bill, which is being drafted, will give small carriers a smaller portion of the mail, said an aide to Republican Sen. Ted Stevens, who asked not to be identified.The new legislation, due to be introduced sometime this month, would give small operators up to five years to acquire aircraft that would handle passengers and mail.Stevens secured Alaska’s current "bypass mail" law, a unique system begun in 1970 where shipments of at least 1,000 pounds are stamped air mail but never touched by postal workers and delivered to Alaskans at cheaper parcel post rates.The intent of this bypass mail system, Stevens’ aide said, was to give airlines additional revenue so that Bush communities could have passenger and freight service. In many communities, markets are too small for airlines to serve without the subsidy.Bypass mail is divided equally among all carriers in any given community. Bypass mail has spawned many cargo-only shippers who only fly bypass mail."The system needs to be repaired,’’ Stevens’ aide said. "There are too many carriers that are providing little or no passenger service.’’He said Fort Yukon, a community of less than 700 residents, is served by up to 10 air carriers daily.Steve Deaton, network planning specialist for the U.S. Postal Service in Anchorage, said more than 2 million pounds of bypass mail is tendered out of Anchorage and Fairbanks weekly. Bypass mail represents 75 percent of Alaska’s total mail volume and costs the Postal Service about $10 million monthly, he said.Over the course of a year, the Postal Service loses about $70 million on bypass mail alone, Deaton said.Congressional estimates run as high as $170 million in losses in Alaska, or 10 percent of the service’s red ink nationwide."What we charge does not cover the costs,’’ Deaton said. "If it wasn’t for mail, passenger and air freight service would be decimated. Mail is what makes the airline industry go.’’Airlines are paid $1 to $1.75 per pound shipped, depending on distance.Mail historically has been such a contentious subject between air carriers in Alaska that the airlines’ state association forbids the topic from being raised at its meetings."It’s taboo," said Fred Ciarlo, general manager of Tanana Air Service in Fairbanks.Ciarlo said legislation favoring only mainline carriers will likely sever service to many communities, especially tiny villages.Airlines like his are providing essential and frequent service to the Bush, but they can’t do it without bypass mail, he said."I’m a passenger carrier but 85 percent of my revenue is from mail,’’ Ciarlo said.As an example of bypass mail, Ciarlo said 59 pounds of milk containers strapped together has postage of $8.98 stamped on it. He is paid $60 to ship it to a village less than an hour away.Butch Hallford, Northern Air Cargo vice president in Anchorage, said that a few years ago Kotzebue was served by about four air carriers; now there are 16.Northern Air Cargo hauls about 30 million pounds of mail annually for the Postal Service, Hallford said.His company strongly supports limiting the number of airlines handling mail in the Bush."Nobody is making any money,’’ Hallford said. "The safest air carrier is the air carrier that is making money, period. There were four (airlines) making money in Kotzebue. Now there are 16 losing money. What’s that tell you about safety?"

Editor’s note: "This Week in Alaska Business History" revisits events that shaped our past."Those who cannotremember the past arecondemned to repeat it."- George Santayana, 1863-195220 years ago this weekAnchorage TimesNov. 14, 1981Visitors’ center planned for old Federal BuildingBy Bill WhiteTimes WriterThe U.S. Park Service has proposed spending $1.7 million to convert the old Federal Building on Fourth Avenue into a visitors’ center featuring exhibits on the state and a multiprojector slide show on the different cultures in Alaska.Janet McCabe of the U.S. Park Service said the state would split the cost of remodeling the 9,000 square feet of the building the visitors center would occupy.She told the Alaska Land Use Council that the Park Service has been working with state and federal agencies on the project, which was called for in last year’s Alaska lands bill.The old Federal Building was chosen for three reasons, she said. A building already existed. The building is near hotels and stores. The building is listed in the national register of historic buildings.Anchorage TimesNov. 15, 1981Project 80s sparks construction boomBy Sean HanlonTimes WriterProject 80s, Mayor George Sullivan’s ambitious plan to build Anchorage using state oil revenues will mean a $200 million construction boom in 1982.The construction effort will involve some 150 different projects - ranging from the municipality’s new $43 million headquarters library to a $500,000 mini-city hall in Eagle River.The effort represents a continuation of the trend of ever-increasing construction work within the municipality. The money earmarked for road and drainage work alone gives one indication of the boom in construction stimulated by state oil money.In 1978, Anchorage spent $6.4 million on roadwork. Expenditures on road and drains increased to $12.4 million in 1979, $30 million in 1980 and $58 million in 1981.Although cost estimates have been made for the major projects, the exact price tags are as yet unknown."We are having a problem. Many of these projects have been estimated two or three years in advance," said Everett Diener, director of the Anchorage public works department.10 years ago this weekAlaska Journal of CommerceNov. 