ConocoPhillips Alaska, Inc.
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryOil and gas
Headquarters
Anchorage, Alaska
,
United States
ProductsOil and gas exploration and production, pipeline transportation
Number of employees
1,000
ParentConocoPhillips
Websitealaska.conocophillips.com

ConocoPhillips Alaska, Inc. is a subsidiary of ConocoPhillips, with its headquarters in Anchorage, Alaska.[1] The company has major lease holdings on the North Slope and is Alaska's largest producer of oil and gas, employing about 1,000 persons.[2]

Controversy surrounding it

ConocoPhillips Inc. has been involved in a number of controversies in recent years. In 1995, the company was criticized for allowing a Dutch affiliate to develop two oil fields in the North Sea.[3] In 2012, ConocoPhillips distanced itself from its refinery troubles by spinning off those operations into a new company called Phillips 66.[3] In 2013, California Attorney General Kamala Harris sued ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66 for failing to properly inspect and maintain underground tanks used to store gasoline at more than 500 service stations in the state.[3] The case is still pending. In 2021, ConocoPhillips faced controversy when a gas leak occurred at one of its Alaskan drilling sites.[4] This incident sparked concerns about the safety record of its operations in Texas, where a series of accidents resulted in more than two dozen worker deaths and scores of injuries.[3] In August 2021, a federal judge reversed the U.S. government's approval of ConocoPhillips' planned $6 billion Willow oil development in Alaska due to problems with its environmental analysis.[5] This ruling was a blow to the massive drilling project that Alaskan officials had hoped would help offset oil production declines in the state.[5] In January 2023, ConocoPhillips sued the state of Alaska over a road-use dispute with another oil company that plans to develop a giant North Slope prospect.[6] The disagreement between Oil Search and ConocoPhillips over the terms for the use of roads dates back well over a year.[6] ConocoPhillips has also tried to evade controversy by pulling out of controversial exploration activities in the Peruvian Amazon and environmentally sensitive Chukchi Sea off Alaska,[3] as well as suing another state agency to prevent it from releasing well data related to its Willow project.[6]

Operations

ConocoPhillips Alaska operates the Kuparuk oil field, the Alpine oil field and has interests in the Prudhoe Bay Oil Field. In January 2010 the company announced that it was delaying its latest North Slope project due to a failure to secure a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to construct a bridge needed for the project.[7]

In the Cook Inlet Area, the company operates the Kenai liquefied natural gas export terminal, the Tyonek oil platform in the North Cook Inlet field and the Beluga River natural gas field.

ConocoPhillips Alaska has also teamed with BP on a project to construct the long discussed Alaska gas pipeline to retrieve stranded gas from the North Slope, but a competing project by TransCanada Corporation has some support from both the state and federal government.[8]

Relationship with Alaska and the federal government

Oil companies often have a rocky relationship with the state government of Alaska, as they are a highly valued class of corporate taxpayers who sometimes portray themselves as carrying too much of the state's tax burden. Alaska is one of the few states that does not have a statewide sales tax or income tax, instead relying heavily on revenue from leasing land for energy development and taxing profits on extracted resources such as oil and gas. Conoco Phillips Alaska asked the Alaska legislature in 2010 to reconsider some provisions of the law known as the Alaska's Clear and Equitable Share, which sets a baseline tax of 25% on all revenue from Alaskan oil, which can increase to up to 75% as the price of a barrel of oil increases.[9]

Corporate giving

Oil companies in Alaska are important taxpayers and donors to public and private causes, and CPA is no exception. In 2008 the company donated fifteen million dollars to the University of Alaska for construction of new science education facility, the largest donation the University has ever received.[10] The company has also supported athletic competitions in winter sports in Alaska, including sponsoring cross-country skiing competitions in Alaska and supporting the U.S. Olympic cross-country team.[11]

Jim Bowles

On Saturday February 13, 2010, the president of ConocoPhillips Alaska, Jim Bowles, died in an avalanche. South-central Alaska had been experiencing an unusually warm, wet winter and numerous avalanches occurred during this time period.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "NORTH SLOPE NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE ALASKA 2008/2009 EXPLORATION DRILLING PROGRAM Archived September 19, 2010, at the Wayback Machine." ConocoPhillips Alaska. November 2008. Page 1 (1/8). Retrieved on February 14, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Arctic Energy for today and tomorrow Archived 2010-03-07 at the Wayback Machine." ConocoPhillips Alaska. April 2006. Retrieved on February 28, 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66: Corporate Rap Sheet | Corporate Research Project". www.corp-research.org. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  4. ↑ Partlow, Joshua (March 10, 2022). "Gas leak at ConocoPhillips Alaskan drilling site forces some to leave". Washington Post].
  5. 1 2 "Federal judge throws out U.S. approval of ConocoPhillips Alaska oil project". Reuters. 2021-08-19. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  6. 1 2 3 DeMarban, Alex (January 5, 2023). "ConocoPhillips sues state of Alaska in road-use dispute with another oil company". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  7. ↑ "Conoco delays North Slope development project." The Connors Group. Saturday January 24, 2010. Retrieved on February 14, 2010.
  8. ↑ FERC encourages TransCanada to start federal permitting process Libbey Casey, Alaska Public Radio Network, 2-12-09
  9. ↑ Demer, Lisa. "Legislature hears conflicting statements about oil taxes Archived 2011-06-10 at the Wayback Machine." Anchorage Daily News. February 23, 2010. Retrieved on February 28, 2010.
  10. ↑ Townsend, Lori. "UAA awarded $15 million for new science facility Archived July 28, 2009, at the Wayback Machine." Alaska Public Radio Network. April 30, 2008. Retrieved on February 28, 2010.
  11. ↑ "Alaska Olympians' schedules Archived 2011-06-10 at the Wayback Machine." Anchorage Daily News. February 16, 2010. Modified on February 17, 2010. Retrieved on February 28, 2010.
  12. ↑ Fantz, Ashley. "ConocoPhillips Alaska president killed in avalanche." CNN. February 14, 2010. Retrieved on February 14, 2010.
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