Alaska News

Escopeta jack-up rig pulls into Homer

Well, after a refitting delay in Vancouver, the jack-up rig Escopeta Oil and Gas will use to drill its Cook Inlet oil leases has reached Homer on Monday. Escopeta representative Steve Sutherland told the Peninsula Clarion that the company plans to keep the rig working in and around the Inlet for eight years, and that drilling the first well could begin as soon as next week, at the offshore Kitchen Lights unit, northwest of Nikiski. But for now, the rig is anchored just inside the Homer Spit awaiting customs inspection documents to be processed. Read more from the Clarion, here.

KBBI-AM (via APRN) reports that the sight of such a large vessel so close to Homer surprised local residents, enough to inflame some worries that Escopeta is violating federal or state law by anchoring in Kachemak Bay. Escopeta's original plan was to bring the rig straight to the drilling site, but a U.S. Customs request diverted it for inspection. Escopeta's Sutherland says the rig will probably not return to Homer once it gets its customs papers. Listen to much more, here.

Craig Medred

Craig Medred is a former writer for the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch and Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2015.

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