Anchorage Daily News

WASILLA -- A new player could be on the hunt for natural gas in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.

A partnership associated with Anchorage-based independent energy company Lapp Resources hopes to drill for gas across a swath of the upper Susitna Valley.

To do that, the partnership wants to secure the exclusive rights for up to 10 years to the gas beneath 21,240 acres northeast of the Parks Highway, from Houston to Nancy Lakes and east toward the Talkeetna Mountains, state officials say.

The company plans to budget $500,000 over a 10-year period and put up a $50,000 initial bond, according to its application with the state Division of Oil and Gas. Gas "shows" in wells drilled by prior operators indicate the area holds potential, the document states.

Few additional specifics were available this week. Lapp owner David Lappi did not return calls for more information. His partners in the application are Daniel K. Donkel of Daytona Beach, Fla., and Samuel H. Cade of Dallas. Both men are already significant investors in Alaska oil and gas leases. Neither was available for comment.

Several companies have sniffed around for gas in the Mat-Su, including Colorado's Evergreen Resources. That company's broad swath of mineral leases beneath populated areas triggered fears of polluted water and industrialized subdivisions. Evergreen left Alaska in 2004 without a commercially viable well.

The Palmer-based office of Fowler Oil & Gas Corp. is waiting for permission from the state to drill one coal-bed methane well outside Palmer. A company called Storm Cat Energy Corp. also holds gas leases on Mental Health Trust lands near Big Lake. A trust official said Storm Cat drilled a well last year and hopes to test it soon.

It's unclear how much of the land above Lapp's target is private, said Kathy Means, the division leasing manager. While the state is still researching title information, Means said she understands "a lot" of the land is state-owned.

"We're just now starting to evaluate it," she said Monday. "We don't have a whole lot of information other than what the applicant told us."

No other companies put in proposals for the exploration license, Means said. Now the state is asking for public comment on whether Lapp's bid is in the state's "best interest."

This process does not allow Lapp to start drilling. To do that, the company needs permits from various agencies including the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. If Lapp wants to drill for coal-bed methane, the company would also need permission from the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.

The state has received a couple of comments so far from community members concerned about future trail access, Means said.

Find Zaz Hollander online at adn.com/contact/zhollander or call 352-6711.

TO WEIGH IN:

• Comments on the proposed Houston-Willow Basin Gas Exploration License must be received by June 13. Mail comments to Kathy Means, Division of Oil and Gas, 550 W. Seventh Ave., Suite 800, Anchorage 99501-3576; e-mail comments to kathy.means@alaska.gov; or fax to Means at 1-907-269-8943. The state will prepare a preliminary best-interest finding, which will be released for additional comment.

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