11, 1991Anchorage airport ramp repair called into questionBy Margaret BaumanAlaska Journal of CommerceAn inquiry into repair work on a controversial auto ramp at Anchorage International Airport has been ordered after reports that the ramp problems were not corrected.The inquiry was ordered by Keith Gerkin, deputy commissioner of the state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities.Gerkin said he was checking on concerns voiced by Dennis Nottingham, president of Peratovich, Nottingham & Drage Inc., an Anchorage engineering firm, that the size and number of reinforcing rods added to the ramp were inadequate to provide necessary support in the event of a major earthquake.Nottingham implied the method of attachment of those rods is not sufficient and questioned how much strength was developed across the joints by the repair work, Gerkin said."The overall design criteria used is minimal; the repair job is substandard," Nottingham said, after reading a report on the job specifications. "What they did is just cosmetic."Alaska Journal of CommerceNov. 11, 1991Cordova Road loses federal fundsBy Bob TkaczFor the Journal of CommerceState Department of Transportation work during the past summer to extend the Copper River Highway to Cordova may have made the project ineligible for federal highway funds, according to a Federal Highway Administration memo.Based on a DOT cost estimate of up to $95 million for a year-round road that would qualify for up to 90 percent federal funding, the 40 miles of pioneer road built during the summer would cost the state $85.5 million in FHA money. The Sept. 30 memo is from Thomas O. Willett, director of the FHA office of engineering, to Gene McCormick, deputy administrator of the agency."Very likely Alaska has already pre-empted the possible later use of federal highway funds," McCormick wrote across the top after reading the memo.- Compiled by Ed Bennett.

ANCHORAGE -- During a special tribute to Alaskas veterans before the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce today, Gov. Tony Knowles announced a new Homeland Security Initiative designed to increase Alaska’s security and preparedness against possible terrorist attacks.The five-part plan, estimated to cost about $100 million in state and federal funds, would improve the security of Alaska’s communications, transportation and public utilities infrastructure; expand the state’s ability to detect and respond to biological and chemical terrorism; and better train those who would be called on for a first response to a contaminated environment.Much of the initiative will be submitted to the Legislature for approval next year. "Make no mistake -- America is at war. Nearly everyday we receive new reports of potential terrorist acts -- nuclear, chemical, biological, radiological -- which until September 11th had been only the stuff of science fiction," Knowles said. "In addition to securing our own population, Alaska is uniquely positioned to respond to attacks elsewhere, given our geographic proximity to the Lower 48, Europe and Asia."The security initiative is the result of two months of careful analysis of Alaska’s security capacity since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on America. Led by state Adjunct Gen. Phil Oates, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, with the governor’s Disaster Policy Cabinet, part of the initiative calls for creation of an Alaska Office of Homeland Security, to be housed within Oates department.Working with its federal counterpart, the Office will coordinate with military, federal, local, educational, and private agencies, including other states and Alaskas Canadian neighbors."There is an increased price of freedom in this new era of terrorism," Knowles said. "It will require additional Troopers and public safety personnel, increased levels of training and equipment for haz- mat teams and public health officers and increased security procedures. For the coming 18 months -- the remainder of the current fiscal year and Fiscal 2003 -- the Alaska Homeland Security initiative is estimated at about $40 million each in state and federal funds and another $15 million from other sources."The governor also used the speech, delivered on the state and federal holiday of Veteran’s Day, to recognize and honor Alaska’s veterans. Alaska is home to more than 65,000 veterans, more per capita than any state but one.Knowles presented the Governor’s Veteran’s Advocacy Award to two veterans and awarded World War II High School Diplomas to more than a dozen other veterans who left high school for service in World War II and never had the opportunity to return to obtain their high school diplomas.This year’s winners of the annual the Governor’s Veterans Advocacy Award are Anchorage residents Robert O. Bowen and Robert J. Nelson. Recommended by the Alaska Veterans Advisory Council (AVAC), the award recognizes individuals who demonstrate an extraordinary personal concern, compassion, and commitment to veteran’s causes and their families.The plaques were presented by the governor, Gen. Oates and AVAC Chairman Pat Carothers, a retired U.S. Marine colonel who at the time of his retirement was the most highly decorated marine in America. "Bob Bowens record of service to veterans and veterans causes is a mile long and twice as deep," Knowles said, citing his service in World War II and a prisoner of war for three years in a Japanese camp. He later started a Chapter of the American Ex- Prisoners of War organization in Anchorage. Recently, Bowen spearheaded the installation of the bronze statue of the rifleman on Anchorage’s Park Strip, in partnership with the AFL-CIO.Bob Nelson is a veteran of two wars -- Vietnam and the Gulf War -- and retired as a Command Sergeant Major from the U.S. Army. Currently a counselor at the Veteran’s Center, he is a former chair of the Municipal Veterans Commission and has long been a host of the Alaska Veterans Update on Channel 11. Last month, Nelson volunteered to counsel recovery workers at the World Trade Centers Ground Zero.About a dozen WWII veterans attended the ceremony with family and friends to obtain their long-awaited high school diplomas under a program began earlier this year. "For a lifetime of learning, the state