ANCHORAGE — A subsidiary of Hilcorp Alaska is seeking state authority to move petroleum across Cook Inlet by undersea pipeline.
Hilcorp announced Monday that Harvest Alaska has requested permission from the Regulatory Commission of Alaska to expand and modify the Cook Inlet Pipe Line system.
Oil now crosses from the inlet’s west side by barge. The undersea oil pipeline will allow for the shutdown and decommissioning of the Drift River Terminal.
The estimated $75 million project will include new onshore and offshore pipelines and conversion of a cross-inlet pipeline from natural gas to oil.
Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Council director Mike Munger says the undersea pipeline is safer than barges. The council has advocated for the pipeline since the reopening of the Drift River Terminal after a 2009 Mount Redoubt eruption.
