ConocoPhillips told state regulators that nothing like last year's Alpine gas leak has ever happened in its 50-year history in Alaska. But for opponents of the company's nearby Willow project, the incident represents a cautionary tale.
The company rerouted the gas through a waste disposal well within days of the 2022 incident, but it took more than three weeks to stop the leak at the source. ConocoPhillips employees repeatedly told the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission that gas was not detected beyond the gravel drilling pad, known as CD-1, and that no harm to people or wildlife was observed from the gas that emerged through the tundra and gravel.
The Alpine leak prompted worried residents in nearby Nuiqsut to evacuate. Nuiqsut Mayor Rosemary Ahtuangaruak said villagers remain concerned about the health impacts of emissions, particularly on pregnant women, infants and elders. Some sections of the well were enforced with concrete, to prevent events like this. But the source of the leak was determined to be from an area 3,000 feet down, from a relatively shallow formation not previously known to contain much gas. Commissioner Jessie Chmielowski asked why the company doesn’t use more concrete.
“Do we have an adequate well design that addresses any kind of significant hydrocarbon zones or abnormally pressured geostrata, as is mandated by the regulation? If that required pumping more cement, we would. Absolutely,” Livingston said. “Or we would figure out a way to make the well designed adequate for what we have identified.”
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