is honored to confer a high school diploma upon our World War II veterans," Knowles said.Knowles also noted other recent veterans initiatives, including the newly named Eagle River Veterans’ Memorial Highway, establishment of a Veterans home page and legislation creating the Alaska Pioneers’ and Veterans’ Home system, introduced last session.Calling 2002 the "Year of the Veteran," Knowles announced he would introduce legislation next session to create an Alaska Veterans Memorial Endowment. Through the generosity of dozens of Alaska businesses, more than $125,000 in pledges already have been made to fund the endowment.Next session, the governor will ask the Legislature to match the privately raised funds with $125,000 in public money and to create the endowment in state statute. Interest earned on the endowment would be given out as small grants to make sure that memorials are ship-shape when Alaskans and tourists visit them. "Places of remembrance need to be properly maintained. For Alaskas veterans who took care of America, its time we take care of the memorials that celebrate their sacrifice," Knowles said.At the state’s veterans memorial at Byers Lake the roads leading to it are now named Medal of Honor Loop and Purple Heart Lane, the governor announced. The rest area at the memorial is now known as the POW MIA Rest Area. The signs were donated and will be dedicated next Memorial Day.

Twenty-eight Alaska business and community leaders gave Gov. Tony Knowles their advice on state natural gas policies, as the Natural Gas Policy Council formed by Knowles early this year wrapped up its recommendations.Not surprisingly, the council recommended the state push for a southern route for a North Slope gas pipeline through Interior Alaska instead of a northern, offshore route that is being studied as an option by gas producing companies.Knowles has endorsed a southern route that would follow the Alaska Highway into Canada.The council also affirmed a recommendation agreed on several weeks ago by one of its committees, that the state not invest in a gas pipeline.The panel also handed Knowles 42 other recommendations dealing with a range of topics from training Alaskans to environmental policies, and a lengthy, complex set of recommendations dealing with state royalty policy and regulatory authority on shipments of gas to points within the state.On state investment, Juneau businessman Bill Corbus told Knowles his committee had first thought the state owning a percentage of the pipeline might solve certain problems, such as guaranteeing access to gas for fuel.But as the committee dealing with the ownership issue held meetings through the summer, it became clear there were other ways to solve those problems, and that owning part of the pipeline wouldn’t do the job, Corbus told the governor Oct. 31.The investment would earn the state an attractive return, he said, but his committee felt that the state could do as well or better by putting its resources in other investments with less risk, Corbus said.Brian Davies, a retired British Petroleum manager, presented recommendations of the council’s environmental policy committee, which recommended adequate funding for state agencies performing oversight on the pipeline project, and a full or supplemental environmental impact statement.This was a bit of a setback for Foothills Pipe Lines Ltd. of Calgary, which has been arguing that an environmental impact statement done for the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System in the 1970s is still valid. Foothills holds permits for the ANGTS project, which follows the Alaska Highway.Ken Thompson, a retired Atlantic Richfield Co. executive, served as chairman of a council committee considering state royalty gas policy, access to gas by Alaska communities and possible new manufacturing in the state based on natural gas.Thompson told the governor that his committee recommends the state pursue a mix of sales of royalty gas, some left with the producers and sold to other companies, to increase competition and gain the best returns.The state should also base its royalty values on actual sales of gas in the market rather than accepting a formula to determine market value, as has been done with state royalty oil, Thompson said.This should include the value of "affiliated sales" of natural gas liquids shipped along with the gas, instead of a value based only on the energy content, or heating value, of the gas, Thompson said. As state royalty policy is now constructed, the values of these affiliated sales could be left out of the royalties paid to the state, he pointed out.Thompson’s committee also made a number of recommendations on state and federal regulatory authority on a gas pipeline. The first recommendation is for the state to press to include in federal legislation a provision giving the Regulatory Commission of Alaska authority to regulate tariffs and other charges related to gas moved through the pipeline but sold in Alaska.This is similar to provisions in the federal Trans-Alaska Pipeline Act of 1973 that gave Alaska authority to regulate intra-state shipments of oil.If the state fails in securing that legislation, Thompson suggested the state seek a Joint Board of the state RCA and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to consider issues related to sales of gas in Alaska. Although the Joint Board would only be advisory to the FERC, it would still give the Alaska regulatory agency a formal role in considering Alaska issues, Thompson told Knowles.Mike Navarre, a Kenai businessman and former legislator, briefed Knowles on recommendations of the "Alaska-hire" and "Alaska-build" committee he headed.Navarre’s panel recommended more state funding for training but noted that construction manpower was already scarce in the state and that a gas pipeline construction project would strain the state’s skilled manpower resources further.

