Native Corporations and oil: petroleum provides opportunities.

• Author: Orr, Vanessa
• Position: NATIVE BUSINESS: SPECIAL SECTION

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Oil is big business in Alaska, and a lot of people make a living from this precious natural resource. From the companies that explore and drill for it, to the workers who maintain the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, to the crews helping prevent and clean up oil spills, black gold is an economic lifeline for many communities. A number of Native corporations profit from oil as well.

CHUGACH ALASKA CORP.

Chugach Alaska Corp., for example, has two companies involved in the oil industry: Chugach Alaska Services Inc. (CASI) and TCC LLC. CASI is the company's first commercial subsidiary and TCC (previously a joint venture of Tatitlek, Chenega and Chugach corporations) is managed by CASI for day-to-day operations.

"Chugach has had several projects in the oil industry," said CEO Ed Herndon. "For example, TCC has nearly 20 years of experience in oil spill response in Prince William Sound as a contractor to Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. (APSC). Chugach Alaska Services had the TAPS baseline maintenance contract for three years with APSC from November of 2006 to January of this year."

Chugach provides four types of services to the oil industry--pipeline and equipment maintenance; pipeline construction; oil spill response; and maintenance and personnel services. Chugach currently has 157 full-time employees working in the oil industry.

According to Herndon, oil services work performed by CASI and TCC represents approximately 2 percent of Chugach's total revenue.

"We have four current contracts: two with the Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., which include oil spill prevention, response and support maintenance services provided by TCC LLC, and administrative personnel services provided by CASI," he said.

TCC also has a contract with Swift Oil and Gas supporting the Gulf of Mexico oil spill response effort, and CASI has a master services agreement with ExxonMobil for Point Thomson.

ARCTIC SLOPE REGIONAL CORP.

Arctic Slope Regional Corp. (ASRC) is involved in the oil industry through its wholly owned subsidiary ASRC Energy Services (AES). Headquartered in Anchorage, AES is the largest Alaska-based oil and gas services company in the state and has more than 4,500 employees working in or supporting the oil industry.

"Our success is built on a foundation of subsidiaries that provide a full range of services for all oil field life cycle phases," said Mark Nelson, president and CEO, ASRC Energy Services.

AES is involved in every aspect of oil field...