Pioneer Natural Resources said work on its Cosmopolitan oil prospect offshore from Anchor Point on the Kenai Peninsula has ramped back up, according to Petroleum News. Last January, Pioneer put plans to drill an appraisal well on hold until next year because of low oil prices, but prices have since risen and Tadd Owens, Pioneer's director of government and public affairs, said his company "will conduct additional appraisal work at Cosmopolitan during the fourth quarter of this year and first quarter of 2010." Pioneer has pegged the field that Pennzoil discovered in 1967 at 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil equivalent.

A Pioneer well a couple of years ago was encouraging but the flow was not enough to lead to development of a field.

Walmart stores get super-sized

Anchorage is getting a new supermarket chain. The nation's largest retailer, Walmart, has boosted the size of its Old Seward Highway store by one-third to offer a full line of groceries, its first Anchorage store to be super-sized.

The company today is unveiling the new look inside the store at 8900 Old Seward Highway, a layout and design that all of its stores nationwide will be going to in the next few years, a spokeswoman said. Walmart said the expansion has added 135 jobs to a store that already had roughly 460 workers. The company said its average for full-time hourly associates in Alaska is $12.83 an hour.

The expanded store encompasses 202,000 square feet. That's up from 153,673 square feet for the store that was part of Walmart's initial move into Alaska in 1994. The full line of groceries includes a bakery, a deli, meat and dairy products, fresh produce and a liquor department, the company said. The store is open 24 hours every day, Walmart said.

The new store design in South Anchorage also is being unveiled at the chain's Kodiak store on Wednesday. That store has undergone a three-month remodeling.

Grants aid those hurt by foreign imports

Companies that are losing sales to foreign imports, or have been forced to lay off workers or cut back on hours might be eligible for up to $75,000 in grants for projects to increase profitability and save jobs said the Northwest Trade Adjustment Assistance Center. The non-profit center administers funds from the U.S. Commerce Department's Economic Development Administration.

"We've helped fishing businesses that have lost sales to a foreign source, farmers, oil and gas producers, wood products manufacturers -- we've even designed a small hydroelectric dam for a sheep ranching business in Idaho," said Gary Kuhar, center director. "We are the only TAA program that not only helps clients develop a strategic plan; we implement the plan for them by hiring outside experts to complete the project."

The TAA grants also are open to co-ops and associations. Find more information about Trade Adjustment Assistance for Alaska companies at www.nwtaac.org or contact gary@nwtaac.org.

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