Due to its geographic challenges, Alaska is exactly the type of environment that should best be able to take advantage of new technologies for business development, and in turn build a dynamic infrastructure that will retain vital talent.In my search for signs of alternative life forms in Alaska’s new technology, nontraditional business environment, I am heartened yet realistic about our prospects. The good news is that there are committed individuals who love Alaska and see its potential and are working hard to nurture a fledgling social entrepreneurial community here.When deciding on a graduate school, I chose the law school at Santa Clara, in the heart of Silicon Valley, primarily for the strength of its high-tech law program and the exposure that being in such a vibrant environment could afford me. Many naturally assumed that I would be led elsewhere due to the lack of depth present in Alaska in my interests: "So this means you won’t want to come back?"The reality is that I very much want to come back to Alaska and I hope the specific expertise I am able to bring back with me makes me invaluable to the mix. However, I don’t necessarily want to come back at the sacrifice of opportunities in my interests in international, entrepreneurial and technological issues. Ideally, I would like to return with my education and skills and continue to help with exciting new ventures in the state.The rhetoric on state priorities focuses on a need to diversify Alaska’s economic base from its traditional reliance on natural resources and government. Alaskans need to back up this rhetoric with the reality of a strong infrastructure for new business ventures that could constitute anything from soap to high-tech software, judging from the businesses represented at a recent InvestNet marketing seminar.The Alaska Science and Technology Foundation is a state agency that invests money to improve Alaska’s economy and its science and engineering capabilities. ASTF and its progeny are making a difference on the Alaska business landscape.Recognizing a need for know-how to help with the sophisticated nature of new venture deals, ASTF established InvestNet in 1998. Among the entrepreneurs involved with InvestNet, the only statewide capital matching network, funding sought ranges between $100,001 and $250,000 for businesses seeking equity investment of more than $1,000,000.Products include sand and gravel; real estate; bottled water; thermal environmental control systems; laser lighting products; pharmaceutical discovery; software for medical billing and human capital management; and Web-based grant-seeking services for nonprofits.With the thought that these organizations would be on the front line of any development related to technology and start-up interests in Alaska, I worked with ASTF and InvestNet this past summer. Through my work with InvestNet, I also connected with and started working for PeopleMatter LLC, a promising Alaska-based start-up company specializing in human capital management software.The irony is that Alaska itself could probably stand to be evaluated in terms of how human capital is being drained from or retained by the state.If we attempt nothing, then we can achieve nothing. But if we try and fail, we still can gain.What is it going to take to grow Alaska’s economic base? It takes bona fide Alaska "angels" to invest in homegrown enterprises rather than forcing promising Alaska start-ups to look Outside. If companies have to look Outside for venture funding, they run the real threat of having relocation dictated by outside investors. It takes those in positions to affect change within the state to create high-tech infrastructure - and high-paying, cutting edge work - as a way to attract and retain the "best and the brightest" to Alaska.It takes individuals who not only spew the rhetoric of new technology and social entrepreneurship, but individuals who are willing to get their hands dirty with the work of building that vital infrastructure. It takes people willing to step outside traditional work patterns and pursue creative problem-solving solutions to help build Alaska’s economic base.Jeanne HuangLi served as an intern at Alaska InvestNet in Juneau this summer. She can be reached via e-mail at ([email protected]).

