Report documents northern Alaska industry infrastructure
December 2, 2014
907-474-7902
12/2/14
A recently released report from the University of Alaska Fairbanks offers the first holistic picture of current and planned oil and gas industry infrastructure throughout northern Alaska.
“This report contributes to the factual basis needed for informed deliberations about commercial and resource development activity in the Arctic,” said Kevin Hillmer-Pegram, a doctoral student at UAF and author of the report. “Understanding how much infrastructure and commercial activity there is on the landscapes and seascapes of northern Alaska, how much there could plausibly be in the relatively near future, and where it occurs will help people internalize what Arctic industrialization means to them.”
The report offers a comprehensive way for the layperson to understand oil and gas infrastructure in the state, according to Amy Lovecraft, a UAF professor, Hillmer-Pegram’s advisor and co-director of the North by 2020 Forum at UAF, which spearheaded the development of the report. It will serve as a resource for local and state elected officials and policymakers, businesses and agencies.
“It provides an unbiased starting point for anybody who is interested in understanding the current state of affairs and the future development of oil and gas projects,” said Lovecraft. “It doesn’t matter whether you are pro or against development, it’s important to think of the primary, secondary and tertiary effects.”
The report divides northern Alaska into regions and provides information about existing, planned and proposed oil and gas and commercial transportation infrastructure in each region. In addition, it provides an overview of the history, current conditions and plausible future extent of industrial infrastructure in the state. That future development include extensive increases in a wide variety of infrastructure, including structures, wells, roads and pipelines.
The report is available for download via the North by 2020 website at http://www.iarc.uaf.edu/en/NX2020/current-projects/oil or in hardcopy by contacting Hillmer-Pegram.
ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Kevin Hillmer-Pegram, 907-474-7568, khillmerpegram@alaska.edu. Amy Lovecraft, 907-474-2688, allovecraft@alaska.edu.
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