Alaska Business Monthly May 2016 by Alaska Business

LEED STANDARDS | WOTUS & ALASKA | HOW TO WIN IN A DOWNTURN

Digital Edition

May 2016

OIL & GAS SPECIAL SECTION

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LEADER In All We Do Oil Field Services Government Contracting Natural Resources Tourism

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The well-being of our shareholdersâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; and a respect for our history in this placeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;is topmost in mind as we continually enhance our strong financial position.

May 2016 Digital Edition TAB LE

CONTENTS ABOUT THE COVER Alaska Oil and Gas Association President and CEO Kara Moriarty was the obvious choice to grace the May cover and lead us into the annual Oil & Gas Special Section. AOGA has been a positive voice for the Alaska oil and gas industry for fifty years.

DEPARTMENTS From the Editor �� 7 Inside Alaska Business ��130 Business Events ��133 Right Moves ��134 Eat, Shop, Play, Stay ��138 Events Calendar ��142 Alaska Trends ��143 Ad Index �� 146

Cover photo by Judy Patrick Cover design by David Geiger

ARTICLES

Education

UA President Jim Johnsen

8 | University of Alaska President Jim Johnsen’s Plan Using Strategic Pathways to streamline and strengthen By Julie Stricker

Workforce Training

16 | Workers, Not Robots Human resource offices gain helping hand By Naomi Klouda

Expanded in Digital Edition

Small Business

18 | SBA Small Business of the Year: Connie Dubay, Cold Spot By Julie Stricker

HR Matters

24 | Great Customer Service Exceed expectations with excellence By Kevin M. Dee

Courtesy of Alaska Communications

30 Alaska Communications runs and maintains the IT network for Anchorage Montessori School so the school can focus its efforts on educating students.

Visitor Industry

26 | Planning Alaska’s Top Events Organizers, sponsors, and volunteers are key By Tasha Anderson

Telecom & Technology

30 | Field and Office Technical Solutions Continue to Evolve Enhancing connectivity, collaboration, and productivity for employees By Tracy Barbour

Transportation

38 | Alaska AeroNexus Alliance Partnership aims to attract industry and generate jobs By Kailee Wallis

Expanded in Digital Edition

Construction

40 | Designing to LEED Standards Building greater sustainability By Rindi White

Bettisworth North Architects & Planners designed the LEED Gold certified Tanana Chiefs Conference Chief Andrew Isaac Health Center in Fairbanks. © Kevin Smith / Courtesy of Bettisworth North

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

May 2016 Digital Edition TAB LE

CONTENTS

special section Oil & Gas

70 Hilcorp Alaska’s Platform A in Cook Inlet near Nikiski, originally built in 1965, photo taken September 2014.

68 | AOGA 50th Anniversary Celebrating Alaska’s largest private industry By Tasha Anderson

92 | ‘Homeless LNG’ likely to keep market oversupplied this decade By Larry Persily

70 | Alaska Oil Industry Leadership Testifies State tax policy: to ‘eschew’ or ‘issue’ pink slips By Heather A. Resz

96 | Looking ‘Out West’ for Oil in NPR-A Companies continue exploration and development By Julie Stricker

78 | The Fight over Tax Credits Governor and Legislature at odds By Rindi White

102 | Alaska Crane an Inspiration to the Oilfield Support Industry Company enters market in downturn with new business model and equipment By Susan Harrington

82 | Furie and Hilcorp in Cook Inlet Independents turn around a stagnant region By Julie Stricker 84 | Point Thomson Closing in on production Compiled by Susan Harrington

Photo courtesy of Resource Development Council for Alaska

108 | Next Round of LNG Project Reports To FERC Expected to start late spring By Larry Persily 112 | Alaska Business Monthly’s 2016 Oil & Gas Directory

ARTICLES

Financial Services

48 | Heavy Equipment and Fleet Financing Options Meeting the needs of Alaska businesses By Tracy Barbour

Expanded in Digital Edition Photo courtesy of Recon LLC

Mining

52 | Mining Subcontractors Ensure Success Understanding nuances of working in Alaska By Julie Stricker

Environmental Services 58 | WOTUS and Alaska Issues with the latest rule of the Clean Water Act By Tasha Anderson

DIGITAL EXCLUSIVES 136 | Accolades Compiled by Tasha Anderson 6

A Recon worker in the field. Mick Ewing, PLS, conducting waterbody depth measurements.

Transportation

62 | Fueling Alaska Millions of gallons delivered yearly via land, water, and air By Heather A. Resz

Economy

66 | How to Win in a Downturn Prepare your company now By Bob Kaufman

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

FROM THE EDITOR

Jim Martin, Publisher | 1989—2014

SurThrival in the Economy

EDITORIAL STAFF

Don’t just survive, thrive

VOLUME 32, NUMBER 5 Published by Alaska Business Publishing Co. Anchorage, Alaska

Managing Editor Susan Harrington 257-2907 editor@akbizmag.com Associate Editor Tasha Anderson 257-2902 surveys@akbizmag.com Art Director David Geiger 257-2916 design@akbizmag.com Art Production Linda Shogren 257-2912 production@akbizmag.com Photo Contributor Judy Patrick

BUSINESS STAFF

President Billie Martin VP & General Manager Jason Martin 257 2905 jason@akbizmag.com VP Sales & Marketing Charles Bell 257-2909 cbell@akbizmag.com Senior Account Mgr. Anne Tompkins 257-2910 anne@akbizmag.com Senior Account Mgr. Bill Morris 257-2911 b_morris@akbizmag.com Account Mgr. Janis J. Plume 257-2917 janis@akbizmag.com Accountant Ana Lavagnino 257-2901 accounts@akbizmag.com 501 W. Northern Lights Boulevard, Suite 100 Anchorage, Alaska 99503-2577 (907) 276-4373 | Outside Anchorage: 1-800-770-4373 Fax: (907) 279-2900 www.akbizmag.com | Editorial email: editor@akbizmag.com

ALASKA BUSINESS PUBLISHING CO., INC.

ALASKA BUSINESS MONTHLY (ISSN 8756-4092) is published monthly by Alaska Business Publishing Co., Inc., 501 W. Northern Lights Boulevard, Suite 100, Anchorage, Alaska 99503-2577; Telephone: (907) 276-4373; Fax: (907) 279-2900, ©2016, Alaska Business Publishing Co. All rights reserved. Subscription Rates: $39.95 a year. Single issues of the Power List are $15 each. Single issues of Alaska Business Monthly are $3.95 each; $4.95 for October, and back issues are $5 each. Send subscription orders and address changes to the Circulation Department, Alaska Business Monthly, PO Box 241288, Anchorage, AK 99524. Please supply both old and new addresses and allow six weeks for change, or update online at www.akbizmag.com. Manuscripts: Send query letter to the Editor. Alaska Business Monthly is not responsible for unsolicited materials. Photocopies: Where necessary, permission is granted by the copyright owner for libraries and others registered with Copyright Clearance Center to photocopy any article herein for $1.35 per copy. Send payments to CCC, 27 Congress Street, Salem, MA 01970. Copying done for other than personal or internal reference use without the expressed permission of Alaska Business Publishing Co., Inc. is prohibited. Address requests for specific permission to Managing Editor, Alaska Business Publishing. Online: Alaska Business Monthly is available at www.akbizmag.com/Digital-Archives, www.thefreelibrary.com/Alaska+Business+Monthly-p2643 and from Thomson Gale. Microfilm: Alaska Business Monthly is available on microfilm from University Microfilms International, 300 North Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48106.

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lot of companies are worried about survival in the current economy—still others have an inkling they are going to survive and want to also thrive. Enter Northrim Bank. For years now they have been hosting an annual economic forecast luncheon in April so as to have a peek at the first quarter of the year (and to have good data for the previous year) before trying to figure out what’s to come and how to cope. They’ve developed a new word for this year: SurThrival. It’s destined to be an aid to business success. There are three main tips in the introductory phase of the SurThrival movement, which Northrim is so stoked about they are going to start offering a series of Tuesday talks for folks to learn how to be successful. Initially, we’re given three SurThrival components at SurThriveAK.com: Cash Flow is the Key to SurThrival Cash is key to SurThriving. Free up more of it by reducing your inventory holding levels or renegotiating your accounts payable terms. Focus On Customers Understand how your customer’s purchasing habits change with the economy. Learning their behavior in good times and bad will help your business adapt. Rethink Your Business Model If the economy is disrupting your regular business, re-examine your business model and find new, profitable opportunities. There are a few articles in the May issue of Alaska Business Monthly where readers will draw parallels to the elements of SurThrival and the ideas behind the new word. See if you can find them. There is plenty of opportunity for SurThrival. We were told recently that we are not in a recession, the overall economy is holding; while oil and gas is certainly facing some difficulties, there are bright spots in Alaska’s economic landscape, such as tourism and healthcare, industries that have grown recently and are projected to continue doing so. We have plenty of time and lots of impetus to survive and thrive. Pay attention to Cash, Customers, and Business Models.

Susan Harrington Managing Editor

www.akbizmag.com

May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

EDUCATION

University of Alaska President Jim Johnsenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Plan Using Strategic Pathways to streamline and strengthen By Julie Stricker

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

n a sunny Fairbanks March morning while the Alaska Legislature debated funding to the University of Alaska (UA) amid a worsening budget crunch, UA President Jim Johnsen outlines his plan for streamlining the universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s administration while strengthening the universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s core objective to serve the state. He calls his plan Strategic Pathways.

ÂŠ JR Ancheta

www.akbizmag.com

May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

ABM: What is Strategic Pathways? Johnsen: Strategic Pathways is a framework for making decisions about how we resource our academic programs at the university in service to the students and to the state. So it’s all about the fact that we’re in a constrained fiscal environment. We’re doing, frankly, just what every business would do in a situation like that. They’d be looking at lower-value activity, however one defines that. And in a university you’d define it differently than you’d define it in a telecommunications company or an oil company or a small business. But that’s what you’d be doing. And you’d be looking at how much you’re spending on those lower-value activities and then reallocating those resources into highervalue, higher-margin activities. So that’s one of the principles about how we’re thinking about it. As we look at our university system, sixteen campuses across the state, then we focus in on our universities, the university in Southeast, Anchorage, and Fairbanks: what are they each uniquely strong at in meeting state needs on the principle that we really can’t afford three of everything. We can’t afford three Geophysical Institutes. We can’t afford three ISERS. Then you start moving into some of our programs like management or engineering or education—can we afford three of these things that are just like the other? And so in my thinking and with the Board of Regents’ support, we’re thinking we really can’t. So let’s figure out how to have distinctive and unique excellence at each university. At the same time, we’re going to have commonality at the lower division levels and the community colleges, a curriculum of college courses to facilitate student transfer across the campuses, which is always a challenge. But at the same time I want to provide hope as we go through these dark times; I want to provide bright lights for people. I was in the state in late ‘80s and ‘90s and things were very, very difficult. There were very few bright lights then in the state and particularly in the university. And giving people hope, giving people optimism, giving our young people a reason to stay, giving businesses a reason to hire our students, giving businesses a reason to support us financially or politically because we weren’t serving them as well as we needed to, that’s the idea. Even though we’re getting smaller here and we’re having to shrink, where can we excel in service to the state? Including, of course, businesses. Healthcare is a huge part of our economy in Alaska. There’s private businesses. There’s not-for-profits in terms of hospitals and the like. There’s huge demand for nurses and at the same time there’s a big waiting list to get into our nursing programs. So it strikes me that we’ve got to invest in nursing training 10

programs. How do we do that? I was visiting a program yesterday and I asked the nursing faculty exactly ‘How do we do that?’ Well, we need more nursing instructors; we need more clinical site opportunities for them. And so those are the kinds of things we’ll be working on to serve important state needs. That’s where I start from my position. Yes I love the university and I’d advocate for it all day long and all night long, but I’d start from the state and move outto-in to try to really describe our mission, our purpose in service to the state. ABM: When you were coming up with the Strategic Pathways plan, you said you had identified some gaps and that you had also identified some opportunities. You mentioned nursing. What other kinds of opportunities? Johnsen: Well (nursing) is a biggie. Another is teacher education. We have three schools of education across the university system, yet our graduates are only filling 30 percent of the vacancies each year across Alaska’s schools. That’s not all on us. Obviously the school districts make their own decisions about whom they hire, but it strikes me that as the University of Alaska… that we ought to be filling the vast majority of the vacancies here in Alaska. I think that’s just a tremendous opportunity. It’s so important in my view to have our people teaching our young people. It’s just like having our people working in the oil patch and our people doing research on the North Slope and across the state in terms of climate change and other sorts of things. Because then our kids are going to come here to school as opposed to go to college where their parents went to college, which is a really common phenomenon. So I’m thinking, hey, if we can get more of our teachers out there, more people with degrees from here, then we’ll have more of their children and the children they teach coming here for college. So I think that’s critical. We have huge dropout rates in high school right now. We have huge non-college-going rates. Some people say our competition is the University of Washington or Oregon State, and I said, no, my biggest competition is ‘I’m not going to college.’ And that is no way to grow a state. That’s no way to create a workforce that businesses want to be associated with, that businesses want to hire from. Businesses will locate not just for natural resource reasons and location and energy costs, they will locate for a work force that is skilled and innovative and entrepreneurial. So long-term, that’s what our service to Alaska is. ABM: The University of Alaska has several rural campuses. How will the cuts potentially affect some of those outliers?

Johnsen: I’ve made the commitment that I don’t want to cut any of those programs in toto. I want to make sure we have a presence in Nome, we have a presence in Bethel, we have a presence in Kotzebue and Ketchikan, in Sitka, in Mat-Su and all across the state. We can operate more cost-effectively there, I’m confident, and we’re working hard on that as part of the Strategic Pathways to see how we can bring our operating costs down. I’ve been working closely with the vice chancellor for the rural colleges and Alaska Native studies Evon Peter here at UAF on how we can be strong in Kotzebue and Nome and Bethel but at the same time bring our operating costs down. He’s been very helpful with some ideas about how we can do that. It’s a two-handed approach. Can we stay there and still be strong and relevant, but can we operate a little more cost-effectively?

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

ABM: A lot of people were taken aback at how steep the Alaska House’s proposed cuts to the university were. Do you think that has a chilling effect on trying to recruit students, teachers, and donors? Johnsen: Yes I do. There’s no question about it. It’s not positive news. It’s not a vote of confidence in our university. Again, everybody at the University of Alaska understands our state’s difficult fiscal situation. We’re willing to pitch in and do our part and operate in a more cost-effective way. That’s one of the three pillars of my approach here at the university: costeffectiveness, excellence, and access. Access for students all across Alaska; excellence in everything we do; and cost-effectiveness. So I get that, and we’ll be pushing for that very, very hard—no question about it. But when the cut goes from a current base of $350 million down to where the House is at $300 million, and then add to that unfunded mandates of $25 million, the net effect on our www.akbizmag.com

budget is $75 million. That’s a lot. We’re a peopleintensive organization. Including benefits and heating and building costs, an easy benchmark might be one position per $100,000 on average. $75 million, that equates to 750 positions. So those are 750 people who are not going to be providing student services, who aren’t going to be teaching classes, who aren’t going to be doing research—and by the way on research, for every dollar our state spends, we bring over four dollars of federal money in. And those people who aren’t going to be going to Fred Meyer and Safeway to shop. They’re not going to be buying a new car. They’re not going to have a mortgage. They’re not going to be at Spenards. They’re not going to be participating in our economy because they’ll be gone. I want to tip my hat to Senator (Pete) Kelly, who’s made this point and several other influential legislators who have made this point, including the governor’s office. We’ve obviously got to manage our finances here, but we can’t really hurt the economy at the same time. We’ll

University of Alaska President Jim Johnsen at his office in Fairbanks. © JR Ancheta

really get into a downward spiral if we go that far. I’m really pleased by the advocacy by the university community and people outside the community have been mounting in our support in Juneau. While we’re likely to take a reduction for this current year, it’ll be a reduction we can manage and still move forward and invest in areas of distinction so that we’re able to recruit those students, able to recruit those key faculty and staff and move forward. ABM: Are you looking at more public-private partnerships such as the Alaska Center for Energy and Power (ACEP)? Johnsen: Absolutely. I just wrote a check to ACEP the other day to encourage them. It’s just a super organization and they’re very dynamic, May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

UA President Jim Johnsen speaking at the Arctic Science Summit at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in March. © JR Ancheta

very entrepreneurial. Their whole mission is to serve the state in its energy needs. I wrote another small check to ISER because the Institute for Social and Economic Research in Anchorage is very strong in serving the state’s needs for fiscal analysis and other kinds of research that are really important and relevant for where we are right now. Absolutely, publicprivate partnerships are critical. In 2017, it’s our 100th anniversary; we’ll be moving out a private fundraising campaign to try to generate more support and service the folks out there in the community who are alumni and employers and others who want to support us. We already engaged in a public-private partnership in the renovation at the Wood Center here at the UAF campus. There are similar opportunities down in Anchorage and Juneau as well. We’re looking very closely at those because if you can get capital or expertise from the private sector and then guarantee an operating return for them in a way that meets our interest, that’s win-win. And so we’re all about that. The road project in Anchorage for example is a partnership right now between the healthcare sector, the university, and others in the private 12

sector to try to improve traffic flow from northeast Anchorage into the university and medical district in Anchorage. So that’s another example of a public-private partnership. ABM: The impact of the University in Alaska is really outsized in comparison to say, the University of Florida in Florida. What makes Alaska’s system so different from universities in the Lower 48? Johnsen: One is we are THE public university system in the state. In Florida, you’ve got Florida State, you’ve got University of Florida, you’ve got University of Miami, you’ve got a slew of universities there. In California, you have ten campuses of the University of California; twentyfive or so in the Cal State system; dozens and dozens of community colleges across the state all in different systems. In Alaska what makes us unique is all of that is in one system. All public higher education in Alaska is one system. And that I think is a tremendous opportunity for us to serve our state in the most efficient way. The governor and the legislators or a business

leader or a school district leader doesn’t have to talk to a dozen institution heads to get something done. They can come right here and we can talk about it and marshal the resources of our three universities and thirteen community colleges to meet that need. So I think that’s a unique thing about us here in Alaska. Of course, we’re the biggest state in the country so we’re geographically all over the place. Part of that is, boy, that’s tough to manage and tough to administer when you’ve got one campus probably on the Atlantic seaboard, another place that’s on the Pacific when you map us onto the rest of the country. So yes, there’s a challenge there, but also the diversity of our geographic locations across the state and the various cultures across the state is really wonderful. You walk into the Ketchikan campus and you’ll see Tlingit and Tsimshian and Haida art. You go out to Kotzebue and you see Iñupiaq culture and points of pride that people have in their campus there and all across the state. Go down here to the Interior and Aleutians campus and you’ll see lots of Athabascan things. I think that’s just wonderful, frankly. In all those instances, those examples I just gave you reference Alaska’s first people. They’re different, they all bring a diverse view of things into our university and to our state. I treasure that, that diversity in our system. Again it has the benefits of one and the benefits of many. I really think that’s special about us. ABM: One of the criticisms of the university system is its low graduation rate. Some current students are concerned that if the university changes the way schools are allocated, they might have some classes pulled from out of under them and they would have to relocate to finish their degree, making it even harder to graduate. Do you have a plan to help those students finish? Johnsen: We do. It’s not in a great detail yet. We have an obligation to teach out our students. So if you were a journalism major, for example, we have an obligation to finish you up if journalism is say gone to Anchorage, or vice versa. So we have an obligation there. So there would still be faculty here. We would work you through the program. There are other options however. Let’s just say it’s a program moving from UAA to UAF and you’re in Anchorage. We have extensive distance education capabilities so that would be an option for us. The Strategic Pathways has done one thing that frankly I didn’t expect and just love to see, and that’s that the deans at the various universities are really talking to each other right now. And that’s positive. I was just in a meeting with a dean here at UAF and he is talking with the dean in Anchorage; ‘How can we collaborate together? If we lose a major and you keep it, how can we

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

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combine?” But if your department of X is really small and my department of X is really small, and we put those two together, we’ve actually got something that’s viable and strong and then we can use distance education technology to serve the students at the other campus. That’s a good thing. Ninety percent of our students right now take at least one distance education course. At UAS down in Southeast over half of all of their credit hours are distance delivered. Of course it really helps students from a convenience standpoint because they don’t have to necessarily quit their job, leave their family, move physically, drive onto campus, find a parking spot, and all the other things. There’s some criticism sometimes of distance delivery courses. The quality may not be there, you don’t have quite the face-to-face interaction; but the technology is improving dramatically. In fact, most of the courses nowadays are hybrid courses where there is face-to-face interaction provided for and convenience so you don’t have to actually be at the lecture. It’s all recorded. When you get back from work and you put the kids to sleep you can pull it out and take a look. We’ll use technology, a lot of collaboration, so that’s a strong commitment that we have, and we want to make sure we keep our students and continue to serve them well.

UA President Jim Johnsen pondering a question during the Q&A for Alaska Business Monthly. © JR Ancheta

ABM: How big of a role do tuition increases play in the overall plan? Johnsen: It varies by the level of cut. The last thing I want to do is balance our budget on the backs of our students. That said, depending on the cut level, we’re going to need to invite our students to participate. And our students will. Based on my experience this past fall, the students came in and offered up a five percent tuition increase to the regents, and of course the regents accepted that. But (the students) did, and they did a phenomenal job. They had done their research, they had pulled all their advocates together. I was incredibly impressed by how effective they were in doing that. But it’s got to be a part of the solution. Our university tuition is low. It’s under the Western states’ median tuition. The deeper the cuts, the more we’ll have to go to tuition. But it’s not the only place we’re going, that’s for sure. An area of concern to me though, and we’ll have to think through this more, is the tuition levels at our community campuses are comparable to our university level tuitions. And that’s not common across the country. I don’t have a solution right now but one of my concerns is that we price out of the market those students who are very price sensitive and who could really benefit from a community college vocational-technical certificate or degree program and get a job quickly. That’s a challenge we’re grappling with right now. How 14

do we make sure we have plenty of access for those students, particularly those on a lower socio-economic background? We’re their path forward and we’ve got to serve them, so I’m a little concerned that if we keep jacking up tuition at the university level that we’ll be crowding those students out and I don’t want that to happen. ABM: Even though oil prices are low, we’re already seeing predictions that they will rebound in a couple of years. What is the fear that the state is making such drastic cuts that it hinders the state and university once we’re back up to what is considered normal? Johnsen: Strategic Pathways in my view is beautifully designed to create lanes of excellence, essentially, at each one of our

universities. So as state revenues pick back up, that would be a great thing. We’ll just accelerate within our lanes of excellence. So I think that’s actually a good thing. Now it would be a serious challenge if we weren’t investing in unique programs of strength during this dark time, during this time of low oil prices. Then five years from now, three years from now, ten years from now, we’d be so weak across the board it would be very difficult for us to step up and be strong in any area. So what I’m trying to do is, say, we’re going to identify areas of strength and then if oil prices rebound, if and when things look up again, we’ve already got top people. We’re ready to go. So that’s part of the thinking of the Pathways plan. R Julie Stricker is a journalist living near Fairbanks.