FAIRBANKS - Delta Air Lines has left Fairbanks, saying business there wasn’t good enough to make a profit.The airline made its last flight from the Interior city on Oct. 31, with no plans to return.The financially strapped airline, the nation’s third-largest carrier, offered its 32 Fairbanks employees a variety of options, including transfers and furloughs.On Nov. 1, Delta reported a $259 million third-quarter loss that was eased by emergency assistance from the federal government, which is doling out $5 billion to help offset industrywide turmoil since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.The Atlanta-based airline also said it will lay off 2,000 employees systemwide.The losses, combined with the attacks, has led to a 16 percent reduction of Delta’s systemwide operations, the company said.The company extended to its 80,000 employees a voluntary program that allowed for leave of absences, severances and retirement packages. Of those, 11,000 employees took the offer, said Delta spokeswoman Peggy Estes.Delta’s vacant ticket counter and cargo bays will cost the Fairbanks International Airport $392,000, airport officials say. No carrier has stepped in to fill the spot, said Dave Carlstrom, director of airport marketing for Fairbanks Economic Development Corp."It’s a real setback for the airport and the community," Carlstrom told the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.The airline’s departure from Fairbanks leaves only Alaska Airlines and Frontier Flying Service offering daily flights. Northwest Airlines and Condor, a German airline, offer summer Fairbanks flights.

The Alaska Railroad Corp. is forecasting freight revenues to be $80 million for 2001, up $10 million from a year ago.Freight revenues in 1999 were $65 million, according to Patrick Flynn, the railroad’s public affairs officer in Anchorage.Officials at the state-owned railroad would not give specifics on revenue increases, saying the information is proprietary. The railroad, however, said freight hauling increased in all categories except coal, which experienced a shipping slowdown because of a track rehabilitation project at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks.Railroad officials expect some growth in coal shipments once the project is completed.Highlighting the growth this year was the railroad’s joint venture with Seattle-based Lynden Inc., whose subsidiary, Alaska Railbelt Marine, took over as the barge contractor in February.Goods that come to Alaska by barge and are then transferred to rail mostly include pipes, supplies and heavy equipment used in oil field operations and maintenance.The railroad said the large spike in the barge-rail service can be attributed to increased oil activity on the North Slope.Trailer-on-flatcar service increased 12 percent from last year, due largely to a new contract with Safeway Inc., which is shipping trailers on rail from Anchorage to Fairbanks. Flynn said other grocers have expressed interest in shipping similarly.The railroad nearly matched its 1999 record of pulling more than 36,000 100-ton hopper gravel cars this summer, according to Flynn.Gravel is the second largest revenue generator for the railroad behind fuel, which was shipped in record amounts this summer.

The Northstar oil field, offshore from Alaska’s North Slope, shipped its long-awaited first oil to shore on Oct. 31, BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. announced Nov. 1."We are bringing the field up very slowly, producing crude from one well," BP spokesman Ronnie Chappell said. "The current rate of production is about 3,000 barrels per day. We are making sure everything is working properly."Production at Northstar is expected to reach a peak of 65,000 barrels a day during first quarter of 2002. BP has pegged Northstar’s recoverable reserves at about 175 million barrels, though the field has an estimated 247 million barrels of high-gravity crude and nearly 500 billion cubic feet of gas in place. Gas re-injection is occurring from start-up to maintain reservoir pressure and improve recovery, Chappell said.BP has spent more than five years bringing Northstar on line.The company and Gov. Tony Knowles made a controversial deal in 1996 that traded the state’s profit share for a higher royalty rate and a commitment to hire Alaskans for the project.The project was halted for nearly a year by a lawsuit filed by several Anchorage residents who argued that BP was given a sweetheart deal. The Supreme Court sided with the state in a 1998 decision.The company also battled environmentalists to develop the field. BP received a restraining order last year barring Greenpeace activists from interfering with activities at the site.Greenpeace and a group of North Slope Natives also challenged the Northstar development in court, arguing that the Environmental Impact Statement for the project was inadequate. The lawsuit also alleged that BP did not have an adequate oil spill response plan for the project.But in late September, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the group.BP holds a 98 percent working interest in the field. Murphy Exploration & Production Co. holds a 2 percent working interest.The Associated Press contributed to this report.

