Anchorage Daily News

Parker announces Liberty field contract

Parker Drilling Co. said it has the contract to build and deliver the rig that will drill wells to the new Liberty oil field that BP announced this week it would develop in the Beaufort Sea. The rig will be able to drill wells extending horizontally through the undersea rock bed farther than any wells drilled before -- as far out as eight miles. Parker said its gross profit during this phase of Liberty development will be $14 million to $18 million.

Parker, a global drilling contractor, has operated in Alaska for decades. "The Alaskan market is an excellent fit with our strategic plan, with long-term growth potential and a niche for our technologically advanced capabilities," said Robert L. Parker Jr., chief executive.

Liberty is a $1.5 billion development to tap an oil field that lies about six miles offshore in federal waters east of the big Prudhoe Bay field. Parker said drilling should begin in 2010 from an expanded gravel island that serves the 21-year-old Endicott oil field in the Beaufort. BP said that production could begin in 2011, and that Liberty holds about 100 million barrels of oil, making it a medium to small North Slope field.

Grants help workers upgrade their skills

The state has more than $4 million available for worker training and employment projects under the State Training and Employment Program. STEP helps workers upgrade their skills and get them into higher-paying jobs in critical-demand occupations, according to the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development, which runs the program.

STEP grants are awarded in priority industries such as health care, construction, information technology, education, natural resource development, transportation, hospitality and tourism, and seafood harvesting and processing, said Click Bishop, state labor commissioner. Grants are awarded through a competitive process, with members of the Alaska Workforce Investment Board helping Bishop choose.

The focus is training for individuals who:

• Have used up, or nearly used up, their unemployment insurance benefits.

• Are likely to lose their jobs due to downsizing within six months.

• Can be trained for job opportunities in areas where labor shortages are occurring or expected.

• Work in jobs held by a high percentage of non-Alaskans.

• Live in areas with high unemployment rates.

For more information, go to www.state.ak.us, click on "Notices" in the top menu bar and look for the notice published July 7 called "State Fiscal Year 2009 State Training and Employment Program Grant Application." The deadline for applying is Aug. 8.

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