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

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WORKFORCE TRAINING

Workers, Not Robots Human resource offices gain helping hand By Naomi Klouda

or those entering the human resource field, labor law and employee compensation take a bit of mastering.

Yet, the department that typically handles those two aspects of everyday business did not have access to entry level employees who grasped the nuances. Not until Alaska Career College (ACC) developed an Associate degree specializing in human resources (HR). Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in HR are available in Alaska. But in 2015, ACC became the first in Alaska to offer an Associate degree in HR. That’s important, Alaska businesses and corporations told ACC. 16

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

Entry Level

Not everyone can start at the top. The market needs good HR generalists for companies staffing large and small HR offices. An oil company can easily staff a forty-person HR office. A few large Alaska Native organizations staff more than sixty HR personnel. “Those earning a BA or MBA are headed for the high ranking positions,” explains Professor Hillary Hodges, who holds a Masters in Human Resources, a PhD in Education, and teaches at ACC. “The business community told us they needed people who could start entry level positions. It’s a profession where you’ve got to wade in and get your feet wet.” US laws and regulations quickly change in the area of personnel. PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), for example, is a new disability. Given the large number of US veterans returning home— and to the workplace—HR directors need to know the laws protecting them. “Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, you’re not allowed to ask a veteran if he or she has PTSD,” Hodges says. “There are now ‘invisible’ disabilities that weren’t previously in the workplace. It may or may not even be diagnosed in certain individuals.”

Comprehensive Curriculum

To cover the vast territory that protects the rights of employees— and keeps corporations out of lawsuits—an HR job-ready grad needs to come out of college possessing a good foundation. Hodges designed ACC’s HR curriculum to meet that need. A Public Advisory Committee composed of local business owners and HR executives gave input to round out the curriculum. “The response and feedback we received was excellent. They asked us, ‘How quickly can you get this going?’” Hodges says. By the time ACC’s HR program was in place, ACC President and Founder Jennifer Deitz says, the college had researched information from far and wide to create a comprehensive curriculum. The impetus came from the business community. “ACC is unique in that we are a career-centered college that focuses on the outcome to be employed,” Deitz says. “We’re always responsive to the community when they tell us about an employment need. Today’s HR offices are not like the old personnel offices, and they were struggling to find qualified employees.” The curriculum includes HR courses from employee compensation and benefits to union processes and labor relations to anti-discrimination laws. Enlivened by legal questions posed in popular media stories, such as Hillary Clinton’s email controversy and Apple’s fight to protect phone-owner privacy, students find themselves engaged—and grasping complexity at the same time.

Not the Same as the Old Personnel Office

Every law on employee relations is driven by social change. Unions protected workers in powerful ways from about 1900 to 1980. Yet, from an all-time high of 17 million union members in the United States, membership has fallen to about 9 million today. As more manufacturing and other jobs moved overseas, unions lost membership and therefore a certain amount of power. Nonetheless, HR www.akbizmag.com

offices today work with the unions that govern employee practices. In the Municipality of Anchorage alone, about 150 unions operate to represent their members. As the US government created laws to protect workers, it was generally in response to a social problem, instructors explain in the classroom. Enforcing equal rights and anti-discrimination, protecting the disabled, and outlawing sexual harassment are federal laws that must be followed from the smallest to the largest of Alaska’s corporations. The personnel office of the 1970s and ‘80s was a good place to go if needs were simple or for paperwork. By the 1990s, companies began to evaluate the glass ceilings and human capital—how to add value by creating lower turnover and cutting the number of lawsuits. HR personnel required training in labor law in order be qualified to advise executives in the workplace. At the same time, they tended to be a “people’s person” and watched out for others. “They needed to know how not to violate the law,” Hodges says. HR teams kept executives abreast of changes so companies didn’t fall behind in their understanding of laws. New social problems are being addressed today that will impact the workplace tomorrow. It’s HR’s job to track those changes.

Workforce Needs

From an employer’s standpoint, HR is short of qualified people to serve the increasing needs of HR departments in Alaska. David Rhodes, the director of HR at Akeela, Inc., served on the HR Public Advisory Committee at ACC. “Anytime you have a big corporation with a lot of employees, your HR department becomes more complex; it takes more people to run it,” Rhodes says. Oil companies in Alaska are downsizing and laying off workers. But smaller, growing companies add or need to add an HR department. ACC will graduate its first group of students to attain their Associate degree in HR on June 7. One of those graduates, Susan Barrera, said she’s long wanted to enter the HR field. “I enjoy helping people and HR at its root involves helping people.” Barrera works as a billing specialist for Hearts & Hands of Care, a medium-size company with offices in Anchorage and Wasilla that offers adult care services. “When I found out ACC had the HR program, I immediately enrolled,” Barrera says. Her goal is to be promoted to the HR department at Hearts & Hands of Care. No matter how complex federal and state labor laws may be, Hodges likes to remind her students that HR is a field for people who like people. “We’re the people’s people,” Hodges tells her students. “We’re the ones who like to ask if your life is balanced between work and family. Are you getting enough rest? And if we see that you are not, we want to point that out.” The concept is a new way to value the “human capital” in a corporation, Hodges says. “American corporations see their biggest asset is in their human employees. Robots are not going to replace us anytime soon.” But then, robots replacing human workers is another hot topic. Students at ACC like to take on that essentially HR discussion, too. R Naomi Klouda is a Career Services Advisor at Alaska Career College. Klouda is a lifelong Alaskan. She is a freelance writer and editor based in Anchorage and is the former editor of both the Homer Tribune and the Tundra Drums. Contact her at Naomi.Klouda@ alaskacareercollege.edu. May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

SMALL BUSINESS

SBA Small Business of the Year:

Connie Dubay, Cold Spot

By Julie Stricker

n 1985, Connie Dubay had just had her fourth child. She was sitting around her kitchen table with friends drinking coffee trying to figure out how to work from her Fairbanks home when she had an idea. A longtime mushing enthusiast, Dubay started helping her friend Don Glassburn get ready for the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race in 1986. He was looking for a high-quality, affordable dry dog food to pack on the thousand-mile trail. “At that time, there really wasn’t a lot of stuff out there for dog food,” Dubay says. She found a company, National Pet Foods, that was selling a fox food with high fat and 18

protein contents. Glassburn took some on the Quest and even one thousand miles later, “his dogs looked amazing,” Dubay said. Dubay contacted National and asked if they were interested in creating a dog food formulated for working dogs. She and her husband scraped together all their money, $10,000, to buy the first vanload of National dog food. She and the kids put the food in plastic bags and sold it out of the back of their truck. It was a hit. Thirty years later, Dubay’s business, Cold Spot Feeds, is a thriving hub for mushing in Interior Alaska. The business that once operated out of her spare bedroom now employs twenty-eight people and fills a gleaming 22,400-square-foot retail space.

Dubay was named the Small Business Administration Small Business Woman of the year for Alaska in March.

Kitchen Table Idea

Now living most of the year in Hawaii, Dubay marvels at the road that led to Cold Spot’s success. “It’s crazy to think what it is today,” she says. “To think that you could have an idea sitting around a kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee and you could make it happen. It was the right time. It was about luck, timing, gut instinct.” The first couple of years, she ran the business out of a spare bedroom in her house. “It’s actually where I gave birth to my

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

Cold Spot Feeds in Fairbanks is a thriving hub for mushing in Interior Alaska. Left is the current home of Cold Spot Feeds, a 22,400-squarefoot retail store. To the right is the original Cold Spot Feed retail store built in 1992. Owner Connie Dubay was named the Small Business Administration’s Small Business Woman of the Year for Alaska in March. Photos courtesy of Connie Dubay

“It’s crazy to think what it is today. To think that you could have an idea sitting around a kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee and you could make it happen. It was the right time. It was about luck, timing, gut instinct.”

—Connie Dubay Owner, Cold Spot

son,” she says. “Teeny.” It became a mecca for Interior Alaska mushers. One afternoon, Dubay says, George Attla and Harry Sutherland were standing in there and someone told her she needed to sell mushing gear. “It was like a light bulb went on,” she says. “I realized no one else was really doing it.” The timing was right. Mushing was a www.akbizmag.com

growing sport in Interior Alaska. The Iditarod was more than a decade old and the thousand-mile Yukon Quest got off the ground in 1984. Dubay bought a box of brass snaps, then she started carrying Taiga sled dog harnesses made in Two Rivers. “I realized the market was really there,” she says.

Love for the Sport

In 1992, she built a retail store on a frosty corner of Farmers Loop not far from the Mushers Hall in Fairbanks in anticipation of the International Federation of Sleddog Sports competition that year. The rustic wooden building featured walls and shelves cluttered with everything May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

Interior of Cold Spot Feeds current building in Fairbanks. Photos courtesy of

Connie Dubay

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

a musher needed to head out on the trail: harnesses, dog booties, snow hooks, ganglines, dog food, and snacks. She would sell sleds for mushers on consignment. Cold Spot became a comfortable place for mushers to hang out and talk about their dogs, the trails, and exchange information on gear. A wood stove kept the store toasty and there was always coffee and popcorn available. Dubay says she’s gone through six popcorn machines so far. And customers have always been welcome to bring dogs into the store. “My love was always for the sport,” Dubay says. “I’ve always been in awe of it. The business was built on it, but I really genuinely loved it. I couldn’t really race dogs—I was more of a bleacher watcher— but I sure could run a store.” Longtime musher Bill McKee says Dubay has always gone out of her way to help the mushing community, whether it was donating prizes for local races, donating to local charities, or simply listening to what mushers needed and making sure they got it. “I first met her when we moved up here in 1992,” says McKee, who ran the Iditarod in 2000 and still owns a kennel in Two Rivers. “I remember walking in the first day and there was this really friendly woman. I didn’t think she was the boss, I thought she was just working there.” Over the years McKee says he would see Dubay researching trends and she always seemed to have a plan for what was happening next. “She just seemed to have a good idea of what was coming,” he says.

Gear and Mechanics

Dubay says the gear and mechanics of mushing are constantly evolving. “You have to be very creative,” she says. “You’re always tweaking headlamps and ropes and things to make them better all the time. I’ve been able to forecast pretty well. You start to phase out one thing and bring in another. I could see LED (headlamps) coming in Europe.” The path to success had a few major speed bumps. In 1997, she and her husband divorced and she bought out his portion of the business. “It was difficult, to say the least,” she says. “I started over in 1997 with $1,500 in the bank. The business had to be re-evaluated. I did a complete overhaul of every item.” Not all of Dubay’s business decisions have been sound, she admits. “I’ve had some pretty big boo-boos,” she says. “There’s just taking on more than I could handle,” such as when she and her husband Mark, whom she married in 1999, bought a rental supply business. www.akbizmag.com

May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

Connie Dubay (far right) along with Carole Glassburn (left) and Don Glassburn (center) repackaging dog food from the first shipment delivered to Fairbanks in 1987. Photos Courtesy of Connie Dubay

“Sometimes you get so scattered at things that sometimes you have to pull back and do what you do best,” she says. “One of the things that didn’t work so well for me was horse equipment. I don’t know anything about horses. I got that lesson taught to me a few times. What we do best is run that store.”

Practical Expansion

Photo courtesy of Connie Dubay

In 2003, Cold Spot expanded to a building off the Old Steese Highway, but it soon became obvious to Dubay that the site was too small. In 2010, East Fairbanks was boom-

ing, with large national retail chains moving in and new construction going up. “The opportunities were there to really offer something better to the community,” she says. “I wanted something clean and nice. I really felt that it was something mushers would enjoy as well as the community at large.” She moved the business into its current location and expanded to cover more of the pet market. McKee says people were worried Cold Spot would go out of business when PetCo arrived shortly afterward, but Cold Spot had become a destination not just for mushers but for pet owners as well.

Connie’s son, Chris, in front of a hand-made banner promoting National Dog Food in the early days of Cold Spot Feed. 22

Dubay says the expansion was practical. “Mushing wasn’t going to be able to support the people,” she says. “I tapped into a new market as well as kept the older one. I think that Fairbanks is very much a petoriented place. Most people don’t have just one pet, and they seem to be very active with them. I thought it was a good choice and I thought the employees could benefit.” Now in its third decade, Dubay says she still sees familiar faces from the early days of the store, as well as their children and grandchildren. “I’m working with generations of mushers now,” she says. “You’re seeing three generations now. Imagine a company that’s lasted that long.” With a strong manager in place at Cold Spot, the Dubays relocated to Hawaii, where they run an organic coffee plantation they named Aloha Alaska Farm. Dubay plans to put up a sign with the name, and it will feature a dogsled. The move has made its mark on Cold Spot. “Now when you go into the store, they only serve 100 percent organic coffee from my farm,” she says. “You get good coffee and great popcorn.” Dubay says she and Mark check in almost daily, and their computer is linked to the store’s system. “We’re there for them. Any time—by phone, text, or computer,” she says. “I just get to walk around in flip-flops.” R

Julie Stricker is a journalist living near Fairbanks.

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

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HR Matters

By Kevin M. Dee

Great Customer Service Exceed expectations with excellence

traveled a lot last month for work. I experienced fatigue, jet lag, and some logistical nightmares. I was greeted on several stops by people who went out of their way to make my travels easier for me. This tired traveler’s weariness was lightened by the simple kindnesses of great customer service. I can’t begin to express how much it is appreciated. I was shown above and beyond kindness by people who did not have to do so. The service and support stuck with me and definitely turned my tired and grumpy attitude to grateful and relieved.

Wrangling with Eeyore

How many times has someone gone out of their way to help you? To give you service be-

yond your expectations? It makes you remember the person who was being of service and more than likely you will tell others about how great you were treated. When I facilitate customer service classes, we could spend hours on the examples of good and bad service. Many businesses want to and claim to be service oriented but fall far short of meeting customer expectations. Just try calling a company you deal with regularly and listen for “Your call is important to us… please hold.” And then, as you sit there in voice mail hell hoping someone of reasonable competence will eventually pick up your call, you begin to wonder how important this call really is to them. If my call is truly important, why have I been stuck on hold for eighteen minutes? Finally, someone picks up and sounds as tired and despondent as you feel and you realize that Eeyore is on the other end of the call. After wrangling with Eeyore for twenty minutes and listening to “that will never happen…” and “you must be doing something wrong” delivered in Eeyorespeak, you decide to ask for a manager. After

ten more minutes on hold you are disconnected. Is there really any reason to wonder why phone rage is on the rise?

No Robots, Please

Companies tout their customer service as exemplary and management will argue that it is a cost-effective measure to have more automated systems that can handle all the transactions—but they are wrong. People want a person to talk to when things go wrong, not an automated labyrinth designed by the Marquis de Sade designed to test the very limits of your sanity. No one remembers an efficient computerized customer service system. It’s more like we have varying degrees of frustrated tolerance for them. And our attitudes on how we are being treated by the robot-voiced systems translate to how we feel about those companies as well. The designers of these systems even have a name for when you get so frustrated you start repeatedly pressing “0” to get a human. They call it “zeroing out.” It is in essence the frustrated repeat smashing of 0 as an alternative to committing an act of violence. Customer service is not rocket science. We all want to be treated respectfully, and when we call we want someone knowledgeable to fix the problem or at least be compassionate on the other end of the phone.

Basic Steps

There are some basic steps that if practiced will drive customer satisfaction and retention. Here is how to begin to exceed expectations:  Have a plan. It’s not enough to just have a procedure. Great customer service requires that whoever is delivering the service(s) has a great attitude to start with. Without an attitude of appreciation customer satisfaction goes down. Customers can hear and feel when you are smiling even over the phone.  Pay the front line customer service people as if your company’s future depended on them because it does. Oftentimes customer service positions are some of the lowest paid entry level positions who also happen to have the most contact with your customers. If you hire and pay people so they will be happy taking care of your customers they might 24

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

just stop Facebooking and looking for better paying positions during work hours.  Listen fully and acknowledge whatever is said as a valid problem from their point of view. Then apologize whether it’s you, someone else, your company, or their dog that is at fault. It really doesn’t matter whose fault it is. Just apologize. Show empathy for their frustration.  Make customer service everyone’s job not just the front line. Staff it adequately so hold times are a minute or less. There is a corollary that says that your external customer service is only as good as your internal customer service. So if employees are not treating each other well internally then how can you expect them to treat external customers well? Your company culture is key.  Don’t hire Eeyore for customer service or support positions. If you find them in your workforce they need to change or you should promote them to the job market. That way they can go to where Eeyores all live (bad cultured companies). Hire for attitude; train for skill. Also, bad customer service can sometimes be attributed to bad management decisions that place unreasonable demands on front line employees to deliver customer

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service. So, focus on the solution needed to fix the problem and determine what your capacity is to deliver service. Use fact based information to determine this and not opinions. Then communicate your level of service to your customers.  Give customer service as much authority as possible to make customers happy even if it costs you. Unhappy customers will likely tell up to seven people how poorly they were treated and satisfied customers will maybe tell up to five if the service was exemplary. Can you really afford any bad service?  Finally, ask your customers what they want and expect. Different customers have different expectations. The best companies anticipate what a customer wants and exceeds their expectations with excellence.

Superior Customer Service

There is a restaurant in Boston called Durgin Park where they built a reputation for rude and surly service. Guests sat at long tables with other patrons and servers treated everyone as if they were petulant four year olds. The servers would tell people off and tell them what they were going to get for dinner. It is hilarious! The restaurant was jammed by patrons who came to just

be treated that way. They built a reputation on rudeness that still exists and works today. It would not work in a restaurant that pretends to give good customer service and delivers the “Durgin Park” treatment. It’s a bunch of horse feathers when companies tell me that I am important and then do everything they can to disprove that. Superior customer service systems—whether live or automated—make all the difference in a world of overwhelming choices and not enough time. You will now be put on hold and hear some pleasant elevator music while you decide what to do. R Kevin M. Dee has a master’s degree from Vanderbilt University and is the president of KMD Services & Consulting. He has more than twenty-eight years of experience providing leadership development, organizational development, and human resource services in Alaska and internationally. Contact him at mail@kmdconsulting.biz.

May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

VISITOR INDUSTRY

Planning Alaska’s Top Events Organizers, sponsors, and volunteers are key By Tasha Anderson

t’s hard to imagine a better venue than a warm Alaska summer. The days are long, the scenery is beautiful, and Alaskans and visitors alike are energized by the nearly endless sun. It’s no wonder the flurry of events and festivals that take place around the state featuring live music, local art and food vendors, and the company of interesting people. But while the midnight sun conveniently arranges its own schedule, Alaska’s events and festivals aren’t quite so lucky.

Slam’n Salm’n

For Angelique Miller, development and outreach director for the Downtown Soup Kitchen, about the only part of the Slam’n Salm’n Derby (June 10-19) that she doesn’t need to organize is the fish; they arrange their own transportation to one of the Downtown Soup Kitchen’s annual fundraising events. For the last twelve years, the Downtown Soup Kitchen has used this tenday derby both as a fundraiser and as an awareness event. Miller has been pulling together Slam’n Salm’n, a king salmon derby, for the last five years. She says that to prepare for the June derby, a planning committee, which she is a part of, starts meeting as soon as January; but that’s not the beginning of the process, as sometimes the fall previous she’ll be in contact with companies about possible sponsorship. “The real connec26

tions and commitments are made early in the year of the derby,” Miller says. Any organizer of an annual event will say that a big part of the planning process is the re-planning process: after the event is over, what went right, what went wrong, and what needs to change? Miller says a few of their adjustments over the last few years have been successful. One is their system of prizes. “In the past we’ve had boats or things that have been a typical fisherman type of prize, but last year and this year we have gone to first and second prize actually being gold and silver,” she says, specifically gold coins and silver bars. A boat is a fantastic prize, but it’s like the famed white elephant, it can be a challenge: visitors to Alaska that participate in the derby may not have planned to make arrangements to transport a boat home; not everyone can store a boat; and selling a boat that one can’t use can be a time consuming task. Miller says derby participants seem to appreciate the new prizes, which are still sought after and exciting while being a little more practical for most. Plus, that’s just first and second place; there are many derby categories that still have typical outdoorsman prizes, as well as prizes from other local restaurants and businesses. Finding sponsors is a significant portion of Miller’s process, especially because of one of the derby’s other recent changes: tickets to participate in the Slam’n Salm’n

derby are free, so all of the derby’s funding comes from their sponsors. “Initially you paid for the tickets,” Miller says. Her first year planning the derby was the first year of free tickets. “Our board decided it wouldn’t be done that way anymore and that tickets would be free. I’ll be really honest, we made more money than ever before when we went that route,” Miller says. In 2015 the derby raised $54,000, and Miller says that they’ve raised even more in years previous.

Constant Coordination

The success of any event never depends on just one person. “A good committee is definitely helpful. It’s such a wide range of things you do in preparation for an event that’s ten days long,” Miller says. For example, the Slam’n Salm’n headquarters are located across from the Ulu Factory on Ship Creek Avenue; the headquarters are temporary and need to be put up and taken down each year. Also, the land around Ship Creek in this area is owned by the Alaska Railroad, with which Miller coordinates every year for the event. The Slam’n Salm’n derby includes prizes for tagged fish, so a member of the committee works with the Department of Fish and Game to make sure that’s all appropriately done. Another piece of the derby puzzle is advertising, and Miller says their Super King sponsor Microcom has been a boon in that aspect.

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

This year she’s also coordinating with the Downtown Summer Solstice Festival, which will take place the day before the derby closes. Plus, she wants to add a conservation/educational aspect to the derby—for example, giving an opportunity to one of the biologists at the William Jack Hernandez Sport Fish Hatchery to speak or having fish cleaning demonstrations. All told, it’s a lot of work; Miller credits the derby’s awesome volunteers—she says they have ninety to ninety-five volunteers each year, aside from the committee, who set up and man the derby headquarters, fondly called the Derby Shack, which is open every hour it’s legal to fish; during the king salmon season, that’s 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. “It takes quite an army of volunteers to help at the derby headquarters,” Miller says. She continues that roughly two thousand people participated in the derby last year, and they expect that number to go up by perhaps a hundred or so this year.