JUNEAU Two months ago Ruth Perez-Matera was fleeing for her life as the World Trade Center collapsed behind her. Ruth Perez- Matera, photographed in her Juneau home on Saturday. The Juneau nurse is recovering emotionally after witnessing firsthand the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Although the largest terrorist attack in U.S. history did not claim the Juneau woman, the memories of Sept. 11 still haunt her. After suffering repeated nightmares and a bout of depression following the attack, Perez-Matera said she is starting to heal emotionally. But she cannot forget the carnage she saw on the streets of New York City. "It’s hard," said Perez-Matera recently from her home in downtown Juneau. "But it’s something I have to learn to live with." Perez-Matera was in the Marriott Hotel across the street from the towers when the first jet struck. At first, her mother and sister, on vacation with Perez-Matera, thought their hotel was on fire. The trio fled from their room to the lobby, where Perez-Matera, a nurse at Bartlett Regional Hospital, saw injured people staggering into the hotel and ran to help them. Then they heard the second jet plow into the other tower, and they went outside. To their horror, they saw body parts strewn in the street, and the women fled with a crowd toward a nearby park. Perez-Matera turned to look at the towers just as one began to fall, and the crowd panicked as a cloud of smoke engulfed them. Perez-Matera and her sister escaped Manhattan by running across a bridge to Brooklyn, where they took refuge in a church. They lost their mother in the chaos and spent an agonizing night searching for her before reuniting the next day. Perez-Matera spent another three days in New York before leaving the East Coast and for three nights she could not sleep. When she finally dozed off, the nightmares came. "I had a dream of a man jumping on a trampoline, and he jumped so high that he was falling. And I knew he was going to hit the ground and there was nothing I could do,· said Perez-Matera, who awoke from the nightmare yelling. In another nightmare she was inside a hospital and people missing body parts were coming to her for help, Perez-Matera said. Then there were the nightmares about explosions and bombings and terrorists. "I would dream of people coming after us with guns," she said, adding that the nightmares came almost every night for a month. She fell into a depression in the days after the attack and took some time off from work to cope with the trauma. "I lacked energy and ambition and didn’t feel like doing anything. I had a great sadness that overcame me," she said. "You have a certain amount of guilt because you’re alive and the others are dead." Her mother, Jan Perez, also had nightmares and struggled with feelings of guilt. "I felt like there was more I should have done or could have done," said Perez, who stayed in Manhattan the day of the attack to help load the fleeing people onto ferries. "I had this real deep sadness for the people who were still there working and searching for bodies. I wish I could have been there with them to help," Perez said from her California home. A Juneau counselor helped Perez-Matera work through some of her sorrow. The counselor "helped me realize a lot of the things I was going through were normal and to expect them," said Perez-Matera, noting that the nightmares have tapered off. "I’m calm. I’m feeling a lot better now," she added. But "you never get over that sadness and that trauma that you go through." Perez-Matera said the event proved the U.S. is as vulnerable as any country to terrorists. Although she considers Juneau a relatively safe place, she has come to believe attacks can happen anywhere. However, it’s pointless to panic about anthrax and other potential strikes, she said, adding that people must accept the fact that bad things happen. "Everybody is very reactive to all the things that are occurring. I think that’s wrong," she said. "I don’t think we should get overly concerned about everything because unforeseen circumstances will occur. "Emotionally and spiritually we have to be prepared for these things."

