Company eyeing new Cook Inlet oil defends tax credit program

A small company working to develop Cook Inlet’s first new oil pool in years is urging policymakers to use restraint when considering changes to the state’s controversial oil-tax credit program.

The Alaska Dispatch News reports that officials with BlueCrest Energy, a Texas company founded by a former Alaskan, may not be able to develop a gas field west of Anchor Point without the credits. Company officials say if the state pulls support, they will not be able to continue drilling.

The plea comes as a state Senate working group has been scrutinizing the program, which paid $628 million last year to companies on the North Slope, in Cook Inlet and other areas.

With Alaska facing its second consecutive $3 billion budget deficit, Gov. Bill Walker’s administration says the program should be scaled back.

Previous articleDOT plans major repairs to marine highway, Egan Drive
Next articleAmid state economic woes, Nome focuses on port’s future