Mount Marathon

“We start planning [Mount Marathon] the year before,” says GeNeil Flaherty, who manages public relations and events for the Seward Chamber of Commerce. “We start immediately after the race; we go through the post planning and then we start mov-

ing forward.” A few of the many race details reviewed include the locations of the volunteers, the headquarters, the volunteer t-shirts, and bib set up. “We have a Mount Marathon Race Committee that does most of the hardcore work for us, and I’m the one who coordinates meetings and gets main things done as far as getting t-shirts ordered, making sure the racers are registered properly, etc.” Flaherty says. Registration for Mount Marathon, which takes place on the Fourth of July, isn’t as clear cut as applying and then running up the mountain. The race gives priority status to certain racers, such as previous winners or junior racers who have aged into the adult groups. Other race slots are filled through a lottery, and a few spots are auctioned off every year before the race. Flaherty says that an IT company monitors Mount Marathon’s website, making sure that PayPal is working correct and so forth. Registration opens January 1 and is only open through March 31; however, the work isn’t over in March or even in July as other paperwork is reviewed by the committee, including petitions, due on March 1, and waivers, which have to be filed by September 30. Flaherty says that one of their significant changes from past races regards race times.

“We tweaked it a little bit to give more time for racers to come down the mountain and not run into others from the prior race or the Mini Mount Marathon or the parade,” she says. The committee also implemented a policy that in even numbered years the women race last and in odd years men race last. “[The race] is becoming more popular for women, and as soon as the men race people leave and don’t get to watch the women race. This gives an opportunity for people to meet the women and watch the women and be excited,” Flaherty says.

Timelines and Traffic Flow

Seward is a small town, with a population of approximately three thousand yearround residents. “On [July 4] we can get thirty thousand to forty thousand people coming to visit,” Flaherty says. “When I first moved in 2012 I was thinking, ‘Where do they all go?’ and I just don’t know.’” Mount Marathon requires coordination of nearly the entire city for things to go as smoothly as possible, including opening up spaces such as school grounds for tents and camping and the ball park for parking space. “We were stretched all the way to Moose Pass and Cooper Landing,” Flaherty says. “We definitely work with the police department and fire department and our

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May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

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emergency vehicles,” she continues. While every measure is taken to ensure the safety of the runners, the goal of the race is to run up and down a mountain; accidents can happen and people can be hurt. Flaherty says that volunteers actually direct traffic for the event. “The police department is there for security purposes,” she says. “They’re not our traffic control because we don’t have that kind of manpower in the police department.” Flaherty also coordinates with the city for permits for electricity, vendors, and so forth. Flaherty is also responsible for two other Seward events, the Halibut Tournament that runs the entire month of June and the Silver Salmon Derby, this year taking place August 13-21. She also organizes a Military Appreciation Week in May. To keep it all organized and moving forward, “You learn how to walk on hot coals,” she laughs. She says her lifeline is a timeline. “I’ve got a timeline that has been created by the people that used to do this job, and then I tweak it a little bit for what I have to do.” For instance, this year they decided to use a new advertising company that is producing printed guides in April for the events; this print deadline is earlier than in times past, resulting in an altered schedule across the board. This year is the first year that Flaherty is in this particular role, and she says the input of the committee and coworkers is invaluable. “I have a great director; she has done this job before and she’s been a part of this for a very long time, so she’s been very helpful in guiding me.” Many committee members, she says, have run the race themselves or have otherwise been involved with it for many years. All of the priority racers are encouraged to participate as volunteers, and many do, but Flaherty says that many people from the community volunteer to do everything from traffic coordination, stuffing runner bags, to dispersing bibs and t-shirts. “I could definitely say we have more than two hundred volunteers,” Flaherty says. She’s been keeping notes as she goes, and she’s already looking forward to utilizing those next year, though her job “truly is a year-round thing,” she says. One thing she did do this year that she’s seeing good result from was reaching out to sponsors earlier than others had in the past. “I’ve been getting a better response back; it gave them time to look over the information and make a decision based on their new fiscal year financials. So yeah, I start early.” R Tasha Anderson is an Associate Editor for Alaska Business Monthly.

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

MEETINGS PAY IN ANCHORAGE Paul Cyr and Valerie Blajeski THE MEETING:

SOBA National Boating Access Conference August 28-31, 2017 200 delegates Estimated Economic Impact: $388,000

THANK YOU ANCHORAGE MEETING CHAMPIONS!

The States Organization for Boating Access, focused on recreation boating access in the U.S., will meet in Anchorage. The meeting didn’t just float Anchorage’s way. Alaskans Paul Cyr and Valerie Blajeski charted a course for the conference to call on the city in 2017. Delegates will ride into Anchorage on a wave of enthusiasm, thanks to help from these two Alaskans. And the meeting will put a little wind in the sails of our economy.

ARE YOU A MEMBER OF AN ASSOCIATION? CONTACT VISIT ANCHORAGE TO BRING YOUR GROUP TO TOWN: MEETINGS@ANCHORAGE.NET | 907.257.2341

TELECOM & TECHNOLOGY

GCI continues to invest in Alaskaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s industrial clients as well as its regular business and consumer clients. Courtesy of GCI Industrial Telecom

Field and Office Technical Solutions Continue to Evolve Enhancing connectivity, collaboration, and productivity for employees By Tracy Barbour

laska’s telecommunications and technology companies offer a wide range of field and office technical solutions to help businesses maintain and enhance their operations. And as workforce mobility increasingly accelerates, technology continues to evolve. Modern offerings for voice, wireless, Internet, and other services make it easier for employees to stay connected and productive—whether they’re working at a desk or a remote location. Here is a look at some of the field and office technical solutions available from major providers in the state.

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May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

Courtesy of GCI Industrial Telecom

GCI/GCI Industrial Telecom

General Communication, Inc. (GCI) understands the critical nature of providing reliable remote connectivity to Alaska businesses, according to Mark Johnson, senior manager of business development at GCI Industrial Telecom, a subsidiary of GCI. That’s why it offers remote solutions ranging from its Industrial Mobile Communication Solution to quick-deploy Very-SmallAperture Terminal systems—which are basically portable Internet satellite solutions. GCI’s Industrial Mobile Communication Solution is a fully-managed mobile resource that provides a hosted suite of services. And it’s an example of how GCI continues to invest in technologies that increase value to its clients, according to Johnson. Over the last ten years, GCI’s direct investment in Alaska’s communication infrastructure has exceeded $2.5 billion. GCI’s Industrial Mobile Communications Solution is a portable mobile system.

GCI Industrial Telecom also offers the option of extending GCI’s client-specific voice and data networks via a secure multi-carrier-capable cellular connection. This allows users throughout Alaska and the Lower 48 to effectively connect through voice, data, and video-service technologies while in the field. “Recent deployments have included offshore seismic vessels and remote job offices,” Johnson says. “These situations require a more efficient way to communicate.” The modern-day workforce has become accustomed to being connected, no matter where their work is taking place. The need for increased bandwidth for remote sites, radio-frequency identification tracking of assets, and personnel, digital dispatch systems—and even polar bear radar tracking systems—are not uncommon within the industrial sector, Johnson says. GCI Industrial Telecom’s machine to machine and supervisory control and data acquisition network products reduce operating costs for distant facilities. They allow companies to remotely monitor well-site and tank pressure gauges, flare temperatures, security cameras at check points, heavy equipment usage trends, generator health, AWOS airport cameras, and conditions. “We all expect immediate connectivity even in areas which require C1D1 [Class 1

Division 1 rating] devices to track dangerous shipments,” Johnson says. “GCI can help our clients reach those goals and remain safe.” In the area of office technical solutions, GCI touts its Office Complete. The total office solution, which costs $74.99 per user per month, is ideal for small businesses with up to ten users, according to GCI Business Product Marketing Manager Angie Burris. Office Complete includes Cloud Voice premium hosted Voice over Internet Protocol phone system, 50 Mbps (megabytes per second) broadband Internet connection, Wi-Fi for the office, 100 GB (gigabytes) cloud storage, 100 GB cloud back up, twenty-five email addresses, set-up/installation, and support. Customers can upgrade to Cloud Voice App to be able to make and receive calls with their business number from their mobile device. “Flexible services like Office Complete allow businesses to consume what they need and grow at their own pace,” Burris says. In addition, GCI IT Solutions offers business customers the ability to simplify IT. Solutions can include managed services, such as firewall, server, and PC management. GCI, which has more than thirty-five years of experience in Alaska, has a team of engineers, architects, and technicians who will take time to understand the customer’s unique

business challenges and design a solution to improve performance, optimize resources, and lower costs, according to Burris. “GCI IT Solutions will team up with your organization to implement solutions or improve upon one that is already in place,” she says.

Alaska Communications

Alaska Communications is keen on using technology to help solve business challenges to help businesses grow. It accomplishes this by listening to customers, understanding their business challenge, and working with them to design, custom build, and manage reliable network and IT solutions, according to Vice President of Managed Services Chris Reaburn. “We’ve been connecting Alaska businesses for over one hundred years, so we have a thorough understanding of the local business environment and changing needs of businesses,” Reaburn says. Mobility, productivity, security, collaboration, and business continuity are key concerns, Reaburn says. Alaska Communications offers a variety of technology solutions that address these areas. Voice over Internet is a prime example. This latest generation of voice technology is a cloud-based phone service that gives customers increased mobility, more options for connecting and

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collaborating, streamlined operations, and one network for voice and data. Alaska Communications also offers collaboration tools to support businesses with workers in Alaska, the Lower 48, and across the globe, according to Director of Product Management Jim Gutcher. For instance, Microsoft Office 365 lets businesses avoid having to purchase software, email, or file storage up front, which can be costly. Instead, customers pay a monthly subscription—starting at $5 per month per user—that provides access to the services they need as well as software updates. Alaska Communications helps businesses choose and install the most appropriate plan, as well as provides support. Skype for Business is another increasingly popular service that helps groups work better together. Priced at $2 a month per user, it is ideal for holding group audio and video meetings on any device, conducting online meetings, and collaborating through inter-office messaging. “Mobility is about being able to do your work from just about anywhere,” Gutcher says. “Solutions like Voice over Internet, Office 365, and Skype for Business are enabling businesses and their employees to do just that.” While mobility is important, having a reliable, secure network to run applications is essential, Gutcher says. It ensures that the data mobile employees share from home, a hotel, an airport, a coffee shop, or anywhere else is secure. “Our network is redundant for greater reliability,” he says. “We have two diverse fiber paths between Anchorage and Fairbanks, two network monitoring centers, and two geographically diverse submarine cables connecting Alaska to the Lower 48.” Small and medium-sized businesses are increasingly finding it difficult to manage their IT systems, network monitoring, technology budgeting and planning, and help desk support, according to Reaburn. As a result, more businesses need and want help with their IT services. Alaska Communications boasts industry-certified experts with top credentials to assist with everything from antivirus protection and spam blocking to intrusion protection and managed firewall. “We can be a company’s full-fledged IT firm or help augment their existing staff,” he says. Take Anchorage Montessori School, for example. The school wanted to concentrate on providing education services, not running and maintaining an IT network, servers, and security. So Alaska Communications delivers an ongoing solution. “We can do that for them cost-effectively, so they aren’t worried about their IT, and they www.akbizmag.com

May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

Courtesy of Alaska Communications

Anchorage Montessori School relies on Alaska Communications technology and IT network support and maintenance to keep its students, teachers, and administration connected and focused on education.

can focus on what they do best—educating Alaska’s youth,” Reaburn explains. Alaska Communications also offers secure private networks, offsite data storage, and other services to meet companies’ field and office technology needs.

AT&T

AT&T is an integrated solutions provider with a simple approach: connect, protect, and mobilize. “We begin by developing an understanding of the client’s business, creating a personalized solution to solve their business problems, and then demonstrate how it will work to improve efficiencies and help drive costs out of the business,” explains Amy Merchant, Small Business Solutions, AT&T Alaska. Merchant says AT&T is also seeing more businesses gravitate toward mobilizing their workforce. They’re demanding mobile access to everything they have in their office, and this is driving the demand for cloud computing. A significant network transformation is underway to move away from hardware toward a more flexible, efficient, and fast software network environment, she says. 34

“AT&T offers a host of mobile field solutions for all business verticals to drive growth, provide instant answers from analytics apps, deepen customer relationships with engaging, contextual content, and can help transform businesses with industryspecific applications,” Merchant says. Some examples are AT&T Enhanced Push-to-Talk (EPTT) for instantly connecting employees and applications and AT&T Workforce Manager to wirelessly track and monitor fleets as well as enhance efficiency. AT&T EPTT enables communication between large groups and makes it easier to manage mobile workers. It allows dispatchers to instantly see the location of EPTT users on a map on their PC, enabling more efficient work assignments. AT&T WorkForce Manager strengthens communication between dispatchers and mobile workers. The application optimizes the process of tracking and monitoring employees’ field activities; creating and dispatching work orders; timekeeping and messaging; and building electronic forms. To foster mobile protection, AT&T offers AccessMyLAN. A mobile remote access solution, AccessMyLAN connects devices

like smartphones, tablets, and laptops to corporate local area networks via the AT&T wireless network. It’s designed to allow secure mobile access to business applications, files, and emails while being easy to manage and install. AT&T strives to offer a variety of mobile solutions to help its customer be more productive and efficient, Merchant says. “We are always looking for the best ways to help our customers,” she says. In terms of technical solutions to connect and protect office workers, AT&T offers Business Premium with Microsoft Office 365 and Vulnerability Scanning Services. Business Premium with Microsoft Office 365 is a bundled plan of cloud-based services that provides access to advanced productivity tools, including email, document creation, storage and collaboration, and conferencing—from almost any device. The services deliver IT functions at a predictable monthly cost, which eliminates the need to buy and manage servers and inhouse IT resources. Vulnerability Scanning Services is a collection of security consulting solutions that can help protect users’ information assets.

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

It helps determine the security posture by scanning one or all of the IP addresses that support the operations and identifies network-connected devices such as servers, workstations, routers, and firewalls. AT&T is constantly evolving with customers’ needs, Merchant says. A significant concern for customers has been having the ability to securely access the Internet at any moment on any device anywhere in the world. “This is driving the need for big data and data analytics, cyber security, IoT [the Internet of Things], and transforming the network for a digital-first world,” she says.

Matanuska Telephone Association Matanuska Telephone Association (MTA) provides a range of solutions that extend the capability of office technical solutions in the field. Options include TechRemote remote monitoring, mobile workstations, virtual private networks, Wi-Fi, and local 24/7 support for remote workers connectivity, tele-commuter and remote worker solutions, and automated service ordering via tablets. These resources in the field minimize errors and help to maximize and improve billing accuracy, according to Director of Marketing and Sales Carolyn Hanson. MTA will soon be launching a new mobility offering called Business Supreme. The phone system product will enable workers to have the features of their office phone on their mobile phone and other devices. Office technology solutions from MTA include IP business phone systems, Wi-Fi hot spots (private and public), TechExpress DeskTop Support, LAN/WAN network design and installation, and video-conferencing. Today, there is much greater integration of devices and their capabilities between office and field devices, Hanson says. There is also more reliance on mobile technology and less dependence on office-centric solutions. Additionally, there is an increasing demand for tablets, so work can be performed at a high level of production on the go without being at the traditional work station. And as technology has evolved, the functionalities of the office have been extended to mobile devices, resulting in more robust and more complicated equipment. “Mobile devices have created a 24/7 society, and consumers demand that businesses meet these immediate needs for information and service,” Hanson says. In addition, Hanson says, there is a steadily increasing need for Internet bandwidth on mobile devices and in the office setting, due to the high consumption of data usage. “People expect to be connected at all times, regardless of their physical location,” she says. www.akbizmag.com

Verizon

Verizon is empowering small and locallyowned business owners in Alaska to integrate wireless technology that was previously available only to enterprise customers, according to Verizon Alaska Vice President Demian Voiles. The company’s products and services have provided a platform to bring information together and make it accessible from anywhere, allowing people and devices to be connected in a matter of seconds, Voiles says. This has made a difference in the way businesses connect to the community, villages, and people they serve on a daily basis.

“The needs of Alaska businesses are unique in their requirements based on terrain and geographical locations,” Voiles says. “Verizon has the resources and experience available in Alaska to connect, qualify, and architect secure and reliable solutions that meet the needs of those we serve.” Wireless connectivity gives businesses greater flexibility and promotes business continuity. “If you’re looking to expand your business quickly and easily, wireless solutions provide primary network access in remote or temporary locations where wired connectivity is not feasible or cost-effective,” Voiles explains. “In the event of a network service

May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

“If you’re looking to expand your business quickly and easily, wireless solutions provide primary network access in remote or temporary locations where wired connectivity is not feasible or costeffective. In the event of a network service outage, wireless backup network connectivity allows you to continue doing business, which helps protect you from costly downtime.”

—Demian Voiles Vice President, Verizon Alaska

outage, wireless backup network connectivity allows you to continue doing business, which helps protect you from costly downtime.” Verizon offers select WWAN and IoT Router Service to provide businesses with a reliable primary or backup connection. The company offers a myriad of other solutions to support business with employees in the field. For instance, Voice over LTE provides high-definition voice and video calling that allows mobile customers to receive natural-sounding, consistent audio service. The Networkfleet telematics solution from Verizon is transforming the way fleets operate by providing actionable data to improve efficiency and reduce costs. Network-

fleet interfaces directly with a vehicle’s engine computer to monitor critical data, such as mileage, speed, fuel use, and engine diagnostic trouble codes. “The online application offers secure 24/7 online and mobile access to fleet information, robust reporting capabilities, and reliable tracking of fixed and movable fleet assets with the Asset Guard product line,” he explains. Alaska businesses can also take advantage of Verizon’s purpose-built tablets and toughpads designed for professionals who spend a significant amount of time working from the road or outdoors. Verizon’s XBP solution gives customers access to an alternative landline phone

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using their existing Internet connection. Voiles says XBP telephony can save companies from 30 to 50 percent versus traditional providers while offering a suite of productivity features at no additional cost. “If the primary Internet service goes dark for any reason, Verizon 4G LTE modem will light up to carry the voice and data,” Voiles explains. “The wireless modem hands the connection back to the primary service when it’s stable once more.” Earlier this year, Verizon launched 4G LTE Network Extender for Enterprise to enhance indoor wireless coverage. The solution—designed to cover locations of ten thousand to one hundred thousand square feet—transforms dead zones into work zones. It helps smartphones and tablets stay connected inside buildings, which means team members can make calls, send email, and connect through enterprise applications with fewer interruptions. “The best part is 4G LTE Network Extender for Enterprise is expandable, so it can grow with a business to cover more mobile devices and more square footage,” Voiles say. R Freelance writer Tracy Barbour is a former Alaskan.

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Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

MOTIVE POWER MARINE Representing the spirit of Alaska

ike many businesses in Alaska, Motive Power Marine started small with a big dream. Today, the shiprepair contractor—which began in 2012 as a one-man operation in a 40-foot container—has 16 employees and has worked with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, oil and gas companies, commercial fishing fleets in Alaska and the Pacific North West, seafood processing facilities and shore-side civil construction companies. Recently, Motive Power Marine earned the Navy’s coveted NAVSEA welding certification. “This company represents the true spirit of Alaska,” says President Ben McDowell.

track record of completing projects on time and on budget,” he says. Motive Power Marine has also distinguished itself as a customer-driven, industrial-services contractor capable of handling any challenge. The company’s expertise has enabled it to perform some of the most technically-challenging work in some of the most logistically-formidable areas—and during some of Alaska’s harshest weather. Last winter in Naknek, for example, it completed a comprehensive project to replace the bottom shell and tunnel sections on a tug boat during brutal weather. Regardless of the project conditions or complexity, Motive Power Marine prioritizes employee health and safety. The company works hard to maintain a zero-incident culture through employee training and a safety-conscious regimen. “The resulting success of implementing this program has been seen in thousands upon thousands of man hours worked without a lost time incident,” McDowell says.

COMMITMENT TO EXCEED Motive Power Marine’s evolution has been driven by its commitment to exceed customer expectations and ability to adjust to dynamic changes in the scope, direction, logistics and delivery dates of projects—even while they are in midstream. “A lot of this comes from an innovative project management approach that involves teams constantly assessing the scope and direction of their project and maintaining an open line of communication with the customer,” McDowell explains. “This means remaining open to the fact that they can alter course at any time to ensure their project meets changing needs.” A prime example of this is the company’s work on Alaska’s commercial fishing fleet. These customers have limited windows of time to get work completed on their vessels. “Within these short time periods, there is no room for unwieldy management practices,” McDowell says.

CONSTANT SEARCH TO EXPAND Since its inception, Motive Power Marine has constantly searched for ways to expand its business, capacity and capability. The company got its start working with Alaska’s commercial fishing fleet, doing everything from repairing vessels to repurposing and modernizing them. Although its menu of services centers itself around welding and fabrication, Motive Power Marine continues to grow its mechanical division, which focuses on marine propulsion, power generation, and industrial engine service and repair. The division also offers service and support on hydraulic, electrical and marine refrigeration systems. “Our diesel technicians are highly-qualified and factorytrained in the complete Caterpillar, EMD, Cummins, John Deere and Detroit Diesel engine lines,” McDowell says.

UNIQUE EXPERTISE Motive Power Marine has a unique expertise in Alaska’s marine market. Alaskans make up almost 100 percent of its crew, many of whom have commercial fishing and Alaska shipyard backgrounds. Employees are Motive Power Marine’s most valuable asset, McDowell says. Tapping into this experience allows the company to both engage in diverse projects and provide ultra-competitive firm-fi xed pricing. “We have a proven –

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TRANSPORTATION John Parrott, left, Bill Popp, and Ethan Berkowitz sign the Memorandum of Agreement that created the Alaska AeroNexus Alliance in January at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. Photo by Rob Stapleton/ Courtesy of Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport

Alaska AeroNexus Alliance Partnership aims to attract industry and generate jobs By Kailee Wallis

“

ur state, and therefore our city and our residents, are facing a bit of a fiscal crisis. That presents, and we hear on a daily basis, plenty of danger. It also presents a way to make people think of a different way of doing things. It presents an opportunity. Signing this memorandum is the first step in the way of trying to take advantage of this opportunity… and think of a different way of doing things,” said Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport Manager John Parrott at the announcement of the AeroNexus partnership in late January. The Alaska AeroNexus Alliance (A3) is a partnership created among the stateowned Ted Steven Anchorage International Airport (Anchorage airport), the Munici38

pality of Anchorage, and the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation. This unique partnership was created through a Memorandum of Agreement signed by the heads of the three entities with the purpose of developing and expanding the business that the airport is capable of and to make the airport a more marketable space for international flights to use as a re-fueling and distribution center. Aero stands for aeronautics, the centralized focus of importance being on airport development, and Nexus stands for coming together. A3 will serve as a unified voice of the big contenders with which potential companies and industries would need to enter into discussions in order to begin doing business at the Anchorage airport. These potential companies will be sought out by A3 to expand the international business at the airport and increase the amount of cargo landings at the Anchorage airport. “We’re identifying lines of global supply chains and different industries that we think might have an advantage if they make an investment here, on the ground… we’re going to be pitching those industries later this year and into next year. In terms of why we think they should give Anchorage a real hard look in terms of a place to make an investment,” said Bill Popp, Anchorage Economic Development Corporation CEO. Anchorage airport’s centralized standpoint between Asia and North America makes it nine and a half hours from most industrial locations, according to the airport. This makes

Anchorage an ideal pit stop for cargo landings—often used as a “technical stop” for international flights, adds Parrott. The airport, already capable of taking in mass amounts of cargo landings, wants to attract different industries to use Anchorage as their hub.

