Alaska News

Photos: Buccaneer Energy's jack-up rig in Homer

The jack-up oil rig Endeavour isn't leaving the Homer dock anytime soon, and its moor site may be the safest place for the 410-foot giant.

Buccaneer Energy initially contacted Homer Port and Harbor to lease dock space for an eight-day stay in late August, Wrede said. An extension was requested before the eight days were up. Now the Houston-based energy company seeks another extension.

"They're telling us mid November now," Wrede said. "From the city's perspective, it's a lot of symbolism and you don't like to look at it, but it may be the safest place to be. If the Coast Guard says it's not safe for them to go to the drilling site, that dock may be the safest place."

A jack-up oil rig moored to the Homer Deep Water Dock may seem unusual, but this isn't Kachemak Bay's first oil and gas boom. Development here stretches back to 1973; that's when 87 leases were sold in the area and Richfield Oil began drilling off Augustine Island.

READ MORE: Jack-up rig revives hard feelings toward Kachemak Bay oil and gas development

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