Cook Inlet

The company is planning to add three wells — two gas development wells and one combination gas development and oil exploration well — to its Ninilchik pad.

We spoke with fisheries economist Gunnar Knapp and set-netter Brent Johnson about trends in Upper Cook Inlet's commercial salmon fishery — from changes in catches and permit prices, to how those numbers track with those coming from Bristol Bay, to how fishermen are reacting to the changing landscape in the inlet.

A new forecast from the state paints a picture of a basin in decline, while utilities along the Railbelt continue to depend on the natural gas produced there.

The oil and gas company announced last spring it might not be able to meet utilities' natural gas needs beyond the next contract cycle. Now, it's testing tidal technology from its old oil and gas platforms.

The Alaska Division of Oil and Gas presents an oil production forecast to the Alaska Legislature each year to help the legislature determine how to shape the budget for the next fiscal year.

Natural gas producer HEX is appealing the state's assessment on its property in Cook Inlet. The Kenai Peninsula Borough gets about half the sales tax on the property each year — and has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees to litigate the matter.

Industry watchers said they weren’t surprised that Hilcorp was the only company to bid in the inlet sale. And they say the lackluster interest is emblematic of global trends.

Industry watchers say the lukewarm response to the hotly contested sale points to a long-term trend of low interest in the inlet's federal waters.

Federal oil and gas lease sales in Cook Inlet have been canceled before. This time, the Dec. 30 sale is required by federal law — but a coalition of organizations is challenging the feds' environmental review process for the auction.

The state sale will close just days before another, in the federal waters of the inlet.