Exclusive Privileges

Alaska also has exclusive privileges, granted by the Department of Transportation in 2004. These privileges allow the Anchorage airport to have expanded cargo transfer rights within North America and among the carriers that land there. This allows cargo planes to shuffle cargo between planes and carriers without being subject to federal regulations, because it is still considered to be on its international journey when it lands in Alaska. This also permits Anchorage airport to allow domestic freight forwarders to purchase space on flights and then become the domestic carrier because they “own” the cargo, which can be done without prior approval. Anywhere else in North America, this is a federal offense and explaining to international carriers that they have the opportunity to take advantage as Anchorage as more than just a re-fueling stop sometimes takes some convincing, says Parrott. These capabilities contribute to the efficiencies of global supply—specifically the supply chain that connects Asia to North America. This same offers stands at the Fairbanks International Airport; however, since Anchorage is the larger of the two, it attracts these cargo flights. Parrott adds that the Fairbanks International

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

Airport’s identical privileges allow for reassurance for international cargo planes when choosing Alaska as their destination.

A Lot to Offer

Whether the Anchorage airport is used for distribution to the North West and beyond or as an exchange stop from carrier to carrier, A3 is ready to take on the new business and market themselves to new industries as a hub. Parrott says that stopping at the airport is “more than just getting gas” because Anchorage has a lot of services and entities to offer new international partners. The A3 not only provides a marketable advantage to potential customers but it also answers pertinent questions for potential industries. By being able to answer any question about airport capabilities and the utilities and land available to inquiring businesses, the airport and the Municipality of Anchorage can offer a unified voice with those answers. With the additional help Anchorage Economic Development Corporation provides, they are able to research and hone in on those industries that may not know what advantages Alaska could offer them in their international routes.

Researching Industries

Global Logistics Development, which is an investment advisory firm that specializes in

transportation and supply chain management, has been working together with A3 to research some of those industries that may not have considered Anchorage as a market hub for their goods. Some of the new industries that A3 is targeting include pharmaceuticals, automotive, and electronics. “What we’re trying to do is get more jobs that can take advantage of that incredible lift capacity that is closer to all the major industrialized cities in the world than any other location on the planet in terms of a centralized location. And we think that there are a lot of supply chains that have missed that, that is our belief,” said Popp. When asked what specific businesses A3 has decided to target, Popp stressed that they are not at that stage of development yet. “By this summer, we will be making some of those first presentations of business propositions,” says Will Kyzer, Anchorage Economic Development Corporation airport business development director. Popp agrees with Kyzer and mentions that summer could be anywhere from May to September. “We want to be completely ready,” affirms Popp. Kyzer, whose job was created in June 2015, serves as a liaison between existing and potential airport businesses and answers their questions about Anchorage’s competitive advantage as a hub. This pro-

vides potential businesses who are surveying Anchorage with a “unified voice” that is the A3, says Kyzer.

Job Generator

As the business triage looks for new industries to attract to the airport, they describe the different advantages the new and expanded business capabilities will bring to Alaska locally. The Anchorage airport already provides strong business development to Anchorage, says Parrott. According to Parrott, the airport generates one in ten jobs in Anchorage. “Clearly this airport is a foundation of our city,” says Parrott. With the growth that may come through new businesses using Anchorage as their centralized core stop, the growth of jobs at the airport will continue to benefit the Anchorage community. “If we’re successful we’re going to see some great new jobs coming into Anchorage in the next several years, as well as growth in our tax base, and a broader economic diversity in our community,” said Popp. Mayor Berkowitz adds, “We want to make sure the business in this community can continue to grow and prosper.” R Kailee Wallis is a freelance journalist living in Anchorage.

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May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

CONSTRUCTION

Designing to LEED Standards Building greater sustainability By Rindi White

laska isn’t in the top ten states with the most green buildings per capita, not even close. With fewer than fifty buildings across the state certified with LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, Alaska lags far behind other states when it comes to the average number of square feet of LEED-certified space per resident. But that’s slowly changing. Alaska architecture and engineering firms report a growing interest in LEED-certified construction and, perhaps more importantly, a wider availability of sustainable building products, such as paint with low emissions. According to some Alaska-based firms with LEED experience, the trend toward sustainable building practices goes deeper than that. “For most design firms [locally and nationally] the principals of LEED have become the new standard of practice. In that case… if you want a building that is LEED Certified, we will deliver you one. If you don’t want one, we are still designing around those standards as the minimum anyway,” says McCool Carlson Green Principal Architect Jason Gamache.

What is LEED?

LEED is a comprehensive standard of construction that aims to help building owners and operators be environmentally responsible and use resources more effectively. LEED is a registered trademark of the US Green Building Council, or USGBC. The LEED green building program is the preeminent program for the design, construction, maintenance, and operations of highperformance green buildings. According to a press release by USGBC, LEED-certified buildings and spaces “use fewer energy and water resources, save money for families, businesses and taxpayers, reduces carbon emissions, creates jobs and establishes a healthier environment for resi40

Bettisworth North was the architect for the Fort Wainwright 348 AAC Hangar project, which received LEED Gold certification. © Ken Graham Photography.com

dents, workers and the larger community.” Some municipalities, state agencies, and federal departments require that new buildings be LEED certified, says Lyle Axelarris, a structural engineer at Design Alaska and member of the LEED version 4 Regionalization Task Force, which aims to incorporate regional details in the latest version of LEED design standards.

Several federal executive orders laid out requirements that construction of federal buildings meet “Guiding Principles for High Performance Sustainable Buildings,” principles that align closely to LEED standards and have led agencies to mandate LEED certification for new buildings and some existing buildings. In Alaska, about one-third of the LEED-certified buildings

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

that have been built are federally owned. LEED is a global certification program, with more than 180 countries participating. It’s the most broadly recognized green building certifications in the world, but Axelarris says organizers make an effort to keep LEED both relevant and approachable in every country using the standards. “The rating system has to be somewhat www.akbizmag.com

uniform and still meet a certain standard,” he says. “There is some uniformity across different building types and locations, and it’s a standard that is enforced pretty rigorously. It’s a strong certification to stand behind.” However, LEED doesn’t work for every government body. The Municipality of Anchorage in 2009 passed a requirement that new city buildings be LEED certified but re-

pealed the ordinance in 2011 after a building council found several flaws with the measure, including doubts as to whether LEED certified buildings actually use less energy. The municipality instead elected to consider other green building codes for municipal buildings. “The municipality encourages sustainable design and construction; however, one need not go through the expense of obtaining May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

Exterior view of the LEED Gold certified Fort Wainwright 348 AAC Hangar project. © Ken Graham Photography.com

LEED certification to incorporate sustainable practices,” an April 26, 2011, Assembly memorandum regarding the repeal stated. This hasn’t stopped the Municipality from completing LEED-certified projects, of which the Mountain View Branch Library is one. Evelyn Rousso, a principal at NorthWind Architects LLC, says some of her company’s clients have done the same thing. “Certainly we have clients who specifically ask us to implement LEED requirements without wishing to pursue certification, but LEED is not the only standard, and other metrics may be more useful for certain projects and clients. Using practices from multiple programs allows for more customization of sustainability goals,” Rousso says. “Note, though, without LEED or a similar program, there is no requirement to measure results and prove that goals for efficiency and 42

sustainability were met. USGBC was very astute in realizing as an industry we cannot achieve true sustainability without quantifiable, scientific data that sustainable design methods make a difference. Not every project will choose certification, but it continues to be important that some do,” she says.

Who uses LEED design standards? While the federal government was an early adopter of LEED building practices and many local governments have followed suit, some private builders have also jumped on the LEED bandwagon. And, thanks to the growing demand for sustainable materials that meet LEED standards, it’s even easier today for private homeowners to build or renovate to LEED design criteria. “The federal government requires LEED

certification for most of their building projects,” says Gamache of McCool Carlson Green. He adds that the company’s primary federal client is the US Army Corps of Engineers. “Otherwise public entities are second, followed by the private sector. Some larger, private clients like LEED for marketing their commitments to community and the stewardship of sustainability,” Gamache says. McCool Carlson Green has completed nine LEED projects to date and has four more pending, Gamache says. The firm completed the first LEED building in the Municipality of Anchorage, the first LEED Anchorage School District building, and the first LEED building in Mat-Su, which also happened to be the first LEED school in the state. The firm also completed the first LEED CI, or commercial interior, building project in the state for the University of

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

Landye_McKay_AKBusMon_2013_Layout 1 12/20/12 10:52 AM Page 1

Alaska Fairbanks, and the first LEED EB, or existing building, project in the state. Leah Boltz with Bettisworth North says the firm also does a lot of public-sector work and finds public-sector clients require LEED certification more frequently. Bettisworth North has also done nine LEED projects to date, plus several more that are designed to LEED standards, for which the client chose not to pursue LEED certification. Ketchikan Public Library and Dena’ina Elementary School in Mat-Su are two such projects. “The certifications are nice, but we do not push clients to pursue LEED just to pursue LEED. A truer measure of success for us is if our client’s specific sustainability goals are met for that project and if they are saving money to put back into their programs rather than spending it on energy or maintenance,” Boltz says. www.akbizmag.com

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Interior view of the Tanana Chiefs Conference’s Chief Andrew Isaac Health Center, a LEED Gold certified facility. © Kevin Smith

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Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

Landscape design contributed to the Tanana Chiefs Conference’s Chief Andrew Isaac Health Center’s LEED Gold certification. © Mark Kimerer

Axelarris says Design Alaska has completed ten LEED projects, is currently working on eight more, and has completed at least eight additional projects designed to LEED standards under a self-certify model. “While Design Alaska is known for energy-efficient designs, we believe it is vitally important to deliver energy savings without compromising occupant health and productivity,” he says. Rob Culbertson, with Architects Alaska, says his firm works on LEED-certified

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projects regularly, but the need varies from year to year. For many clients, the cost of going through a checklist and having a third party certify their project isn’t as important as actually meeting the standards. But because more clients are familiar with LEED standards and sustainable building practices, LEED is often part of the design discussion.

Market Changes

How has LEED changed the marketplace?

“The nice thing is that the cost of a lot of these materials has really come down,” Culbertson says. “It used to be you were very limited in your choices and materials, with lighting for example. Now there are a lot of options.” A decade ago, LED lighting was not as widely available as it is today. Low-emission paint was hard to find. And it was difficult to know whether other materials met LEED’s standards. “Ten years ago, I had to spend days looking for products with recycled content. Today, I cannot specify a product without the manufacturer telling me how green it is,” says Gamache. “LEED has changed how manufacturers design and implement new products, and that is a good thing,” Rousso says. “At this point, materials and products manufactured to meet LEED standards can be competitive with those that are not, allowing us to make sustainable choices even if the project is not trying to achieve LEED certification.” To that end, LEED has not only changed the marketplace but it has effectively

May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

reached its goal of spurring designers to build sustainable buildings from the outset. But a new version of LEED standards is pressing the industry to do more. “A lot of what’s in LEED building [standards] are now code. And now there’s a new version of LEED that just came out a couple of years ago, and they’re stepping it up again, increasing the energy savings threshold and also introducing new sustainability criteria such as building envelope commissioning and material ingredient transparency,” Axelarris says. So the industry can re-think how to meet the new thresholds and move toward even greater sustainability in construction.

The Price of LEED

Does it cost more to build to LEED standards? The answer is cloudy. Some firms say building to LEED standards (and achieving certification) does cost more. Others say they approach every building project as a sustainable building project, and LEED certification is just verification of their existing business practices. The USGBC charges for LEED registration and certification reviews, including a flat fee of up to $4,250 for precertification and up to $27,500 for design and con-

struction review on a building larger than 500,000 square feet. But several studies, including one study of several banks built in Colorado, show LEED construction doesn’t cost significantly more than non-LEED construction. The bank study pegged the added cost for the LEED-built banks at 2 to 3 percent of the total project cost. “There is no up-charge for good design. If you want a green building, you will get one. If you don’t want one, we are giving you one anyways [probably just not telling you about it],” says Gamache. “Good design doesn’t need to cost more. If it does, then there was a failure in the design process. Sustainability is really only an outcome of good design. For those who are interested in third party certification like LEED or LBC [Living Building Challenge], it is a good investment in third party review and verification that certain project requirements are being met.” Culbertson says LEED design standards align nicely with Architects Alaska’s values, and working toward sustainability is ingrained in the firm. “We’ve always taken the approach that sustainable design is just how you build in Alaska. You can’t do it any other way. Some of it is just common sense when you con-

sider the challenges of building in an arctic environment,” he says. “We just had our 65th anniversary at our firm and that’s how we’ve been doing it since day one.” “Sustainable design is one of Bettisworth North’s core values, and LEED guidelines can help us meet those sustainability goals we set as a firm. These projects, if we pay attention to the LEED criteria items most meaningful and impactful in Alaska, give the client the opportunity to save energy, operations, and maintenance resources [and] money and create healthier environments for Alaskans,” says Boltz. “Green building is more than just energy-efficiency and reducing operating costs. It’s a holistic approach to designing highquality indoor environments and reducing environmental impacts through the entire supply chain of building materials,” Axelarris says. “Too often, the health and productivity of building occupants are compromised by poor design, even under the guise of ‘green building.’ True sustainable design requires a deep level of coordination between architects and engineers that is typical of full-design firms.” R Rindi White is a freelance journalist living in Palmer.

Special Olympics Alaska Training Facility 46

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

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FINANCIAL SERVICES

Heavy Equipment and Fleet Financing Options Meeting the needs of Alaska businesses By Tracy Barbour

laska businesses have a variety of financing options to help them procure vehicles, heavy machinery, and other equipment for their operations. Whether they need a single truck or hundreds of items, there’s an assortment of institutional, dealership, and manufacturer financing, as well as leasing solutions that can help.

Heavy Equipment Financing Options Credit-worthy buyers in the market for heavy equipment have numerous financing options available through dealerships throughout Alaska. For example, Yukon Equipment offers a complete line of Case construction and agriculture equipment, as well as equipment trailers, street sweepers, industrial vacuum trucks, and airport and road snow blowers. With locations in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Wasilla, Yukon carries a total of forty-four product lines. A subsidiary of Calista Corporation, Yukon offers financing through companies like Case Credit, John Deer Credit, and Cat Finance. Manufacturer-owned lenders often tout longer terms, lower down pay-

“If a customer has their own financing, we’ll give them a quote on our financing, and they usually take the best deal. About 75 percent of the time, the dealer provides the financing because we can give them a better deal.” —Charles Klever President, Yukon Equipment 48

ments, and other incentives. “If a customer has their own financing, we’ll give them a quote on our financing, and they usually take the best deal,” says Yukon Equipment President Charles Klever. “About 75 percent of the time, the dealer provides the financing because we can give them a better deal.” Sometimes buyers can land zero-percent-interest deals on qualifying machinery, which is normally new inventory. These no-interest specials are typically available in lieu of a cash discount for a set number of years. “We get twenty pages of programs every quarter from our manufacturers,” says Klever, who has been involved in equipment and dealership financing since 1978. “They’re trying to help dealers move products.” Dealers like Yukon also offer funding from other outside sources, as well as internal financing such as rent-to-own and short-term purchase contracts. Rent to own is being used more and more as some equipment users want to “work into” their down payment, Klever says. “They also want to wait until they get the next job or next phase of the job in order to effect the purchase of equipment.”

Klever adds, “By using the net rental payments to reduce the amount to finance, the buyer gets the benefit of working into the equipment and having the down payment made by the results of the job.” Whether using internal or external financing, buyers will find that most dealers are willing to be flexible to accommodate their purchase. For instance, although financing program terms like zero percent down are pre-established, some features such as the down payment, length of term, payment skipping, and trade-in are customized for each buyer and each transaction. When it comes to applying for financing, the process is fairly straightforward. For some funding sources, borrowers simply have to complete a one-page application when seeking amounts up to $250,000. With application-only transactions, the most important qualification is an individual’s credit score or a corporation’s Dun & Bradstreet rating. However, hardasset lenders that specialize in equipment financing tend to require less documentation. They also place greater emphasis on borrowers having positive references from previous equipment financing transactions.

Enhancing Inventory

Leasing may be another viable alternative for business owners needing to enhance their equipment inventory. Options include operating leases, tax leases, off-balancesheet leases, municipal leases, finance leases, residual leases, capital leases, and synthetic leases. Each type of lease is distinctive and should be carefully considered to ensure the best fit for the business. Properly executed lease documentation can provide advantages to equipment users, Klever says. However, leasing is a sophisticated borrowing arrangement and the documentation involved can be dif-

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

“As a dealer, we can often get a better rate for commercial up-fits. I can extend some of those savings to the customers. We can get all of that financing lined up for you, so you’re not making separate payments.” —Jason Serrano Business Link Manager Anchorage Chrysler Center ficult for casual equipment buyers to fully understand. That’s why Klever admonishes borrowers to do their due diligence before entering into a lease agreement. “I advise anyone entering into a leasing contract to have the document reviewed by a legal or accounting expert prior to signing,” Klever says. Businesses are trending away from leases on equipment purchases. Equipment lasts for decades, and most construction companies want to buy and keep that asset, Klever says. The recent permanent extension of the bonus depreciation tax credit

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has also been an influencing factor. The credit, which generally allows businesses to write off 50 percent of certain purchases in the first tax year, has prompted more companies to purchase rather than lease equipment. “We literally had people coming in saying they would rather buy equipment than write a large tax check,” Klever says.

Traditional Terms

There’s no shortage of financing solutions for Alaska business looking to add cars, pickups, vans, and other vehicles to their operations. Businesses like Anchorage

Chrysler Center offer plenty of inventory and financing possibilities through institutional lenders. The dealership carries a large inventory of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram vehicles and can meet quickturnaround requests from customers, according to Business Link Manager Jason Serrano. “Many times we have in our inventory what you need to have in service next week,” he says. As a commercial fleet manager, Serrano enjoys providing customers with creative solutions. A prime example is a mining customer’s request for half-ton diesel flat

May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

beds—for off-road use. Anchorage Chrysler Center solved the problem by removing the diesel box from a half-ton truck and installing special air bags for the flat bed, along with other adjustments. Another example involved creating a Class 2 commercial cargo van in front-wheel drive. “We can create whatever you need for your business,” Serrano says. Anchorage Chrysler Center primarily offers traditional purchase terms. Commercial buyers have the option of buying the vehicle in their personal or business name. The usual qualifications apply: a federal tax identification number, two years’ worth of financial statements, and perhaps a satisfactory Dun and Bradstreet rating. Qualifying standards are higher for borrowers seeking special financing for a seasonal business or a line of credit, Serrano says. Qualified commercial buyers may be able to save money by rolling flat beds, service bodies, and other add-on purchases into their financing. “As a dealer, we can often get a better rate for commercial upfits,” Serrano says. “I can extend some of those savings to the customers.” Serrano adds, “We can get all of that financing lined up for you, so you’re not making separate payments.” Anchorage Chrysler Center offers special financing and customizes solutions around borrowers’ business goals. Commercial fishermen, for instance, might be able to get a balloon payment around the fishing season and then not have payments through the rest of the year. Or they could make a down payment and submit a balloon payment later. “That’s an unusual kind of financing, and it’s for highly-qualified buyers,” Serrano says. “Two years of taxes and good credit are what they would need to qualify for this type of financing.” The dealership also may be able to assist customers with acquiring a commercial line of credit for fleets whose financed amount exceeds $100,000. This can offer convenient access to capital, consolidated billing, and other benefits. “A commercial line is usually best to explore before they assume the debt—not that it can’t be done afterward—but it would be easier to do on the front end,” Serrano explains.

Fleet Leasing Options

Anchorage Chrysler Center also offers an array of leasing options for commercial customers. Leasing allows businesses to pay only for the portion of the vehicle that they use. And although monthly lease payments may be a higher, leasing gives companies the advantage of having predictable costs, Serrano says. In addition, some lessees may be able to take advantage of tax write-offs. 50

As more of an intangible benefit, leasing new vehicles enables companies to keep employees in the latest model vehicles. And that can be good for their image and business. “If you’re driving a twenty-year old vehicle, some people may not want to hire you,” Serrano says. Replacing older vehicles also means drivers can benefit from the latest technologies, including better navigation, communication, and safety features. However, Serrano says it’s important for businesses to understand how they will use their vehicles and how many miles they will drive. Then they should try to set their residual as low as possible to accommodate that effect to the value. “If the lease is structured properly, you’ll roll into a new lease without negative equity,” he says.

Filling a Niche

Businesses that are purchasing vehicles, machinery, and other equipment may elect to use their own funding sources. Traditional financial institutions, as well as creative sources like Alaska Growth Capital Bidco, Inc., can help. Alaska Growth, a subsidiary of Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, fills a unique niche in the Alaska capital market. As a lender, the company takes a tailored approach to financing operations based on their business cycles and overall capital needs, according to Vice President of Lending Jesse Janssen. “While we can be transaction-based—meaning we can make a simple loan for the purchase of a single new asset—more often, we will look to determine if there is a working capital need and build that into the transaction,” he says. “We also have a lot of success restructuring balance sheets to pay off higher-interest, shorter-term debt to improve cash flow of the operation. While we can do terms as short as five years, most of our loans start with a ten-year term.” In addition, Alaska Growth can finance remote or unique assets anywhere in Alaska. The financed assets can range from windfarms, storage tanks, and solar upgrades to aircraft, marine vessels, and real estate. “There is almost nothing we can’t consider,” Janssen says. For instance, Alaska Growth helped Nyac Mining Company secure financing to purchase heavy equipment and supplies for a new plant, as well as working capital for startup. A conventional, four-year note would not have worked for the seasonal operation, according to Molly Attala, chief financial officer of Nyac Mining. So they devised several alternatives, ultimately helping Nyac Mining obtain an SBA (Small Business Association) loan with a competi-

tive interest rate and ten-year term. “They did a great job,” Attala says. “They really came up with some great options for us.” Attala adds: “It was nice to keep our money in Alaska and work with a Native organization. We are committed to hiring and doing business with Native corporations. It was a good fit for us.”