In these days when lawsuits by environmental groups are hamstringing many of our nation’s fisheries, it’s interesting to learn that much of the legal bankrolling comes from the federal government.The Sacramento Bee reporter Tom Knudson recently dug deep into the realm of environmental funding in an article that began: "A major investor is helping The Nature Conservancy - America’s largest environmental group - buy land and protect species across the United States."The same benefactor is providing financial aid to the World Wildlife Fund for international conservation [and] is spending heavily to help other groups, from the American Farmland Trust to Trout Unlimited, hold conferences, post Web pages, restore habitat and sway public opinion in favor of protecting the natural world. Who is this conservation-minded patron?"You, and every other taxpayer in the United States, that’s who."It’s well known that the federal government dispenses billions of dollars in grants for foreign aid, research and other activities. But it’s not commonly known that it also distributes financial aid to environmental organizations, including activist groups that seek to influence, and even sue, the government.Just how much public money flows to environmental groups has never been calculated, partly because it springs from so many sources. Knudson wrote that more than two dozen federal entities, from the State Department to the Fish and Wildlife Service, make awards to environmental groups. But, he added, no government agency charts the total spending, identifies trends or assesses what taxpayers are getting for their money.Information gathered by The Sacramento Bee revealed: Last year, nearly $137 million flowed to 20 major environmental nonprofit groups - an average of $377,000 a day - up 27 percent from 1999. Since 1998, more than $400 million in federal money has been granted to environmental groups. Four groups - The Nature Conservancy, which last year received $37.3 million in federal funds or the most of any group, Ducks Unlimited, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the World Wildlife Fund - have gotten more than two-thirds of the money since 1998. More than 15 nonprofits received $1 million a year or more. Most large environmental groups take government grants, but some, such as the Sierra Club and Greenpeace, do not, the newspaper reported.Knudson said that more than half of the money is used to help groups purchase, restore or protect land and species. But federal records show public money also trickles into more controversial activities, such as lobbying and advocacy.Some money also helps fund government adversaries, and, as seen in Alaska’s Steller sea lion lawsuit, federally funded environmental groups also sue the government. International conservation is another huge ticket item. Last year, more than $37 million in federal funds were routed through environmental groups to programs outside the United States.Fish brain may help humansResearchers are convinced that fish brains could provide a cure for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, as well as repair brain damage. WorldCatch reports that scientists have found that fish brains have an amazing ability to regenerate brain cells that far surpasses all mammals, including humans. They’re hopeful that the same capacity might be used to repair human brains damaged in accidents or suffering from disease.According to WorldCatch, "studies by biologist Gunther Zupanc of the University of Manchester revealed that even a seriously injured fish brain can be as good as new within four to six weeks, in stark contrast to the human brain, whose capacity for repair is almost zero. The electric fish Apteronotus leptorhynchus, also known as the brown ghost fish knife, can produce a staggering 100,000 brain cells in just two hours, O.2 percent of its total brain population."Over the past 10 years, Zupanc’s research has shown the brains of adult fish produce new cells all the time. He said it is already possible to initiate human brain cell growth in a culture by adding growth factors not normally present in sufficient quantities in the brain. Zupanc added: "If we can find the factors that drive the fish’s brain repair systems, we may be able to apply them to mammalian systems and stimulate the production of new cells."Kodiak-based free-lance writer Laine Welch can be reached via e-mail at ([email protected]).

The puncturing of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline by a bullet in early October and two other emergencies earlier in the summer have demonstrated the effectiveness of emergency response capabilities, David Wight, president and chief executive of Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., told the Resource Development Council Nov. 1.Alyeska operates the pipeline on behalf of North Slope oil producers who own the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.One incident, in which a small fishing boat deployed nets in the Valdez Narrows in the path of an outbound tanker, was the first case of a real emergency in which a tanker was stopped by escort tugs accompanying it.In this case the loaded ship was halted in a distance equal to twice its length. It demonstrated the tug escort system worked, Wight said.In a second incident, a fishing tender sank with 35,000 gallons of diesel fuel. The fishing industry activated its own spill response system but the Coast Guard asked Alyeska to help.The skimmers operated by Alyeska were able to get one-third of the dangerous light hydrocarbons off the water, demonstrating that the spill recovery system really works, Wight said.In the case of the pipeline puncture, Wight said there have been about 50 known incidents of bullets being fired at the pipeline, but the Oct. 2 incident was the only case in which the pipeline was penetrated by a bullet.The company knew about the spill minutes after it occurred and began shutting down the pipeline, but public safety officials ordered response crews to remain away from the site for six hours until the person who had shot at the pipeline, who was still armed, was captured.Crews had the spill contained six hours after that, were picking up more oil than was leaking within 24 hours of the puncture and had the leak itself sealed within 36 hours, Wight told the RDC.Halting the leak was an extremely hazardous operation because the fine spray of oil from the puncture released volatile vapors that could have ignited. A substantial amount of firefighting equipment was mobilized.Wight also credited the work of emergency response crews from the villages of Minto and Stevens Village, which are in the region.Alyeska learned a lot from the event about how to improve its response to a similar incident, Wight said.The company and the state and federal agencies that oversee pipeline operations are now looking at ways of speeding the stop of a similar leak from 36 hours to 24 hours, or even 12 hours.For example, it’s working to improve the emergency clamp device that was able to stop the leak while the pipeline still contained oil under pressure.Another effort is aimed at pumping oil from undamaged adjacent segments of the pipeline at faster rates, so that fluid pressure and the flow of oil at the leak site is reduced, he said.In a review of other issues, Wight said the effort to renew the pipeline’s 30-year federal right-of-way lease is going well. Alyeska has spent four years on the renewal effort and expects to continue working on it for another year and a half. So far the renewal has cost about $35 million.The company is also making good progress in recruiting Alaska Natives and other minorities to its work force. About 16.5 percent of the pipeline work force is Alaska Native and another 13.5 percent are other minorities.This brings the total minority component of the work force to about 30 percent, which is similar to the minority composition of the state’s population as a whole.One area for improvement is in the recruitment of women, however. Women now account for about 26 percent of Alyeska’s employees, a percentage that can be improved, Wight said.A major concern of the company is training skilled workers to replace veteran employees who will soon be retiring.Much of the pipeline work force has been on the job since construction began more than 30 years ago, Wight said. Within five years, about one-third of Alyeska’s work force will be eligible for retirement.Replacing these experienced employees is now a prime concern for the company, he said. Alyeska is sponsoring 50 trainees in internships and is providing training scholarships for more, Wight said.The company is also participating in initiatives with other industries to train skilled workers. One is the Alaska Process Industries Careers Consortium, a group formed to promote training for process operators, the skilled operators who run industrial facilities.

