Natchiq adapts to new North Slope.

• Author: Tyson, Ray
• Position: Arctic Slope Regional Corp.'s oilfield service division

ASRC's oilfield service division, Natchiq, used some severe belt-tightening and aggressive partnering to survive the new realities of Alaska's oilpatch.

Arctic Slope Regional Corp.'s (ASRC) oilfield service companies have weathered the storm, managing steady growth during a tumultuous period of industry downsizing that left numerous victims in its wake.

Natchiq and its two operating subsidiaries, Alaska Petroleum Contractors and Houston Contracting Co., now account for nearly a third of the Native corporation's gross revenues and profits. Based on gross revenues of $466 million in 1994, ASRC, Natchiq's parent, was listed recently by Alaska Business Monthly as the top Alaskan-owned, Alaska-based company.

Although it is the largest oil and gas support contractor in Alaska, with a solid base on the North Slope and in the Cook Inlet, ASRC's Natchiq and its subsidiaries are not about to bask in the comfort of their success.

"The days of Big Oil expending billion dollar investments for the development of mega fields like Prudhoe Bay are over," notes David Jensen, Natchiq's president and CEO.

Jensen believes that future growth opportunities include finding innovative ways to economically develop marginal fields on the North Slope and opening the highly prospective coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to exploration and development.

"It further means we are going to have to find new ways to work together with our clients to reach common and shared goals," Jensen adds. "No one company can accomplish as much on its own as it can when it works together with others."

The 125th largest general construction and maintenance company in the United States, Natchiq has grown at a rate of about 10 percent annually for the last three years. During the same period, employment has more than doubled to over 2,000.

Natchiq is responsible for establishing the overall direction and policies of its immediate subsidiaries and owns all the equipment, assets and facilities. Alaska Petroleum Contractors is Natchiq's maintenance and construction company, while Houston Contracting performs oilfield pipeline and electrical/mechanical construction and maintenance.

Natchiq's client pool is impressive, including Arco Alaska, British Petroleum, Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., Union Oil of California and Mapco Alaska Petroleum Co.

Aggressive Partnering

Natchiq also is one of the fortunate few Alaska service companies that rebuilt its business on "partnering" or...