Adding Value

When financing equipment, Alaska Growth strives to add value to customers in a number of ways. It can provide flexible financing for the direct purchase of equipment, often with longer terms and possibly a lower up-front capital requirement. Alaska Growth also may be able to review the borrower’s existing fleet and consolidate any existing financing into one loan with a longer term, thus improving cash. Janssen emphasizes that Alaska Growth can be forward-looking when dealing with potential borrowers. Most lenders do a two- to three-year historical lookback from a financial standpoint to determine creditworthiness, he says. But that will not work well for a business that is growing in general, just picked up a new contract they need the equipment for, or is only a year old. “From a documentation perspective, the borrower will need to be able to provide us with accurate business financial statements and, in some cases, a forwardlooking plan,” he explains. Although Alaska Growth examines loans on a case-by-case basis, it normally will finance the useful life of the equipment. That could mean a ten- to fifteen-year term for yellow iron or aircraft and possibly twenty years for a remote tank farm or marine vessels. “We will usually look to a third-party appraisal or manufacture specifications to determine the useful life of an asset,” Janssen explains. “If we are going to refinance existing assets in which most are already halfway through their life cycle, we will likely propose a ten-year term.” Often circumstances require customizing a financing solution, which was the case with Attala. “We work with the borrower to determine the true need and get to understand their operating cycle,” Janssen explains. “We can provide terms that will not crush the business in debt payments. In many cases, we can secure a loan with outside assets to provide much-needed working capital for large projects or to support a growth phase.” R

Freelance writer Tracy Barbour is a former Alaskan.

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

MINING

Mining Subcontractors W Ensure Success Understanding nuances of working in Alaska By Julie Stricker 52

hen Donlin Gold officials started to visit communities in southwest Alaska that were likely to be affected by a proposed open-pit mine, they discovered the Yup’ik language contained no words for mining terms such as “tailings” and “waste rock.” Communicating clearly with the residents was important, as they own the mineral rights and the land on which mine would be located. Development could also affect their culture and subsistence lifestyle.

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

Recon Professional Land Surveyor Mik Ewing conducting a ground control survey (left) and ground trothing a proposed alignment (right). Photos courtesy of Recon LLC

miles northwest of Crooked Creek village on land owned by The Kuskokwim Corporation. Calista Corporation owns the subsurface rights, Parkan says.

Extra Efforts Made

“It’s their gold, it’s their land, they’ve invited us to develop it for them for the benefit of their shareholders,” says Kurt Parkan, external affairs manager for Donlin Gold. “We have an arrangement with them to provide employment priority for shareholders. They are essentially partners of ours.” The Donlin Creek mine is a huge project that could yield 33 million ounces of gold and include a natural gas pipeline to Cook Inlet. The proposed mine is located ten www.akbizmag.com

Donlin made an extra effort to ensure residents’ questions and concerns about the proposed mine were answered. A company, AECOM, was brought in to help develop a Yup’ik glossary of mining terms and to translate the project overview and description into Yup’ik. AECOM also made a series of podcasts to be broadcast on KYUK radio describing the project in broad terms. Donlin hired a linguist, Vernon Chimegalrea, to conduct village meetings entirely in Yup’ik. Chimegalrea, whose family is from Napakiak, says Donlin is the only mining company he knows of that makes the effort to communicate with people in their Native language. “My family is still involved in hunting, fishing, and harvesting from the land, just like everybody else,” Chimegalrea says in a Calista newsletter. “I believe that being able to let them know about the project in their

Native language builds trust.” The villagers’ reaction was overwhelmingly positive. “It’s the first time anyone spoke to us in Yup’ik in updating us about the Donlin Gold project,” one resident said after a 2012 meeting. “It was very informative and more understandable.” “That’s a good part of the story,” Parkan says. “It’s part of what makes it very Alaskan and very unique.”

Project Success

Doing business in Alaska is different, and having Alaska-based subcontractors who understand the nuances of working here can make all the difference in the success of a project. Donlin Gold, a partnership between NovaGold Resources and Barrick Gold Corporation, has been exploring the remote site in western Alaska since 1995. It is one of the largest undeveloped gold deposits in the world. The mine will have an expected life of twenty-seven years, produce about 1.1 million ounces of gold annually, and employ thousands of people. To develop a mine of that magnitude requires the coordination of myriad subcontractors to fulfill the dozens of local, state, and federal permits required before ground is broken on the huge mine. While Parkan says Donlin had to engage some outside May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

firms to work on highly technical parts of the development, whenever possible the company turned to Alaska-based subcontractors such as Recon LLC, also known as Rowling Engineering Consultants, and SRK Consulting. Steve Rowland has decades of experience working with mines in Alaska, including Pogo, Kensington, and Pebble. He’s helped site seismometer locations from Southeast Alaska to the North Slope and designed 54

route and drilling plans for numerous projects in Interior Alaska. For Donlin, Rowland led the investigation into alternate access points and his team conducted numerous engineering studies and geotechnical work. Rowland has worked with Donlin almost from the beginning, he says, starting in 1996. He helped design the current camp facilities and determined the location of airfields, the camp layout, and drilling

points. He also helped find a source of gravel for the infrastructure needed to begin exploration work. He says strong knowledge of Alaska conditions is essential on a project of this scope. “That’s both the environmental and cultural conditions, as well as some of the unique physical conditions and terrain associated with the state, such as permafrost and weather,” he says. And wildlife?

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

Recon Professional Engineer Steve Rowland in the field during a route traverse. Photo courtesy of Recon LLC

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“Yes, certainly wildlife,” Rowland says. “We train our employees extensively for work in the field in remote conditions, and we do specialize in remote logistics. Those are some of the service we provide to clients.”

Biggest Challenges

The biggest challenges to developing infrastructure in remote areas boil down to Alaska conditions and logistics, he says. “Engineering issues and problems are www.akbizmag.com

May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

just engineering issues and problems, but dealing with the remoteness and the lack of support and infrastructure is always a challenge that you just have to be aware of and work with,” Rowland says. “You also have the seasonal aspects, which we consider a logistics challenge.” While he was speaking in early March, Rowland was a few miles east of Nenana working out another logistics challenge at Doyon, Limited’s Toghotthele No. 1 drill site. The Interior Alaska Native regional corporation plans to drill its third oil and gas exploration well this summer, and the corporation ran into a couple of unexpected hurdles in its plans to build the drilling pad this winter. A bridge over the Nenana River was supposed to connect the Totchaket Road accessing the drill site to the Parks Highway last summer, “but right now there’s a bunch of pilings sitting in the river all by themselves,” Rowland says. “Girders are in a pile on the riverbank. And there’s no funding to finish it.” Instead, they had to build an ice bridge and road to get access to the area for pad construction. It was a workaround, but nothing Rowland hasn’t faced before. He started working as a surveyor in 1975 right out of high school and earned a degree in geological engineering from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 1980. He worked as a surveyor all through college and started his own business in 1988. Over the years, Rowland has worked for many mining operations, large and small. Not all of them worked out. “I spent years on Pebble doing the access and infrastructure studies,” he says. “Road routes, railroads, you name it. We did a little bit on Kensington and did a lot of exploration support camps and logistics for potential mines. As you are aware, some of them don’t become mines, but there’s certainly a lot of players out there.” And while Rowland says he believes the state of Alaska overall is open to mining, the process is cumbersome. “Is it easy or is it necessarily universally friendly?” he says. “No. I think there’s certainly opportunity, no question about that, but I don’t think that any project can be considered a given early in the process of exploring a possibility of a mine. “I don’t think a large mining company can show up in Alaska, go through the exploration exercise, go through discovery, and then automatically assume it can be made into a mine if it’s economically viable. The economics does not determine feasibility alone, even here in Alaska. Some find a way and some don’t.” For projects such as Donlin, it takes 56

years to work through the feasibility studies, which is where Rowland’s company comes in. “We’re actually right now very involved with Donlin, supporting permitting aspects, since we’re in that process,” he says. “That’s our primary exercise right now.”

Assessing Impacts

Another company that has played a key role at Donlin is SRK, which has “helped quite a bit in processing the permits,” Parkan says. SRK’s environmental work helps lay the groundwork to assess the potential impacts of development. Bill Jeffress has more than forty years of experience in natural resource development, twenty of which are directly involved in mine site operations. He worked for Barrick for about three years as a senior environmental officer, he says. When he was hired as a consultant on the project, he was already familiar with it. “We prepared the reclamation plan and a lot of the plans to support the operations,” he says. “We did the project description, the water resources plan, and several other plan components.” Those include the reclamation and closure cost estimates and transportation plan as well as planning and development for the gas line. “SRK has been involved with the project for a long time with geochemical characterization,” he adds. “When you’re characterizing the waste and ore material, it’s pretty critical.” When planning for a mine, Jeffress says he works backward. “My mantra is designing for closure,” he says. “We use a lot of that information to not only determine how the facility is going to be designed and operated, and also how we’re going to close the facility.” About a half-dozen people work out of SRK’s Anchorage office, but Jeffress says he can tap resources in offices in Vancouver, British Columbia; Denver; and Elko, Nevada, if necessary. SRK has worked with all the major mines in the state, including Greens Creek, Kensington, and Red Dog, plus prospects such as Tower Hill Mine’s Livengood project, Jeffress says. That Alaska experience is valuable. “One of the things when we opened the office up here in Alaska, one of the reasons SRK wanted to do it, was to serve the local mining community,” he says. “The people we’ve staffed the office with are familiar with Alaska. I was with Fort Knox. We’ve got the operating experience. Then we know the regulators and we know the miners. We know the things that are unique about Alaska.”

Adaptive Management

In Alaska mining, flexibility is key. “I think with any project this size, new information will surface and you have to change some of the management plans and the way you are approaching the operations,” he says. “Water—I tell them mining is a water management project with a gold byproduct.” Jeffress, who first came to Alaska to help with the permitting for Fort Knox gold mine near Fairbanks, says he calls his procedure adaptive management. The huge open-pit mine has gone through major changes several times since it opened. “You tweak this and you tweak that and it’s an ongoing process,” he says. “Even after you have your permits and you’re constructing your facility, you’re constantly adapting and optimizing. The same thing is happening at Donlin.” SRK is now working to update Donlin’s environmental management plans for operations, which will be submitted to the state. Then the state will put them out for public review. “I think it’s going to be a great project for southwest Alaska,” Jeffress says. “Probably the worst part of this is going to be the downtime when they’re permitting and there’s not this active exploration going on and all those people [in the villages] have nothing to do. A lot of them may move on. You may lose some talent. They really had some rock stars out there from some of those villages.” Donlin Creek recently released its Environmental Impact Statement, in both English and Yup’ik, and held a five-month draft comment period, which was scheduled to end April 30. The comments will be evaluated and a final EIS is expected late in 2017. “By then, we should have some of our permits already,” Parkan says. “The process is concurrent.”

The Payoff

The record of decision is expected in 2017 and Parkan estimates it will take another year to finalize the permits before constructions starts. That’s when all the planning starts to pay off. The construction phase is expected to employ three thousand people for a total payroll of $375 million. Initial operations will employ six hundred people and double over time, with an average $100 million payroll. Donlin is working with Calista and TKC to set up training programs and hiring processes for shareholders. There’s plenty of opportunity for resource development in Alaska, Jeffress says. “We need more mines,” he says. R Julie Stricker is a journalist living near Fairbanks.

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

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ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES

WOTUS and Alaska

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Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

Issues with the latest rule of the Clean Water Act By Tasha Anderson

he Clean Water Act rule Waters of the United States (WOTUS) was issued in June 2015. That same month Alaska joined twelve other states in suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Army Corps of Engineers over the new rule. RDC (Resource Development Council for Alaska, Inc.) Executive Director Marleanna Hall says this lawsuit against the federal government, along with several from other states, is awaiting a ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court. In January of this year, President Barack Obama vetoed a congressional resolution that would have overturned the rule. So for now, the highly contested rule remains and may be around for the long haul. The history of WOTUS starts with the 2006 court case Rapanos v. United States, an environmental case challenging federal jurisdiction to regulate isolated wetlands under the Clean Water Act. The US Supreme Court had a three way split: four, four, and one, the one being Justice Anthony Kennedy. AOGA (Alaska Oil and Gas Association) Environmental Counsel Joshua Kindred summarized Kennedy’s opinion: “What he basically said is, ‘I’m not for unfettered discretion and absolute jurisdictions, but I do think [the EPA] has some discretion’; and he used the term ‘significant nexus.’ He sort of established they’ll have jurisdiction if there’s a significant nexus to traditional navigable waters.”

that have never been under the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act and the EPA.” But what areas were previously under the jurisdiction of the EPA? Hall explains that, before the WOTUS rule, “the EPA has the authority to require assessments, such as an Environmental Impact Statement, to determine findings of potential environmental impacts. Through these processes, the EPA has some jurisdiction over navigable wa-

ters. However, in Alaska, navigable waters are under the State of Alaska’s jurisdiction.” Alaska has a lot of water, navigable and otherwise. According to Hall, “Alaska contains approximately 174 million acres of wetlands, 65 percent of the nation’s total, with nearly 80 percent of the state underlain in permafrost… Alaska has 63 percent of the nation’s jurisdictional waters and is one-fifth of the US land mass.”

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Significant Nexus

And that leads directly to one significant WOTUS issue—as Kindred put it, “Significant nexus isn’t necessarily a legal term.” While on an individual, lay person level the term may seem clear and intuitive, legally it’s not. Based on this term, within the WOTUS rule the EPA assumed that there would be many waterways that automatically pass the “significant nexus test,” for example tributaries to rivers and streams that “aren’t necessarily navigable in the traditional sense, but they go right into navigable waters; therefore the test is passed,” Kindred says. “But then the other problem is they built that significant nexus test into the rule itself,” he continues. So immediately the EPA assumed a certain amount of expanded jurisdiction, and then issued a new rule containing legally ambiguous language that allows room for even further expansion. “The ruling is another example of federal overreach, which Alaska must continue to push back on,” Hall says. There is a lot of potential in the rule for additional oversight, Kindred says: “It’s going to call into question a lot of areas www.akbizmag.com

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Operations and activities on Alaska’s coast such as in Cook Inlet or in the Chukchi Sea were subject to EPA oversight before WOTUS, as well as many of the wetland areas on the North Slope, but not every body of water is so cut and dry. Kindred says, “Invariably, every rule is going to have some gray area, but [previous to WOTUS] you knew where that grey area was… if you’re working right off a navigable water or right off wetlands, you might imagine, ‘OK, this is going to be a judgement call.” But now it’s kind of open to everything. That grey area is now everything.” Hall agrees, saying, “In fact [WOTUS] has created more uncertainty.”

Jurisdictional Expansion

Where in Alaska is there not water? The vastness of our water resources combined with a rule that’s almost entirely grey areas is deeply concerning. Hall says, “RDC is concerned about the potential vast consequences the proposed rule will have on Alaska because our immense wetlands and permafrost.” Since significant nexus isn’t a legal or technical term, does that mean any time any project encounters any type of water that the EPA has jurisdiction, simply because all water eventually flows together? If a project requires digging a ditch that may fill seasonally with standing water that will eventually drain into a navigable water system—does that ditch now fall under EPA jurisdiction? “I think that’s the fear: that if [the EPA] wants they can really get into anything through the Clean Water Act with this expansion of jurisdiction,” Kindred says. It’s also important to remember that EPA is not the only regulatory body in Alaska. It’s not as if large projects, outside an area of navigable waters and wetlands, are allowed to simply run rampant through remote Alaska drilling and building and developing at a whim. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation has a specific Division of Water, which regulates wastewater activities including domestic and municipal wastewater, storm water, industrial wastewater, cruise ship wastewater, and seafood processing wastewater. A pivotal question becomes: does the involvement of the EPA increase environmental protection, or does it just cost more time and money? Kindred says, “A lot of times you see projects and they have local regulations, they have state regulations, they have federal regulations, and the vast majority of it is duplicative in nature.” Additionally, it’s important to keep in mind that Alaska’s resource development is done by private companies. “Regardless of how you feel about a project being sanctioned, you want to ensure that the rules were followed and the process was followed. 60

What we’re seeing more and more is that before we [the oil and gas industry] can even get to these stages of establishing that we’ve done the science, we’ve done the research, we have a plan… our legs are being cut out from under us,” Kindred says. There can be several responsible, safe ways to approach a project. Kindred argues that shutting down the possibility of a project before the viability is really established dampens innovation and halts projects that, perhaps, could have been revamped to be both economically and environmentally viable.

WOTUS Rule Concerns

Also, according to Kindred, many have expressed concerns about the WOTUS rule itself, “both in process and constitutionality.” Hall says that “EPA’s analysis for the definition of WOTUS rule making did not include adequate analysis of Alaska,” a sentiment that Kindred has seen expressed in various briefs and articles about WOTUS. “They talk about, did they collaborate enough with the states in coming up with this rule; did they follow the right process through Congress.” That’s separate from ideas of constitutionality. “This represents the third or fourth time that EPA has tried to have a massive expansion of their jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act, and each time it’s sort of been brushed back or beat back by the US Supreme Court.” Kindred says, “I think everyone is under the understanding or assumption that this is going to get resolved at the circuit level and then go to the US Supreme Court.” At that point, he says the outcome isn’t certain. For one, the court is comprised of different justices now, but additionally, there’s no real certainty as to if the WOTUS rule is what Kennedy was envisioning with his previous decision, Kindred says. “[WOTUS] is their attempt to satisfy Kennedy’s rational in Rapanos, but they’re going to get a different opinion just by the fact that there are different justices.” Kindred doesn’t believe that this will be the end of the jurisdiction discussion. “You can look back historically, and this jurisdictional fight I don’t think is ever really going to end. I think EPA is going to continue to push—even if WOTUS gets beat back, they’re going to take another bite a the apple.”

‘Unreasonably Burdened’

Both AOGA and RDC are organizations that want Alaska’s economy to remain strong. RDC’s purpose is “to encourage a strong, diversified private sector in Alaska and expand the state’s economic base through the responsible development of our natural resources. AOGA’s mission is to “foster the long-term viability of the

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

oil and gas industry for the benefits of all Alaskans.” This change in the federal regulatory process interferes with all development in Alaska, especially a regulation that has such a wide scope. “If it was an isolated incident it would be more of an annoyance, but I think it’s a cumulative effect of trying to navigate this ever changing regulatory scheme,” Kindred says. He raises the point that while permits granted before regulatory changes are often “grandfathered in,” that still doesn’t exactly provide certainty that a project can move forward. If a permitted project has to make a small modification or adjustment, does the permit now fall under a whole new review process? Kindred continues, “It’s a confusion and uncertainty that causes some unrest in development, because it’s one thing if you know you’re going to have to pay X amount of dollars: but when you say, ‘I don’t know how much money, and I don’t know how long it’ll take, and I don’t know if it’ll ultimately be sanctioned’—that causes investors to get cold feet.” Hall says that WOTUS is likely to impact Alaska’s economy negatively, saying, “RDC is concerned the rule will result in disproportionate impacts to Alaska, and the agencies should address the flawed economic analysis described in the rule. RDC’s members, from oil and gas to maritime, Alaska Native corporations, and rural communities, will be unreasonably burdened by this proposed rule. Alaska and other states should have the authority in regulating land use practices and protections, not the federal government.” Kindred is clear that industry isn’t looking for loopholes to operate dangerously or irresponsibly: “Often times we’ll push back on some kind of federal legislation, and the public narrative is always that we’re against regulation; but no, we just want to make sure it’s scoped correctly… If we feel you’re just asking us to jump through hoops that don’t actually offer any protection, then we’ll push back. I think that the US Army Corps of Engineers and EPA would be hard pressed to establish what greater protection this is going to offer.” Kindred says a large part of the negative reaction to WOTUS may be the scale of the WOTUS rule. “[WOTUS] is going to affect construction, it’s going to affect farming, it’s going to affect oil and gas and mining. There’s nobody who really escapes this, and I think that’s why you see such a large national push against it, because everybody is in the same boat.” R Tasha Anderson is an Associate Editor for Alaska Business Monthly. www.akbizmag.com

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TRANSPORTATION

Photo by Greg Martin/Courtesy of Crowley

A Crowley Fuels employee makes a fuel delivery to a home in Talkeetna.

Fueling Alaska Millions of gallons delivered yearly via land, water, and air By Heather A. Resz

efore planes, trains, and automobiles, traditional Alaska Native watercraft plied Alaska’s rivers and coast lines for thousands of years. Later Russian boats, American poling boats, rowboats, sailboats, and steamboats using Alaska waterways were the primary route for transporting passengers and freight. Although most of the steamboats in Alaska were used on the Yukon River and its tributaries, one of the earliest to use steam-powered ships on Alaska’s rivers was Captain William Moore, who carried gold seekers to the headwaters of the Stikine River on the Flying Dutchman in 1862. The first steamer to push a load up the Yukon River was a fifty-foot stern-wheeler with a fifteen-inch draft named The Yukon on July 4, 1869. 62

First wood, then coal, and finally oil heated boiler fires turned the paddle and pushed the steamer forward. During its first thirty years of operation, the Alaska Railroad “river division” operated steamers on the Yukon and Tanana rivers until it sold the assets in 1955 to a group of investors. Since the 1980s most freight and passengers have reached villages by air. But Alaska’s waterways remain a crucial transportation link for the delivery of millions of gallons of fuel to hundreds of remote locations around the state each year.

Good News for Rural Communities A series of linked electrical grids deliver power to homes, business, and public

buildings throughout Alaska’s Railbelt region. A pipeline system from Cook Inlet connects ENSTAR to gas producers, which silently delivers the natural gas that heats the homes and businesses of thousands of customers across Southcentral. But in the rest of Alaska, fuel arrives on ships, barges, tugs, smaller vessels, and airplanes. Regional hub communities like Dillingham, Bethel, Nome, Kotzebue, and Barrow have storage for millions of gallons of fuel to help reduce costs. Rural Alaska fuel prices averaged $4.71 a gallon for heating fuel and $5.23 for gasoline in January 2016, according to the state’s biannual Fuel Price Report. That’s down from the average per gallon cost reported in the same one hundred communities in January 2015: $5.74 for heating fuel and $6.04 for gas.