ANCHOR POINT - As the tungsten steel bit below the towering Nabors Drilling Rig 273 chewed nearly 3,000 foot deep in the rock and mud near Anchor Point, Phillips Alaska Inc. officials said the oil company’s Cosmopolitan Exploration Project has progressed smoothly since a planned 90-day drilling operation began Oct. 21.The 152-foot-tall derrick, shipped in from Wyoming, is the largest rig operating in Alaska, according to Paul Mazzolini, statewide exploration team leader for Phillips.While the rig is large, drilling operations and related facilities cover an area of only about 650 feet by 310 feet on the bluff overlooking Cook Inlet west of the Sterling Highway about 5.5 miles north of Anchor Point.The drill site is called the Hansen well after landowner John Hansen, who leased the surrounding 11 acres or so to the drilling partners.Using a technique called "extended reach drilling," the drill will grind its way down through the bluff about 6,800 feet before curving at a 45-degree angle to reach about three miles out under the Inlet to seek oil.Based on an updated computer analysis of data from two offshore wells drilled by Mobil and Pennzoil in 1967, Phillips geologist Bob Swenson believes drillers have a good shot at finding commercial quantities. Some oil was found at the 1967 Starichkof State No. 1 well, but the site was not developed, he said.It would take about three to five million barrels of oil to make the project viable to plan production drilling and perhaps more wells on the site, Swenson estimated.Phillips Alaska Inc. is fronting 75 percent of the cost of the exploration well, with Forest Oil Corp. picking up 25 percent and Devon Energies 5 percent, according to Phillips spokeswoman Dawn Patience.The exploration phase is expected to cost about $18 million to $23 million, she said.While saying that drilling from land, then angling under the Inlet bed, offers protection from offshore oil spills, Mazzolini noted that working so close to homes along Sterling Highway is an unusual situation.In an effort to monitor any potential effects on local water wells, 40 wells, including 21 within one mile of the derrick, were tested before drilling began, Patience said.After about six years studying the entire basin and the possibility of exploring the old Starichkof offshore well, the Hansen test site was pinpointed based on requirements that it be 500 feet from the high-water mark and at least one-quarter mile from Stariski Creek."This is a lot different from most of the wells we drill in Alaska," Mazzolini said.With most residential drinking water wells in the area tapping water 25 to 150 feet deep, he said drillers are taking the unusual step of casing the oil well with steel pipe sealed with cement down to the 700-foot level."That’s well below where any of the neighbors get water," he said.In addition, Swenson said four 30-foot wells were dug around the rig to regularly monitor for any potential contamination.Drill foreman Ray Springer said most of the 50 to 70 workers typically at the site are from the Kenai Peninsula.Springer, a retired Arco engineer and fisherman from Seldovia, now a Phillips consultant, said that 45 of his 62 workers on site last week were from the borough, with about 15 hailing from south of Nikiski.While the directional-angled method of drilling offers environmental advantages and allows a smaller footprint for the rig, Phillips officials acknowledged there are also practical and economic advantages as well.While oil is the target on this lease, drilling manager Marty Lemon said tests will be conducted for natural gas as the drill digs.Once the planned 18,500-foot drilling depth is reached about mid December, the data and samples collected will be analyzed to see if a sustained drilling operation is feasible.