Southern Kenai Peninsula Gas Development: Do you own what's under your house?

As gas supplies in the upper inlet wane after years of commercial extraction, industry has turned its attention to the Lower Kenai.  In the past year UNOCAL, working with Marathon, has begun an aggressive effort to buy up and explore oil and gas leases around Anchor Point and Ninilchik.  Although the Anchor Point prospects haven't panned out, at least one test well has revealed commercial quantities of gas.

When UNOCAL began to contact lease holders in late 2001, several landowners contacted Keeper to better understand their legal rights.  Most citizens are unaware that owning the surface estate (i.e. the land surface) doesn't prevent oil companies from entering private property to build roads, cut trees, and drill holes to access the hydrocarbon resources below.  Most mineral rights are held by the State of Alaska in trust for all Alaskans, yet some individuals own subsurface rights, which gives them extra leverage to prevent unwanted development on their lands.  Keeper was able to work with one interested party near the Anchor River, and continues to inform citizens about their property rights, including water rights, related to oil development on and around their properties.  For more information contact Bob Shavelson: 907-235-4068 ext 22.

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Last modified 25 October 2005