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

Prices are expected to drop further when lower-cost fuel is barged in again this season, according to Bob Cox, vice president of Crowley Fuels in Anchorage. Low oil prices that have led a $4.1 billion state budget gap and substantial layoffs in the oil patch are good news for rural Alaska residents who have struggled with record high fuel costs for years, he says. “Turns out for our customers, they are experiencing lower prices than they have seen in many, many years,” Cox says. “That’s good news for these communities.” Companies like Crowley, Delta Western, Vitus Marine, Colville Inc., Nana Oilfield Services, Inc., Evert’s Air Fuel, Northern Air Cargo, and Alaska Air Fuel and many more across the state use special fleets of barges, trucks, and planes to deliver fuel to even the most remote cabins and work camps. Most deliveries are scheduled during the summer months when large tankers operated by Crowley, Delta Western, and Vitus trace the coastline of Alaska delivering fuel. The tankers anchor miles off shore where fuel is pumped into smaller vessels with shallower drafts that lighter the loads inland to tank farms or for delivery farther up river. Fuel is reloaded into smaller and smaller vessels—mostly without the aid of docks or ports—as many as three times before it reaches its destination.

www.akbizmag.com

Colville fueling and Alaska Air jet at the Deadhorse airport. Courtesy of Colville

These small vessels land on the beach and pump the fuel through a hose strung across the beach to a storage tank or fuel truck.

Double Hulls More Buoyant

Cox says safety was Crowley’s main motive when it began converting its fleet to double-hull vessels. Beyond safety, he says, the vessels offer another benefit. “It turns out with the additional buoyancy of our double hull barge design, we get better draft in a fully-loaded configuration,” he says. That means Crowley’s new double-hull barges and shallow draft tugs can move fuel and freight through some of Alaska’s more challenging waterways that are affected by tides. River barges are still single

skin throughout Western Alaska because the buoyancy effect is not as favorable in fresh water rivers, Cox says. Fuel delivery season in Alaska chases the ice as it retreats in May and runs ahead of its return in September. Crowley’s flotilla begins deliveries in Bristol Bay with the salmon runs in May and June, moving on to Bethel shortly after Memorial Day and in Norton Sound to fill tanks in the Nome area by the end of June. The fleet arrives in Kotzebue a few weeks later, and by mid-August they will begin trying to deliver to Barrow. The last stop before the flotilla begins its retreat is Kaktovik, 250 miles above the Arctic Circle on the Beaufort Sea. Then the vessels retrace

May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

Photo by Greg Martin/Courtesy of Crowley

Crowley tug and double-hull fuel and freight delivery barge sails into Kotzebue.

their route, topping off tanks for the winter along the way to Naknek where the fleet winters. Fuel re-supply occurs several times during the summer to complete all of the season’s deliveries, Cox says. Typically, Crowley transfers about 45 million gallons of fuel to its own terminals and its 280 locations before ice shuts down operations each year. Every delivery by every company statewide poses unique logistics and challenges like ever-changing weather and water conditions. “You have to be flexible. No two days are ever the same,” Cox says. Crowley has twenty-two facilities statewide, including seven along the Railbelt, with a storage capacity of 50 million gallons and plans to add another 15 million gallons of new tankage in the Port of Anchorage.

MAP: Courtesy of Crowley

Crowley Marine Alaska Petroleum Network

More Fuel Headed North

Companies large and small deliver a variety of fuels—from heating fuel and jet fuel to regular gasoline, 100 Low Lead, and ultra-low-sulfur diesel for vehicles and power generation—around the state. Alaska’s North Slope is no exception. And although five hundred thousand barrels of oil a day are transported from the North Slope via the Trans Alaska Pipeline System to the Port of Valdez, most of the refined fuel used in the oil patch comes up the Dalton Highway in tanker trucks to the North Slope—unless flooding or snowstorms close the road, necessitating emergency airlift. More fuel must be shipped north to Fairbanks and beyond since the Flint Hills Refinery closed in 2014 and new federal requirements for ultra-low-sulfur diesel were put in place between 2006 and 2010.

Under the new rules for diesel, the fuel produced at the topping plant BP Alaska and ConocoPhillips own on the North Slope contains too much sulfur to meet the standards allowed for most uses, though some equipment can still use the fuel under the new rules. Kuparuk has a similar topping unit. Safely delivering fuel from the topping units, and other sources, to various points around the North Slope oil fields is one of Colville Fuel’s specialties, according to Colville, Inc. President and CEO Eric Helzer. “It’s their fuel, we just transport it from the topping units into the field,” he says. Colville is one of the largest companies delivering fuel to North Slope clients, selling 20 million to 25 million gallons of different fuel annually, mostly from Tesoro’s Kenai refinery and Petro Star’s refineries in North Pole and Valdez. To facilitate on-demand deliveries, Colville has invested in 5 million gallons of storage for jet fuel, gasoline, and ultra-low-sulfur diesel on the North Slope. Tesoro’s refinery in Kenai also produces thousands of gallons of gas, jet fuel, ultralow, low-sulfur diesel fuel, and “heavy end” products. The refinery processes between forty-five thousand and sixty-five thousand barrels of crude daily, depending on seasonal demand. Nearly all of the jet fuel produced at the Kenai refinery will be transported via pipeline to Anchorage, with the majority of Anchorage-bound jet fuel consumed at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, according to the state, while ultra-low-sulfur diesel and gasoline are trucked to the Southcentral and Interior markets. Still, millions of gallons of fuel used in Alaska also arrive in tankers from the mostly West Coast refineries in the Lower

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

48 or the Far East, wherever fuel can be acquired at the best price.

Every Delivery Is Unique

Efforts to reduce high-energy costs in rural Alaska have taken a variety of forms in recent decades. Tank farms, communityowned fuel delivery companies, alternative energy systems, efficiency campaigns, subsidies from the state, and revolving loan funds are some of the tools in play to reduce energy costs in rural Alaska. Alaska Village Electric Cooperative added a new competitor to the market when it signed a multi-year deal to buy fuel from Vitus Marine for the fifty-three small rural utilities it operates and finance two tugand-barge sets, which Vitus operates and may eventually purchase. The company joins Delta Western and Crowley in the large-scale fuel delivery business. Delta Western, Inc. has served Alaskans since 1985 with fuel terminals throughout Southeast Alaska, Western Alaska, Bristol Bay, and the Aleutian and Pribilof islands. The Crowley brand has been in business in Alaska since 1953, although through its purchase of Black Navigation, the company’s fuel and freight-hauling roots trace to 1896. To make the most of these fleets of spe-

Courtesy of Colville

A Colville fuel truck on the Dalton Highway haul road.

cialized tugs and barges, several companies also ship freight on the decks of their river barges—everything from school buses and heavy equipment to household appliances and propane. Every fuel delivery is unique and logistics rule the day in Western Alaska. Locations with modern dock facilities can take small ships, but most deliveries are made with small tug/barge sets, Cox says. In the absence of passable roads and navigable waters, planes land on airstrips, lakes, and gravel bars to deliver fuel to customers in communities, fly-in lodges, work camps, and private cabins that dot some of the most remote parts of Alaska’s vast landscape. FAA rules prohibit hauling fuel

as cargo, except in Alaska where the agency allows some exceptions for deliveries in accordance with 49CFR 175.310 when other modes of transportation are “impracticable.” The fuel must be in approved containers under specified conditions. Cox says rugged equipment and experienced employees make it possible to safely deliver the millions of gallons of fuel used annually around the state, and adds: “There’s a lot of fuel moving a long distance in Alaska.” R Heather A. Resz lives in Wasilla. She’s told Alaska’s stories for nearly twenty years.

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Sales@Alaska-Logistics.com May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

ECONOMY

How to Win in a Downturn Prepare your company now By Bob Kaufman

hink about this: Alaska’s coming recession could be the best thing that ever happened to your company. Of course, that’s only if you play your cards right. Downturns reshuffle an industry’s competitive landscape far more than periods of economic calm or growth. During a recession, studies show that up to 40 percent of industry leaders topple, while 20 percent of laggards vault into a leadership position— a rate of change twice what’s seen during other economic periods. What’s more, the gains companies make during a recession typically endure long into the future. So, how do you position your company to win in a downturn? Research into past recessions point to a few winning strategies. And they’re not what you might intuitively think. When storm clouds gather on the horizon, many managers react by denying the early warning signals in order to project confidence and maintain the esprit de corps. Another common reaction is to hedge bets by pursuing a diversification strategy to broaden the company revenue base. Then, once the crisis is undeniable, managers tend to pendulum to the opposite extreme, slashing R&D, sales, and marketing spending across the board and hammering suppliers hard on price. Research shows each of these moves to be exactly the wrong ones, because they erode long-term competitiveness and financial performance. Instead, it’s better to take a more strategic and contrarian approach. Here are four steps you can take now to prepare your company for what may be a mild recession in Alaska… or a long-term economic winter.

Run Scenarios Before Trouble Approaches The time to consider your options is before a downturn hits. Some managers avoid this step, because they either don’t want to in66

vest time planning for a situation that may never happen or they fear that discussing worst-case scenarios will demoralize the organization. Yet research into cognitive behavior shows that people are less creative and less able to conceive of new approaches when under stress. Once a company finds itself in distress, it becomes much harder for management to think outside the box. So contingency planning is a wise investment of time. You want to think through how various scenarios will impact the company. In the case of the Alaska economy, for example, you might consider three scenarios:

operating model that results in profitability, no matter what scenario unfolds. Look for opportunities to reduce complexity and simplify operations. Getting lean can take bold thinking. But the beauty of downturns is they can change a company’s risk profile. Not taking action becomes riskier than taking action. This frees teams up to consider fundamental changes that might be too controversial during better times, such as:

 A modest downturn (e.g. oil prices rebound within two years)

 Identifying low value-added activities and redesigning workflows

 A severe recession (e.g. oil prices stay low for three to five years)

 Killing marginal products and selling noncore businesses

 A long-term decline (e.g., Alaska’s economy and population decline, taking a decade or longer to rebound)

The above cuts make sense because they reduce costs while improving productivity and strengthening a company’s competitive position. Certain types of across-the-board cuts, on the other hand, can actually weaken a company’s position. Research by the major consulting firms uniformly shows that slashing sales, marketing, and advertising expense is a mistake. Companies that continue to invest in these areas can acquire market share at lower cost than during good economic times. It simply costs less to get your message heard in a slow economy, because there’s less clutter to fight. Companies that cut in these areas later find they must spend far more than they saved in order to re-establish their market presence. Forcing deep price cuts on suppliers is also problematic. Vendors serving Alaska’s oil industry are no doubt familiar with the requirements from at least one oil service company in early 2016 to immediately implement a minimum 20 percent price cut. At times, such cuts may be the only option. But

In past recessions, the economic impact has varied widely by industry sector. Brainstorm how these macroeconomic trends might impact dynamics in your industry sector: prices, customer populations, sales volume, asset values, ability to borrow, and input costs. Then, try to piece it all together: your goal is to model your P&L and balance sheet under these different scenarios. If your business is like many companies, you’ll discover that as little as a 15 percent revenue decline can turn a healthy profit margin into a loss.

Retool Core Operations to Be Profitable at Lower Revenue You can’t change the macroeconomic environment. But you can control how you respond to external developments. Your goal is to formulate a competitive strategy and

 Eliminating management layers  Consolidating functions

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

Example: Anchorage Television Market

n the early 1980’s, KTUU (Channel 2) ranked a distant third in the Anchorage television news market, behind market leader KIMO (Channel 13) and KTVA (Channel 11), the number two competitor. Yet by mid-decade, KTUU had nearly achieved parity with KIMO. That’s because, when oil prices collapsed in 1986, KTUU’s visionary owner Jessica Longston and general manager Al Bramstedt saw an opening. In the midst of a deep recession, they committed to drive hard for the number one position. While their competitors cut back (KIMO, for one, was highly leveraged), KTUU continued to pour money in product, promotion, and outreach. By the end of the decade, KTUU had emerged as the clear leader. The initial payoff came in 1992, when the Anchorage Times went under after a

a better long-term approach is to lower costs by working closely with suppliers to refine requirements, improve forecasts, reduce inventory, and eliminate duplicate work. Such a collaborative approach offers even greater savings potential, avoids steep vendor price hikes when the tables turn, and prevents an erosion of trust, which can lead vendors to withhold their best ideas and technologies.

Strengthen the Balance Sheet

Running low on cash is a critical mistake in a recession. Tighter credit markets and higher perceived lending risk make it hard to raise financing at a time when you need it most. I’ve been brought into manage situations where cash was so lean that projecting weekly cash flows and managing the company’s cash position left little time to focus on improvement opportunities—a no-win predicament. Companies that leapfrogged their competitors during previous recessions started with net debt-to-equity ratios that were half of their less-successful competitors. Consider these ways to improve your cash position, prior to a downturn:  Divest noncore businesses and hold onto excess cash.  Draw on lines of credit as soon as possible. Accept higher or floating rates if necessary to provide maximum liquidity.  Cut dividends and other payouts. www.akbizmag.com

sustained onslaught from the McClatchyowned Anchorage Daily News. The Times’ demise freed up millions of dollars in advertising revenue, a good portion of which flowed to KTUU (in part because the News raised its rates after driving the Times under). Nearly twenty-five years later, KTUU is still the market leader in the Anchorage television news market. Their decisive moves during the last recession launched them on a trajectory towards market reach and brand loyalty metrics that are today among the most enviable in small market television. While strategic opportunities always exist, KTUU’s story illustrates how recessions amplify the financial and strategic impact of making bold moves. R

 Reduce working capital drain by aggressively managing inventory, cycle times, and accounts receivable. Consider factoring receivables. Scrutinize trade credit, particularly to higher-risk or non-strategic customers.  Explore converting assets to leases and entering into partnerships or JV’s (joint ventures) that allow you to offload costs and free up capital.

Invest to Grow Your Core Business Efficient operations and a strong balance sheet position you to invest, which helps you gain market share once the recession is underway. So where should you invest? Consider customer retention initiatives for your most profitable customers. Identify them, interview them, and make sure you’re providing the service and quality they need. Implement customer satisfaction tracking (if you’ve not already done so). And invest in initiatives to win new customers. Target customer groups of weaker competitors with sales pushes and new products. Upgrade your sales team by recruiting top talent—usually the first to leave your weaker competitors and other companies hard hit by the recession. Now is the time to launch new products and pricing initiatives to recession-weary customers. But shy away from cutting list prices. Instead, consider the following:

 Offer temporary price promotions  Lower the quantity required for bulk discounts  Unbundle services so customers can pay only for what they need  Implement subscription or service models rather than outright product purchase  Offer long-standing, credit-worthy customers creative financing packages Aside from organic growth, you can achieve big gains through M&A. With a strong balance sheet, you’ll be in a position to buy weaker competitors. You can also approach out-of-state holding companies or native corporations about the possibility of divesting noncore assets that are closely related to your business. Research shows, however, that success in a recession comes from placing big bets on your core business, not from adventuring into unrelated businesses. Make sure you know the difference—but that’s a topic for another article. R Bob Kaufman has thirty years of experience as a management consultant, successful entrepreneur, and venture capital investor. Kaufman began his career in the 1980s as a consultant for Bain & Company, a premier international strategy consulting firm, where he co-founded a specialty practice to bring about rapid and significant cost and quality improvements in underperforming divisions of Fortune 500 companies. He has led more than a dozen successful turnarounds as a consultant and interim manager. Kaufman moved to Alaska in the early 1990s and founded Alaska Channel. Together with his wife, Yael, they have built it into Alaska’s market leader in travel media, out-of-home advertising, and video production. In addition to his hands-on experience, Kaufman has been a principal in two venture capital funds formed by former Bain Capital partners, with more than $100 million under management. He enjoys advisory work and can be contacted at bob@alaska.org. May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

special section

Oil & Gas

AOGA 50th Anniversary Celebrating Alaska’s largest private industry By Tasha Anderson

he oil and gas industry’s presence in Alaska precedes statehood. Since the 1890s exploration has been conducted in the state, with production beginning at the Swanson River oilfield in Kenai in 1961. Fifty years ago in 1966 the Alaska Oil & Gas Association (AOGA) was established: by this time the state had held its first lease sale in Prudhoe Bay; the Swanson River oil field, Sterling gas field, Beluga gas field, Middle Ground Shoal (first offshore field in Cook Inlet), Granite Pointe, McArthur, and Trading Bay fields had all been discovered and many were already in production; there were sixteen offshore platforms in Cook Inlet; and state petroleum revenues had reached $26 million in 1961. The oil and gas industry was already building itself up and has only grown since. According to AOGA President and CEO Kara Moriarty, AOGA’s 50th Anniversary Conference and Celebration “is to highlight not so much the association’s history but the fact that the industry in Alaska has been here for more than fifty years and we continue to be the state’s largest private sector industry, as well as the contribution that we’ve made for the past fifty years.”

The Conference

All are invited to join AOGA as it celebrates Alaska’s oil and gas history, as well as its significant future potential. The all-day conference will be May 25 at the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center in Anchorage. AOGA is lining up local and national speakers. Both Democratic and Republican pollsters have been invited to speak about political trends in the country, the presidential race, and how it’s going to impact Alaska. Alex Epstein, author of “The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels,” is going to debate a few students from UAA in a point/counterpoint manner. Other speakers will include leaders from AOGA’s members, as well those who were involved in the oil and gas industry and with the association in the past. Additionally, AOGA will be recognizing several companies and individuals: there will be nominations for a contractor for safety performance, a project for environmental stewardship, and a rising star and lifetime achievement award given to indi68

viduals. University scholarships will also be awarded at the conference. This anniversary isn’t just an opportunity to look back, it’s also an opportunity to look forward, Moriarty says. “[We’re] looking ahead to what the next half a century looks like for the industry in the state of Alaska because our success in Alaska has very much been intertwined with the success of the state; we are partners—good, bad, or otherwise—and so we want to celebrate that, we want to honor that, and to look at how we move forward collectively.” Perhaps the low price-per-barrel environment is timely for industry leaders, industry partners, and the state to look at the oil and gas industry, what it’s done, and where it’s going. “We’re having this 50th anniversary conference when we’re at a pivotal moment in the industry’s history,” Moriarty says. “We’re at the bottom—what is the industry going to look like, and what is the state going to look like, when prices rebound, whenever that may be?”

Oil & Gas and Alaska

One result of that partnership is that, while current low oil prices have put pressure on the oil and gas industry worldwide, Alaska’s economy has always keenly felt changes in the oil market. Today the oil and gas industry accounts for approximately one third of Alaska jobs; according to AOGA, for every primary oil and gas company job, twenty additional jobs are generated in the Alaska economy. For each direct dollar earned, a total of eight dollars in additional wages are created in Alaska. Oil and gas taxes historically made up approximately 90 percent of the state’s unrestricted revenues. Oil and gas is a commodity market, Moriarty says, and it naturally follows that there will be booms and busts, which Alaska has seen before. The question becomes: How do we sustain ourselves for the long term? Oil and gas project planning can span years, with production itself lasting ten, fifteen, or twenty years. But decisions about those long-term projects are being made now, and the current environment can’t be divorced entirely from the decision making process. “We’re very sympathetic of the state’s budget situation,” Moriarty says. “But rais-

ing taxes on the oil industry when we are already facing tough times will only make a bad situation worse.” At press time, oil is hovering at about $30 per barrel—Moriarty explains that the cost of producing a barrel of oil on the North Slope is approximately $52 per barrel. “The industry is in a cash negative position,” she says. “You can only withstand paying out more than you’re receiving for day-to-day operations for so long; any business would be faced with that challenge.” She says that there are predictions that if oil were to remain at approximately $40 per barrel for the next year, the oil and gas industry would post approximately a billion dollar loss in Alaska. “Hopefully prices rebound to the point that the companies that operate and own Prudhoe Bay will stand up a few more rigs again; those rigs being laid down [in March] will have an impact in a negative manner on production, I just don’t know to what level yet. For us, that’s the short term thing that will get oil in the pipeline,” Moriarty says.

Complex Environment

But the tax discussion taking place at press time is only one facet in Alaska’s complicated oil and gas environment. Oil and gas exploration and production is a magnet for lawsuits, whether from local residents or environmental groups; the federal regulatory process is complex; and Alaska’s remote nature, harsh conditions, and lack of infrastructure is challenging regardless of political, fiscal, or legal factors. It becomes a juggling act for oil and gas companies, who are “maintaining our environmental stewardship, our commitment to doing it right, [and] developing the latest and greatest in technologies and improving efficiencies while balancing the pressures that we get from regulatory industries, outside interest groups, or even as the state grapples with the fiscal situation,” Moriarty says. Oil and gas industry participants have already become adept at meeting these various demands. For instance, large oil and gas projects know that it’s not a matter of if a project will face legal action but when. The key, Moriarty says, “is getting the permit right so that it can withstand a legal challenge, because we know it’s coming. It’s just

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

expected. It’s now part of the planning.” And that’s a significant point, as it highlights that the industry can and will make plans to work around known obstacles, even seeming unending litigation; however, uncertainty is a different story. In the last ten years Alaska has made five changes to its tax structure. Not every change can be seen in a negative light; passing SB21 was positive both for Alaska and the oil and gas industry. SB21 passing resulted in $5 billion of investment in three years. Moriarty says, “That increased spending has been sustaining the industry at the beginning of this price crash… without that additional investment two to three years ago, where would we be now— job wise, revenue wise, production wise?” Whatever the positive effect of one bill, a constantly changing tax structure, no matter how it favors the industry, is potentially detrimental in terms of attracting oil and gas investment in Alaska. Moriarty points out that in this current oil price environment, many states, in contrast to Alaska, are developing incentives for the oil and gas industry, including Wyoming and West Virginia. “We’re not asking for that; all we’re asking [Alaska lawmakers] is, as you make some very difficult decisions, be cautious, because we are an industry in peril— and our message is do no harm.”

Optimistic Outlook

“The good news is we still have great geology,” Moriarty says. “We have a mega resource; we have 40 billion barrels of oil all told, if not more when you consider ANWR and the OCS, and those are big ten-, fifteen-, maybe twenty-year type projects.” Beyond just oil, Alaska has 35 trillion cubic feet of gas known on land and more even offshore. “It’s not that Alaska has a lack of resource, make no mistake about it: there is no lack of resource,” Moriarty says. “It’s a question of are those projects economically viable in a high-cost environment, in a low-price situation, and in an uncertain fiscal system from the state perspective and an uncertain, sometimes unpredictable regulatory system on the federal side,” she clarifies. But some projects are moving forward. Caelus is drilling exploration wells at Smith Bay; Armstrong is pursuing the possibility of operating in the Colville River Delta; and BlueCrest and Furie are both looking at developments in Cook Inlet. “We have a lot of opportunities, but everything just has to sort of be lined up in the right place and we have to sometimes remove the barriers that we place on ourselves,” Moriarty says. R Tasha Anderson is an Associate Editor at Alaska Business Monthly. www.akbizmag.com

May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

special section

Oil & Gas

Alaska Oil Industry Leadership Testifies State tax policy: to ‘eschew’ or ‘issue’ pink slips By Heather A. Resz 70

f not for sustained low oil prices, the purpose of Alaska Governor Bill Walker’s press conference March 21 might have been a celebration of the 17,500 barrels a day of new oil flowing through the Trans Alaska Pipeline System since December 2015. Instead, Walker announced an increase to $4.1 billion in the state’s expected 2016 budget deficit. But the state is not the only entity making hard decisions since December 2014 when oil prices dropped below $60 a barrel, dipping as low as $26.23 on January 20.

