ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc.: Alaska's oil and gas company committed to welfare of local communities.

• Author: Orr, Vanessa
• Position: ALASKA BUSINESS MONTHLY'S 2009 CORPORATE 100

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As the No. 1 oil and gas producer in Alaska, it's no surprise that ConocoPhillips has been named one of the Top 100 businesses in the state. The company, active in Alaska for more than five decades, not only contributes to the economy through the creation of jobs and revenues raised through gas and oil exploration and production, but through its investments in the health and well-being of local communities.

"Through the purchase of ARCO's Alaska assets, ConocoPhillips has more than 50 years of history in Alaska," explained Jim Bowles, ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc. president, adding that the company can track its history through an amalgamation of numerous companies. "We've got deep roots here. Perhaps more than any other oil or gas company. We view Alaska as home."

KEY PLAYER

Today, ConocoPhillips is a key player in the state, with major ownership in the Prudhoe Bay Unit, the Kuparuk River Unit, the Colville River Unit (Alpine), the Greater Mooses Tooth Unit, the Beluga River Unit and the North Cook Inlet Unit. The company operates the Kuparuk and Alpine oil fields and the Greater Mooses Tooth Unit, as well as the Kenai Liquefied Natural Gas Plant, North Cook Inlet Unit platform and Beluga River Unit gas field. A wholly owned subsidiary of the company also owns 28 percent of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS).

"We're probably best known for the Kuparuk field, which is the second largest oilfield in the United States," said Bowles. "We've been very active there, particularly in the last year." ConocoPhillips is continuing to develop new oil at the field, which is now in its 28th year.

The energy company also continues to develop new satellite fields around the Alpine oil field. "That area is the gateway to the NPR-A (National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska), and we are continuing to position ourselves for development there," said Bowles. "We will be moving ahead, possibly this year or the next."

ConocoPhillips holds interests in more than 1.5 million gross acres in the reserve, and has been the most active explorer in the area that lies west of the big North Slope oil fields for the past decade.

GAS VENTURES

Two other ongoing projects that ConocoPhillips is involved in include a 50 percent partnership with BP Alaska Gas Pipelines LLC on the Denali Project, in which they are trying to develop a way to take North Slope gas to Lower 48 markets, and the continued operation of the Kenai Liquefied Natural Gas facility. If...