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

Caelus Energy Alaska LLCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Nuna prospect on the North Slope in August 2015. Photo courtesy of Resource Development Council for Alaska

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May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

laying off workers under current market conditions,” Moriarty said. Companies have reduced profits, increased prices, and spent down their savings to avoid layoffs, according to hours of testimony during more than twenty hearings to the House Resources Committee, which introduced a rewrite March 19 of Walker’s bill to re-write the state’s oil and gas tax structure to increase the minimum tax to 25 percent and erase millions in currently eligible tax credits for industry.

Support Industry Hard Hit

Doug Smith with Little Red Services shared the company’s struggle during tes-

timony to the committee March 2. Little Red initially avoided layoffs by reducing profits and raising prices, but that wasn’t enough, he said. With crews no longer working in the field or doing transports, Smith said the company has been forced to reduce payroll through $2 million in layoffs, the first since 2009. Many of these positions are well-paying, family wage jobs. “We do things that have an immediate potential production increase on wells,” he testified about Little Red’s work on the North Slope. “It’s one of the last things you trim out in a declining market. And we are there.”

Overall rig activity on the North Slope is down three rigs—nearly 60 percent—this year, Smith said. Alaska Support Industry Alliance General Manager Rebecca Logan said low oil prices have led to about two thousand layoffs in the support industry, with more expected. “That number is only going to get worse in the next couple of months,” she said. Alaska runs on oil, Resource Development Council Executive Director Marleanna Hall said; generally what’s good for the oil and gas industry is good for Alaska. With the March announcement that work had stopped on three BP drill rigs, she said she is expecting reductions in the workforce across the support industry. Alaska needs stable fiscal policies and a sound business environment, Hall said, noting that the Resource Council has advocated for a stable long-term fiscal plan for Alaska for more than twenty years.

‘ING would be unlikely to lend’

Not since the mid-1980s has the Alaska oil and gas industry endured such a season of sustained low prices. Price fluctuation is par for the course in the oil and gas game, Logan said. Uncertainty over Alaska’s oil and gas tax structure is the thousandpound gorilla that could flatten the struggling industry, she said. Political uncertainty equals lender uncertainty, ING Managing Directors Richard Ennis and Thomas Ryan testified to the House Resources Committee March 9 on House Bill 247. “As a prudent lender ING would welcome some prospective amendments, effective after 2016, that would make the program more sustainable over the longer term but also make the functioning of the program more predictable,” ING representatives testified. While the changes in the bill would make the program more sustainable it also increases risk for lenders, they said. “In its current form the legislation would mean that ING would be unlikely to lend to the smaller exploration and development companies who are most in need of third party capital.” Three major producers—BP, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil—account for most of Alaska’s North Slope oil production, with the remainder coming from Chevron, Hilcorp, ENI, Anadarko, and Caelus. Caelus directly employees seventy Alaskans full-time on the North Slope, and supports another four hundred through its subcontractors, according Senior Vice President of Alaska Operations J. Patrick Foley’s testimony to House Resources February 29. All of those jobs are dependent 72

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

Photo courtesy of Resource Development Council for Alaska

The trans-Alaska oil pipeline, better known in the industry as TAPS, short for the Trans Alaska Pipeline System.

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May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

on securing financial backing for projects from lenders such as Apollo, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and ING, he said. After Walker postponed payment of some oil tax credits in 2015, Foley said several equity providers began backing away from Alaska projects. The change in front of the Legislature now represents the sixth re-write of Alaska’s oil tax code in eleven years. “Tax changes will delay or cancel existing and future projects; negatively impact production, jobs, and revenue; and discourage third party capital investments,” Foley testified.

A Question of Balance

Alaska Division of Oil & Gas Resource Evaluation Manager Paul L. Decker told House Resources Committee there is no doubt that credits helped stimulate activity in Cook Inlet. Exploration today becomes production five, fifteen, twenty years down the road, he said. “But it’s a question of balance,” Decker said. “What can the state afford to do going forward?” Alaska Support Industry Alliance VP of Industry Relations Bryan Clemenz said raising taxes and curtailing tax credit programs would add to the troubles of an industry already struggling under low prices.

“Instead of putting the last nail in the coffin of this industry we should do our best to incentivize this industry,” he testified March 2. Since oil tax credits were added to statute in 2003, with state repurchase beginning in 2007, Alaska has paid out about $7.4 billion in tax credits through the end of fiscal year 2015. The amount the state pays in tax credits each year has increased from $54 million in 2008 to $630 million in fiscal year 2015, with an additional $1 billion in liability expected the next two years. Most of that total—about $404 million—has gone to Cook Inlet companies to

Hilcorp Alaska’s Platform A in Cook Inlet near Nikiski, originally built in 1965, photo taken September 2014. Photo courtesy of Resource Development Council for Alaska

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

incentivize production of the natural gas needed to power and heat most of Southcentral Alaska, according to Revenue Commissioner Randy Hoffbeck. He said the benefits to the state from the tax credit program must be viewed in context of the state’s looming $4.1 billion deficit. During times of economic austerity, the state has a responsibility to prioritize core government services, Hoffbeck testified. Although the committee’s amended version of Walker’s bill introduced March 19— followed by a flurry of amendments—is an improvement from the original, Moriarty said, the proposed changes would result in

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additional layoffs and projects being postponed or canceled due to lenders pulling back on Alaska investments.

Will it help? Or make matters worse? Alaska has more than a third of the nation’s oil and gas reserves on and off shore with billions of barrels left to produce. “We have mega resources here,” Moriarty said. “We are still going to be an oil and gas state for years to come—as long as Alaska wants to be an oil and gas region.” Daniel Seckers, ExxonMobil Tax Counsel for Alaska, said the state remains a very

important part of Exxon’s investment portfolio, but described HB247 as “very troubling” in testimony to House Resources. “Tax policy decisions impact the economic health of the state and the companies doing business here,” he said. He suggested policymakers ask themselves whether it is sound tax policy to raise taxes at the very time that companies are reporting significant loses on the very activities this bill is trying to tax? “Will it help? Or make matters worse?” Seckers asked. Stabilizing the state’s oil and gas credit system is the number one priority for the

May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

Alaska Support Industry Alliance, a trade association that represents 680 business members employing thirty thousand Alaskan workers, Logan said. “We need a state fiscal system and a federal regulatory system that allows responsible development access and predictable, durable, competitive terms so we know the rules of the game,” she said. Moriarty said Alaska also has demonstrated its willingness to increases taxes when prices are high and when they are low. Taking more money from an industry already in a cash negative environment is short-sighted.

“Instead of mitigating impacts, we’re facing tax increases,” Moriarty said. “They are taking an awful risk.” The “risk” is of pushing producers, explorers, and the lenders who finance them out of Alaska’s oil fields, she said. The risk is that they will invest their limited dollars elsewhere, she said.

‘We are not in our twilight’

Division of Alaska Oil and Gas Director Corri Feige was on the other side of the table as the former Alaska manager for Linc Energy, which is developing the Umiat oil field with the help of state incentives, when

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the current tax code was approved by the Legislature. She cited more than $40 billion market capitalization and a robust cross-section of oil and gas companies working on the North Slope as evidence the industry still views Alaska as a good environment for investment. Talking with industry, Feige said she’s heard many stories about the cold wind the tax credit discussion sent across oil patch financers beginning in summer 2015. Some projects, like ConocoPhillips plans to drill eight new wells in CD5, are going forward, while others like Great Bear Petroleum plans for drilling in 2016 are on hold at least until 2017, she said. Logan said the Alliance won’t support any changes in the tax structure that cause harm to the industry or prolong its recovery. “That should be common ground for everyone.” Alaskans would be wise to review their history and recall what happened in the oil patch after the sweeping tax changes in 2007 and 2008, she said. “We can see the results of that policy,” Logan said. “People were investing everywhere except here.” Then came Senate Bill 21 (SB21), which set tax rules. People argued a lot over it before the bill eventually won support in the Legislature and at the ballot box, she said. The tax credits are working as designed she said, in reference to the preliminary 2016 Spring Revenue Forecast that shows a daily increase of 17,000 barrels of oil. “Billions were committed to the state after passage of SB21,” Logan said. Without the incentives approved in SB21, Moriarty said Alaska would have less revenue and fewer jobs when workforce reductions began in 2015. She sharply disagrees with the report “Economic Impacts of Alaska Fiscal Options” produced by the Institute of Social and Economic Research, which suggests shrinking oil revenues are the state’s long-term future. “We will have a smoother economic adjustment to lower oil revenues if we make significant progress this year,” according to the ISER report. Moriarty said the world still wants fossil fuels and Alaska has them in abundance. “The state is not running out of oil anytime soon. The question is whether we are going to have a competitive environment from a fiscal and regulatory environment,” Moriarty said. “We are not in our twilight, unless policy pushes us there.” R Heather A. Resz has been telling Alaskans stories for nearly twenty years.

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

special section

Oil & Gas

The Fight over Tax Credits Governor and Legislature at odds

By Rindi White

t’s no secret Alaska is facing a fiscal crisis of epic proportions. Midway through the legislative session, the proposed state budget was a lofty $4 billion, while revenue was estimated at around $1 billion this year. Oil prices are at historic lows, and while forecasters believe they will recover somewhat in the coming years, budgeting with enough revenue to cover only one-quarter state operating budget is not sustainable. Budgeting in that fashion while cutting checks to oil producers to the tune of $775 million is even less sustainable, state Department of Revenue Tax Division Director Ken Alper says. Next year, the state estimates it will distribute $775 million in credits and bring in about $690 million in unrestricted petroleum revenue, an imbalance of $85 million. Enter Governor Bill Walker’s House Bill 247. When introduced in January, the bill aimed at putting a damper on oil tax credits and increasing the minimum production tax (collected when oil prices are low) from 4 to 5 percent, while also “hardening” the floor, making it more difficult for companies to offset their taxes with production credits. The goal was to staunch the outflow of tax credit spending and put a little more money into the state general fund, part of Walker’s New Sustainable Alaska Plan to “provide a balanced and sustainable budget for Alaska’s long-term fiscal stability,” he wrote in the bill’s sponsor statement. It was estimated to bring in $500 million to the state, $400 million of that in reduced and deferred tax credit spending and $100 million in additional oil production taxes. It didn’t get a warm reception at the Legislature, however. By mid-March, the House Resources Committee had passed a muchchanged version that eliminated the tax increase and softened the blow of the tax credit reduction, knocking the savings down to about $50 million in oil tax credit spending. It cut credits in Cook Inlet and Middle Earth—the region outside Cook Inlet and the North Slope—by more than one third, the largest credit reduction to date in the oil tax credit program’s history. At press time the bill had a long road 78

“One of the things we’re frustrated with is, we’re looking at tax policy as a way to fill a budget gap, instead of looking at tax policy as a tool for ensuring that we have a strong oil and gas industry now and in the future.”

—Rebecca Logan General Manager, Alaska Support Industry Alliance

ahead: It had been passed to the House Finance Committee and was likely to be before the Senate in April. Alper says he believes some version of the bill will pass, either in a late-session push or during an extended or special session.

Cutting Credits Stifles Development, Industry Says Oil industry officials say the oil tax credits are needed to spur development at a time when the market is unfriendly to new investment. Curbing the credits could mean cutting production further, when oil producers are already cutting costs and announcing massive layoffs. Rebecca Logan, general manager of the Alaska Support Industry Alliance, has been involved in the discussion for months. She served on the Senate Oil and Gas Tax Credit Working Group last summer, a group convened by Senate Resources chair Senator Cathy Giessel and Senate Finance co-chair Anna MacKinnon. Logan, who spoke just after the bill passed to the House Resources Committee in late March, says she would prefer to see the bill fail. “We’re still maintaining our position that it’s not a good bill,” she says. “We’ve started a public education campaign about the impacts of raising taxes on the oil industry, especially in this down market.” Cutting credits, for smaller producers, amounts to raising the cost of development and production, she says. It means oil companies—particularly smaller companies, who are the only ones who qualify for the oil tax credits—have a harder time finding financing. “One of the things we’re frustrated with is, we’re looking at tax policy as a way to fill a budget gap, instead of looking at tax

policy as a tool for ensuring that we have a strong oil and gas industry now and in the future,” Logan says.

The State as Partner to Producers In the last decade, the state has gone from being a tax administrator and royalty recipient to an industry partner by passing legislation that allowed producers to apply credits against their tax liability to the state. The credit system developed under the 2006 Petroleum Production Tax, or PPT, grew under the Alaska’s Clear and Equitable Share, or ACES, oil and gas tax restructuring passed in 2007, where credits reimbursed by cash from the state were among the incentives aimed at increasing capital spending, mostly on the North Slope. It was a form of redistribution, taking company revenues from the North Slope majors and using it as seed corn to spur competition in both the closed North Slope basin and a mature and browning Cook Inlet Basin, says Giessel. In 2010, the Legislature passed the Cook Inlet Recovery Act, focused on spurring exploration in Cook Inlet to offset a decline in the availability of gas for heating and energy in population-dense Southcentral Alaska. In 2013, the Legislature passed SB21, which overhauled North Slope taxes, increasing base tax rates and eliminating a 20 percent capital spending credit but allowing sliding-scale credits based on a mathematical equation linked to barrels of oil produced of between $0 and $8 per barrel. SB21 also strengthened the 4 percent minimum tax on oil produced by legacy producers. “Either through allowing for credits

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

against a tax liability, or by purchasing a credit from a smaller producer, the state had become an investor in the oil and gas sector,” the working group report states. But by offering credits to producers, the producers were able to secure future financing. Commercial lenders, long reluctant to finance oil development, now had a way to show collateral. Giessel says the working group spoke with two commercial lenders, ING and Bank of America, who said they had watched the tax credits being put into law, and then the state issuing credit checks to producers, and felt the environment was stable enough for investment. Lower interest-rate loans were now available for tax-credit-qualifying companies. But in 2015, the stability was shaken when Walker vetoed $200 million in production credits, she says. “Immediately loans were put on hold or their interest rates were doubled,” Giessel says. “It was pretty eye-opening.” Big producers weren’t going to ING for financing, she says. It was smaller oil companies like BlueCrest Energy, which is 100 percent owner of the large, undeveloped Cosmopolitan project in Cook Inlet. BlueCrest President Benjamin Johnson, at a February Industry Outlook Forum in

Governor Bill Walker’s House Bill 247 Short Title: TAX; CREDITS; INTEREST; REFUNDS; O & G Actual Title: An Act relating to confidential information status and public record status of information in the possession of the Department of Revenue; relating to interest applicable to delinquent tax; relating to disclosure of oil and gas production tax credit information; relating to refunds for the gas storage facility tax credit, the liquefied natural gas storage facility tax credit, and the qualified in-state oil refinery infrastructure expenditures tax credit; relating to the minimum tax for certain oil and gas production; relating to the minimum tax calculation for monthly installment payments of estimated tax; relating to interest on monthly installment payments of estimated tax; relating to limitations for the application of tax credits; relating to oil and gas production tax credits for certain losses and expenditures; relating to limitations for nontransferable oil and gas production tax credits based

on oil production and the alternative tax credit for oil and gas exploration; relating to purchase of tax credit certificates from the oil and gas tax credit fund; relating to a minimum for gross value at the point of production; relating to lease expenditures and tax credits for municipal entities; adding a definition for “qualified capital expenditure”; adding a definition for “outstanding liability to the state”; repealing oil and gas exploration incentive credits; repealing the limitation on the application of credits against tax liability for lease expenditures incurred before January 1, 2011; repealing provisions related to the monthly installment payments for estimated tax for oil and gas produced before January 1, 2014; repealing the oil and gas production tax credit for qualified capital expenditures and certain well expenditures; repealing the calculation for certain lease expenditures applicable before January 1, 2011; making conforming amendments; and providing for an effective date. R

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May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

Kenai, said the company is ready to drill its first well there this summer, but if tax credits are discontinued, the project will be on hold. They’re the kinds of producers the state deliberately invited to invest in Alaska, Giessel says. When Apache Corporation announced in March that it was leaving Alaska after six years of exploration in Cook Inlet, Giessel issued a statement clarifying her goal. “My hope is that we, as a state, can set the right environment and conditions for our private economy to weather the economic downturn,” she wrote. Apache announced it lost $23.1 billion in 2015. Company spokeswoman Castlen Kennedy says the decision to leave Alaska was linked to low oil prices, not to tax credit discussions. “That said, we have a portfolio of opportunities across the globe and must take multiple factors including costs, infrastructure access, regulatory environments, and other variables into consideration as we prioritize our investments,” Kennedy wrote in an email.

Credits vs. Revenue

How can the state offer credits without offsetting revenue? Industry leaders and sup-

porters say the credits are vital to new development, especially in the coming years. “Many projects are entering the development phase of its life cycle, and several are even close to entering production. To date, the state has spent billions of dollars over the past ten years to incentivize the exploration and development of many projects. This is particularly true in the Cook Inlet basin, where the supply of natural gas can increase tremendously in the next handful of years,” the working group report states. “If the state were to dramatically change the credit system, and projects that have advanced to development were to be halted, the state will have lost the investment it made in getting that project to production.” But not curbing the credits is unsustainable, Alper says. In fiscal year 2015, the state paid out nearly $628 million in refundable tax credits. In 2016, the state will pay out $500 million, the limit set by Walker’s veto. An additional $200 million will be carried over to fiscal year 2017, so the coming year’s tax credit liability is estimated at $775 million. The state is expecting to receive $690 million in unrestricted petroleum revenue, or money that is available for the state to spend. That’s a portion of the oil production tax, royalty, corporate income tax,

and property tax, Alper says. Another $500 million in revenue is estimated to come to the state from “everything else,” he says— that’s fish taxes, motor fuel taxes, cruise ship taxes, and taxes on mining, cigarettes, and alcohol, for example. So with nearly $1.2 billion in unrestricted revenue, the state has a proposed $5 billion operating budget. The gap is real, Alper says, and it’s not something that can be closed with a few budget cuts. “If [the state government] was reduced to just the governor sitting in his office with a coffee cup, it still wouldn’t do it,” Alper says. HB247 is one prong of a multi-pronged approach by Walker to shift the state to a more stable yearly income. So far it’s been a struggle to get the Legislature, which is skeptical of Walker’s plan to slash cashable credits and increase taxes at a time when the oil industry is already suffering from low oil prices, to move forward on the new fiscal plan. But Walker has indicated a lack of movement on the issue will ensure the Legislature tackles it during a special session. R Rindi White is a freelance journalist living in Palmer.

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Oil & Gas

Furie and Hilcorp in Cook Inlet Independents turn around a stagnant region By Julie Stricker

wo Alaska newcomers have been making things happen in the Cook Inlet oil and gas fields. Furie Operating Alaska and Hilcorp Energy, both independents, have been operating in Alaska for only a few years, but together they’ve been largely responsible for turning around a stagnant oil and gas sector in the region. “Cook Inlet is just a fantastic story in proving that incentives work,” says Sarah Erkmann, external affairs manager for the Alaska Oil and Gas Association. The incentives are outlined in a bill called the Cook Inlet Recovery Act passed by the Alaska Legislature in 2010. It expanded capital credits available to Cook Inlet producers and cleared the way for a natural gas storage facility. The act was drafted in response to a potential energy crisis in 2009 brought on by a shortage of natural gas from legacy wells. “Production is up,” Erkmann says. “I think it’s doubled from the levels when we had the Southcentral mayors warning us we’d have to turn down our heat and turn off the lights.” The credits allowed Furie and Hilcorp to upgrade existing platforms and legacy wells and explore for new deposits. Their efforts have paid off.

Increased Production

Since 2010, overall production in Cook Inlet has increased 80 percent, according to the Alaska Oil and Gas Association. The uptick has helped lower natural gas prices in the region and stabilize the supply. Both Furie and Hilcorp have made long-term natural gas production deals with local utilities. Furie’s contract to provide Homer Electric Association with 12.1 million cubic feet per day goes through 2020; another contract with ENSTAR is good through 2021. It would provide about 20 percent of ENSTAR’s annual needs. Hilcorp also has a deal with ENSTAR through 2023 that would supply 22 billion 82

Two of Hilcorp’s Cook Inlet platforms. Photo courtesy of Hilcorp

cubic feet, or about 70 percent, of the utility’s needs. Those are longer contracts than have been seen in the region in the past decade, Erkmann says. “That’s a good indication that natural gas production has stabilized.” Incentives are a common way to spur development in aging fields, and that was part of the attraction for the independents in Cook Inlet. “Alaska’s tax credit system and the Cook Inlet Recovery act were key drivers in bringing Hilcorp to Alaska in our investments to date,” says Lori Nelson, Hilcorp’s manager of external affairs, via email. “Since 2012, Hilcorp has spent approximately $3.2 billion dollars in capital and acquisition costs here in the state of Alaska. Those investments were aimed at one primary goal—increasing oil and gas production.”

Furie Taps Kitchen Lights Furie, formerly Escopeta Oil, operates the newly discovered Kitchen Lights Unit. Furie is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cornucopia Oil and Gas Company, both under the umbrella of holding company Deutsche Oel &

Gas. Furie’s Kitchen Lights Unit became the first new offshore gas production platform in Cook Inlet since the Osprey platform was built on the Redoubt Shoal field in 2000. Production started November 2, 2015. Furie’s Kitchen Light Unit leases encompass eighty-three thousand acres west of

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Nikiski in deeper water than other Cook Inlet wells. Although five exploratory wells were drilled in the 1960s and early 1990s by Shell, Arco, and ConocoPhillips, none of them produced gas or oil, although test results were encouraging. In 2011, Furie brought up the first jack-up rig, Spartan 151, used in Cook Inlet for twenty years. Furie drilled three wells, all in the Corsair block in the center of the leases, and struck gas. Construction commenced on the platform and sixteen miles of pipelines, with Crowley Marine as the principal contractor working with marine professionals SAL Heavy Lift and a number of subcontractors. The first well struck gas at a depth of 8,805 feet in 2011. Two more wells were drilled in 2012 and 2013, with Well No. 3 showing the strongest returns. It was drilled to 10,500 feet and encountered four natural gas zones. Flow tests showed 35.3 million cubic feet of gas could be extracted from No. 3. Furie estimates that to be a fifteen-year supply of gas for the region.

Challenging Field

Drilling in Cook Inlet is a challenge. The inlet is known for its fast currents, extreme tides, and limited visibility due to sediment in the water. Harsh winters mean the construction season is only about five months long. All of these things help drive up the cost of operations in Cook Inlet. Furie has spent about $700 million on development. Here’s a snapshot of what it took to build the platform in the Kitchen Lights Unit. The platform is on 147-foot-high steel monopod that had to be threaded over the well, accomplished by a specially outfitted heavy-lift ship, the MV Svenga. Once in Alaska, the Svenga was moored over the wellsite. A “king pile” was drilled into the seabed close to the wellhead. The connection piece rose about 12 feet above the seabed, under 100 feet of murky water. The king pile served as a guide to lower the monopod onto the wellhead. It was “a high-precision operation with an eightyton heavy hydrohammer,” according to a release by SAL Heavy Lift project manager Holger Krenz. With zero visibility in the water, the crew had to rely on a subsea 3D sonar system. A fourteen-mile-long subsea pipeline was laid to connect the platform to shore facilities. A three hundred-foot segment was placed using horizontal direction drilling to connect the two. Furie has brought another jack-up rig, the Randolph Yost, to continue its exploration efforts this summer. The company’s permit application with the Alaska Division of Oil and Gas seeks to drill two wells per year through 2019. www.akbizmag.com

Hilcorp Dominates

Hilcorp dominates the Cook Inlet oil and gas industry. Its assets include twenty oil and gas wells across the region acquired from Union Oil Company, a Chevron subsidiary, and Marathon Oil Company. In 2015, it also acquired two offshore platforms from XTO Energy as well as onshore facilities in Nikiski. Hilcorp also operates on the North Slope. “Over the past four years, we have invested over $1 billion in projects and have drilled over fifty wells in the Cook Inlet area,” Nelson says. “As a result of this investment and the positive results, we’re sending more oil to be refined and used in Alaska and we’re currently making gas supply commitments into the year 2023 with local utilities and continue to work to ensure a reliable energy source for Alaska’s largest population hub.” Combined, Hilcorp’s operations produce fifty-three thousand gross barrels of oil per day and 150 million cubic feet of gross gas per day from approximately five hundred producing wells, for a total net production to Hilcorp of approximately fifty-seven thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day, Nelson says. Hilcorp’s oil is sent to the Tesoro refinery in Nikiski, which is currently operating at a fraction of its capacity. And while the low cost of oil is affecting some of its operations plans for 2015, Hilcorp is investing in 3D seismic surveys of some of its older fields in 2015. It’s newer technology that hasn’t been used on those areas before and the company believes it will help uncover new reserves in the legacy fields. “Our primary focus for Cook Inlet is, and will remain, to support Alaskans’ energy needs,” Nelson says. “During challenging times like these, building efficiency wherever possible is imperative to ensure that Hilcorp can continue to operate responsibly and sustainably.”

‘Comeback Kid’

The state’s tax credits played a big role in Hilcorp and Furie’s decision to aggressively pursue oil and gas in Cook Inlet. Other companies, such as BlueCrest Energy, which planned to drill two onshore oil wells and possibly seek natural gas, say their plans are dependent on whether the Alaska Legislature cuts the credits. “Southcentral’s energy needs are just going to increase—we need to see that level of investment to continue,” Erkmann says. “I love talking about Cook Inlet. It’s such a turnaround. It’s a bit of the comeback kid for the oil fields.” R Julie Stricker is a journalist living near Fairbanks. May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

special section

Oil & Gas

Point Thomson Closing in on production Compiled by Susan Harrington

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

Point Thomson in January. © Exxon Mobil Corporation

Point Thomson Central Pad in December 2015. © Exxon Mobil Corporation

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May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

Point Thomson airstrip in July 2015.

e have all wanted to hear more about ExxonMobil’s Point Thomson Unit for months. Unfortunately, the company is so busy getting the project ready they haven’t been able to take the time to talk to us about it. Instead, they asked for some questions, which we sent, and they sent us back some answers. We hope this will keep readers satisfied for the time being on the $4 billion dollar project that’s employed more than 1,500 Alaskans through more than 100 different contractors. Point Thomson condensates are the next best thing to putting oil in the pipeline and the project sets up the starting gate for putting product in an LNG pipeline at some point in time, which as you’ll find out from the Q&A, there is no rush for that.

Q&A with Gina Dickerson, ExxonMobil Point Thomson Senior Project Manager

Point Thomson is an extremely tough field to develop, would you be willing to talk about what’s been encountered so far and how you have dealt with the high pressure?

The Point Thomson field requires high pressure gas compression to overcome the reservoir pressure and re-inject produced 86

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

Point Thomson airstrip in use. © Exxon Mobil Corporation

gas for future recovery. Additionally, the processing facilities, pipelines, and drilling components had to be designed with corrosion-resistant materials to account for certain chemical compounds contained in the production stream. These factors, among others, increased the difficulty of design, material selection, fabrication and construction, and had a significant impact on the robustness of safety programs and training at Point Thomson. Point Thomson is located in a remote area, 60 miles east of Prudhoe Bay and 60 miles west of the village of Kaktovik. The combination of remote location and limited permanent infrastructure made it difficult to transport equipment and materials to the site, and careful planning was required to capitalize on short construction and logistics windows. Not to mention the extreme and often unpredictable arctic weather conditions created many challenges for execution of construction activities. ExxonMobil’s work with Alaskans and Alaska companies was critical to successfully develop the field, and thousands of Alaskans worked both on-site and around the state during peak construction.

What’s different about the fittings, pumps, compressors, and pipes at Point Thomson compared to Prudhoe Bay?

Due to the high pressure design requirements and chemical compounds contained in the production stream, a large number of components were custom-made with very high strength configurations and corrosion-resistant materials.

What is ExxonMobil looking to learn about the Point Thomson reservoir “plumbing” during initial condensate prowww.akbizmag.com

May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

Point Thomson pipeline. © Exxon Mobil Corporation

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Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

xxon is proud of its community relations efforts on the North Slope and throughout the Point Thomson project. The company was been instrumental in bringing several thousand Barter Island artifacts to Alaska for temporary study by residents of Kaktovik, archaeologists, and others. The artifacts were collected on Barter Island in 1914 and loaned to the Museum of the North in 2014. Their permanent home is at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec. We asked a few questions about other endeavors of the like.

What is ExxonMobil doing to maintain its good neighbor commitment to the North Slope community?

From the onset of Point Thomson project development, ExxonMobil worked diligently to understand the local physical, biological and social environment. Great care was taken to ensure wildlife and wildlife habitats in the area were protected, and the project implemented comprehensive measures to mitigate potential impacts to tundra, wildlife, aquatic resources and subsistence activities. For example, ExxonMobil launched a pilot program to improve early detection of polar bears at Point Thomson. The program uses state-of-the-art ground surveillance radar with pan-tilt-zoom cameras to detect and track the animals in the dark, amid poor visibility and severe weather. This allows Point Thomson site management to minimize potential interactions with bears that get too close to project facilities and improves protection of both the bears and the workers onsite. This application of ground surveillance radar is the first of its kind to be used in polar bear detection and tracking in the Arctic, and ExxonMobil continues to work with Spotter RF, the radar vendor, NANA Management Services security, and the Alaska Zoo to adjust the technology for potential expansion of use at the site. A core component of the Point Thomson project vision is to be a good neighbor. ExxonMobil actively engaged local community members and government agencies to understand concerns related to the project’s development and adopted measures to address those concerns. For example, input from Kaktovik was incorporated into design of the 22mile export pipeline, and correspondingly the pipeline was constructed with a glare-resistant jacket for its entire length and increased wall thickness in traditional subsistence hunting areas. The pipeline was also designed to provide at least seven feet of ground clearance to allow safe and unimpeded caribou movement. ExxonMobil continues to participate in meetings and workshops with the local Kaktovik community, the North Slope Borough, and other government and regulatory agencies to keep them informed and develop a deeper understanding of local concerns and priorities.

What are some other collaborative efforts ExxonMobil is involved in besides the partnership with Kaktovik and the Barter Island artifacts?

The Point Thomson project engaged local communities and North Slope Borough wildlife managers to implement new technologies to monitor wildlife. For example,

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caribou are an iconic and important subsistence species to North Slope communities, and traditional aerial surveys have been conducted to count caribou in the project area to document calving locations. The project also deployed motion-activated cameras to document caribou movements near planned infrastructure. In response to feedback from North Slope communities about the use of low-flying aircraft in caribou surveys, the project tested capabilities of satellite-based remote sensing techniques to monitor the annual summer caribou migration near Point Thomson in 2015. The preliminary results from this initiative proved promising and ExxonMobil plans to continue to test remote sensing and other emerging technologies to further enhance wildlife monitoring initiatives. To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to use remote sensing methodologies to monitor caribou populations on the North Slope of Alaska. The project also partnered with a non-profit maritime organization and two indigenous villages to pilot upgraded safety and communications technology to support subsistence whaling. Communication Centers (Com-Centers) were equipped with vessel tracking software to allow Com-Center operators from the villages to monitor their subsistence boats and other marine vessel traffic near subsistence use areas. They could then communicate accordingly with the whaling crews and/or transiting vessels. The project’s efforts were recognized by the U.S. Coast Guard, Alaska Federal Delegation, North Slope Borough, and other coastal stakeholders. Most importantly, these upgrades provided more efficient and effective technology leading to improved safety.

Q A

What future activities are planned?

In 2015, ExxonMobil announced a multiyear commitment of $600,000 over three years to the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program. This is in addition to our planned $200,000 Alaska contribution. ExxonMobil Alaska strongly believes that the key to our future innovation is the development of young minds, and that’s why we’re continuing with education funding, even in these times of declining oil prices. Investment in education is indeed an investment in the future. ExxonMobil sponsors the Kaktovik Community Foundation by providing an internship for a local student each year as part of the annual Community Summer Jobs Program. ExxonMobil also continues to participate in Alaskan career and health fairs that promote STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education and healthy Alaska Native communities. R

May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

Point Thomson contractor tree.

for 10,000 barrels a day of condensate, what is being done to ensure the line runs without flow problems or corrosion or other problems because it will be one-sixth full?

ÂŠ Exxon Mobil Corporation

The Point Thomson export pipeline is designed to mitigate potential flow assurance and corrosion issues, and similarly, the processing facilities are designed to ensure condensate entering the pipeline is stabilized and dehydrated to mitigate potential issues. The pipeline is full of condensate during production; however, a lower pump pressure is required to transport condensate at a rate of 10,000 barrels per day compared to a higher production rate. duction that will help when it becomes a gas field for the LNG project?

The initial production phase of Point Thomson will verify the interconnectivity and subsurface characteristics of the reservoir; and production data will help to validate the reservoir models used as design bases for future expansion.

How many years can Point Thomson produce only condensates before reinjecting the gas becomes a problem, or

until gas handling capacity is hit?

Point Thomson facilities are designed to produce up to 10,000 barrels per day of natural gas condensate and 200 million cubic feet of recycled gas. The design life of the permanent facilities is a minimum of 30 years, and the projected operational life is longer with proper maintenance and operating procedures.

Since the Point Thomson oil pipeline was built much bigger than needed

What needs to be done and what additional infrastructure needs to be in place to produce gas at Point Thomson?

The Point Thomson initial production facilities provide a foundation for future gas development on the North Slope. Future gas production would require infrastructure to safely transport sales gas to market, and expanded Point Thomson facilities would include (not limited to) further well development and facilities modifications to enable gas conditioning. R

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The Industry Leader in Process Safety Engineering and Automation

pplied Engineering Solutions (aeSolutions) has distinguished itself in Alaska as a leading provider of process safety consulting and safety instrumented system engineering services. But its oldest corporate roots are in automation engineering and integration services, and now the company is extending these service offerings in the state. “Our new Control Systems Integration Center in Anchorage is an investment we have made to illustrate our commitment in this area,” says Alaska Business Unit Manager Chris Hickling. The new Anchorage center enables aeSolutions to offer competitive local delivery on migration and upgrade projects. It also supports the company’s future goals to further expand its automation engineering services in Alaska. OFFERING AN ARRAY OF SERVICES Founded in 1998, aeSolutions is headquartered in Greenville, S.C. and has 140 employees. Besides its Anchorage facility, the company operates a third location in Houston, Texas. Currently, aeSolutions provides a range of safety consulting services that help clients manage process hazards with the potential to do substantial harm to people and the environment. The company’s engineering and automation services deliver effective process automation systems, fire and gas systems, burner management systems, and safety instrumented systems. Its software solutions make the health of the critical systems protecting against these

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Left to right: Chris Hickling, Katie Rockman, Aaron Huberman

high hazards instantly visible and actionable throughout the entire enterprise. aeSolutions is unique in the breadth of its services focused on mitigating the highest-consequence hazards for process manufacturing companies. “Few companies offer an integrated-services package around the complete process safety lifecycle like aeSolutions,” Hickling says. “We provide this offering with the benefits of efficient designs, reduced costs, and higher quality safety systems.”

VALUE-DRIVEN APPROACH To maximize value, aeSolutions goes beyond simply helping clients achieve process safety compliance. “We also help them accomplish operational excellence and make more fact-based decisions in the maintenance and investments of the critical systems that keep their facilities operating safely,” Hickling says. aeSolutions also differentiates itself by establishing strong relationships with clients, based on its passion to understand and solve their problems. This—along with the expertise and effectiveness of its professionals—has helped shaped the company’s success. “Every member of our executive leadership team is a registered professional engineer, and many hold other respected technical certifications and positions on committees responsible –

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for setting industry standards,” he says. Hickling credits the organization’s ability to attract and retain high-caliber professionals to two core values: leading with humility and leadership that values the details. aeSolutions is a human-focused company that appreciates its employees and values the complexity and detail of their work. “If we can keep doing those two things, our customers will continue to improve their process safety performance and achieve the related business value,” he says. aeSolutions has earned various awards for its expertise and practices. Recent honors include a 2016 BlueCross® BlueShield® of South Carolina LiveLifeBlueSM workplace wellness award and 2015 South Carolina Chamber of Commerce Safety Award for Exemplary Safety Record. Additionally, the Anchorage and Greenville offices were recognized for exemplary workplace practices. In Alaska, aeSolutions’ major projects include a program to update burner management systems across the North Slope and assisting with safety system renewals. The company also engages in ongoing work with process risk management and supplying turn-key fire and gas equipment. aeSolutions Alaska LLC Chris Hickling, PMP, Alaska Business Unit Manager 3800 Centerpoint Dr., Suite 620 Anchorage, Alaska 99503 (907) 865-5992, Ext. 4207 www.aesoln.com

special section

Oil & Gas

‘Homeless LNG’ likely to keep market oversupplied this decade By Larry Persily Larry Persily, assistant to the Kenai Peninsula Borough mayor, was invited to participate in an Asian LNG conference and prepared this report as part of the borough’s ongoing efforts to share information about global LNG market developments. The conference paid the travel expenses.

peakers at an annual Asian LNG conference in Singapore talked about “homeless LNG”—new supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG) coming into the market without enough buyers willing to sign long-term deals to guarantee a destination for all the potential cargoes. With LNG export projects coming online in Australia and the United States, with demand on the decline in Japan and uncertain prospects elsewhere in the Far East, and with cheap coal a pricecompetitive energy source, the world has more capacity to make LNG than it needs for the next several years. “This excess in supply will have to find a home,” Antonio Cailao, president of the Philippines National Oil Co. said at the annual LNG Global Congress in Singapore March 2-3. He said it will be a “beauty contest” based on price and contract terms. Spot-market and short-term sales volumes are up as buyers take advantage of low prices in an oversupplied market. And the longer-term contracts that buyers are willing to sign are for smaller volumes, said Houston-based Jason Freer, head of business intelligence at Poten & Partners, a global energy advisory firm. “Very few people out there in the market are signing long-term LNG contracts … and why should they,” said Leigh Bolton, founder and principal of Holmwood Consulting, a global energy consulting firm based in the U.K. Spot-market prices in Asia are under $5 per million Btu—down three-quarters from the record high two years ago when supply was tight—and are cheaper than many oil-pricelinked long-term contracts. The market oversupply will likely grow until 2020 before demand begins to catch up, said Desmond Wong, the London-based managing editor for LNG Platts news service.

Low Costs Will Win

Vivek Chandra, CEO of Texas LNG, a smaller-scale project proposed for the Texas coast, described it as: “The new world. The realization that the customer is king.” The low-price, oversupplied market is not hopeless, just sobering. “The really sound, commercially economical projects will go ahead,” Bolton said. Many of the projects coming online in the near term were built on the premise that the high-priced Asian market would take all that the world could supply, he said. “Well, that’s gone.” Chandra offered a similar view: “The low-cost project is always going to win.” Anything that might come next will be based on market demand, he said. The first US export project in the Lower 48 states—the Cheniere Energy plant at Sabine Pass, Louisiana—shipped its initial cargo earlier this month. Construction continues on additional liquefaction capacity at Sabine Pass, and four more LNG plants are under construction in Texas, Louisiana, and on Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. Several others are in varying planning stages. “It’s a fool’s game to figure out what’s going to happen X years from now,” Chandra said. 92

Australia alone saw almost $200 billion committed to seven LNG export projects between 2009 and 2012, with the last of the plants possibly online by late 2017, in total adding more than 20 percent to global LNG-making capacity. But those projects and the US ventures could be it for a while, said David Morris, lead Asia LNG originator for Uniper, a Germany-based worldwide operator of power plants and commodities trader. “Mega-projects will take a hiatus,” Morris said, as markets adjust and absorb new supplies.

Japan Restarts Nuclear Power

In addition to new supply coming online, demand is not moving up as developers had predicted—and expected—just a few years ago. Part of that reason is Japan, where last fall the first nuclear power stations restarted since the Fukushima meltdown in 2011 closed down all plants nationwide. Just three units have been reactivated, though two more have been certified to meet new safety standards and twenty others have applied for approval, said Yasushi Sakakibara, of the Asia Pacific Regional Office for Tokyo Gas. Imported LNG provided 29 percent of Japan’s power-generation mix in 2010, jumping to 46 percent by 2014 to compensate for the lack of nuclear power, he said. But the government expects LNG to slip back to 27 percent by 2030 as nuclear power returns and as the country puts a heavy emphasis on renewable energy sources, including wind, solar, and biomass. That much renewable energy probably is optimistic, Sakakibara said, with LNG and coal available to fill in any gap. The Ministry of the Environment has approved several new coal-fired power plants for construction. “Everyone hates it [coal], but everyone uses it,” said Henning Gloystein, Asia energy editor for Thompson Reuters news service. “Japan’s coal use is at absolute records.” Tokyo Gas estimates Japan’s LNG demand by 2030 for power gen-

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

eration and heat at 75 million to 100 million metric tons per year, down or maybe up a little from 2014’s imports of almost 90 million tons. Some of that gas will come from the United States, Sakakibara said, noting that Japanese utilities have contracts for more than 9 million tons per year from three US export projects under construction, with deliveries to start 2017 through 2022. Supply diversity is important to Japan, he said, listing the Lower 48, Alaska, Canada, and East African nations as potential new sources for the country that has relied heavily on Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Russia, Qatar, and other Middle East suppliers.

Buyers Seek Price Renegotiation

Unfortunately for sellers, however, the current oversupplied market has created opportunity for buyers to push for renegotiated lower contract prices, said Edward van Geuns, in the Singapore office of the De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek law firm that advises energy companies on contracts and disputes. He related how India last year succeeded in negotiating lower prices in its long-term contract with Qatar. He titled his presentation: “Contractual train wrecks: How price volatility affects existing deals.” India’s Petronet LNG saw it could purchase spot-market LNG at a lower price

than its 1999 oil-linked contract prices and told Qatar it was not going to take delivery of as much gas as obligated under the contract. “Come and get us, we think the price is too high,” van Geuns said of India’s approach. “It actually worked.” Qatar agreed to cut its price in half, though future prices still will depend on oil markets. In exchange, Petronet agreed to buy more LNG and for a longer period. China National Petroleum Corp. earlier this month said it, too, wanted to renegotiate pricing terms in its long-term contract with Qatar. India was successful because Qatar really didn’t have anyone else looking to buy the gas, said Zhi Xin Chong, principal analyst with global energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie. “Where are you going to find another off-taker willing to buy 7.5 million tons per year?” He offered a similar comment regarding Chevron’s efforts to market the unsold capacity of its $54 billion Gorgon LNG project in Australia, which is coming online this month. Chevron has been offering lower prices to attract new buyers in China, Chong said. “You could say they were getting desperate.” But project developers still need longterm sales contracts to underpin their financing, said Ted Williams, of the American Gas Association and a leader for the

International Gas Union’s World LNG report. “Project developers need to secure LNG buyers for a large portion of project capacity before sanctioning a project. ... Uncertain market dynamics may make this task more difficult.”

Russia Has Problems, Too

One country looking to sanction more gas supply projects is Russia, which has similar problems as every other producer. “Everything is quite questionable,” said Tatiana Mitrova, head of the oil and gas department at the Energy Research Institute in Russia. “With LNG, it’s even worse.” There is too much gas in the world chasing after the same buyers, she said. And all that competition “makes price wars nearly inevitable,” she added. “You would have to think three times before you get involved in any new project,” Mitrova said of LNG investments. As to Russia in particular, “LNG plans are all going backward.” She said a proposed LNG plant at Vladivostok has been postponed indefinitely; expansion of Russia’s only LNG project, at Sakhalin Island in the Far East, is unlikely before 2021; and several other proposals have also been delayed. And though Novatek, the Russian lead partner in Yamal LNG under construction

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3:50 PM 93

in the Arctic, continues to claim start-up of the plant’s first liquefaction train in 2017, Mitrova said 2018 is more likely. An even more pessimistic view came from Londonbased Mike Fulwood, a principal in the global gas practice at energy consultancy Nexant, who predicted 2019-2020. Western sanctions on Russia over its role in the Ukraine crisis has made it difficult for the Yamal LNG partners to obtain financing for the full $27 billion development. Separate from LNG projects, Russia is looking to build a $50 billion gas field development and 2,500-mile pipeline project to serve China. “Power of Siberia,” as it was named in a nationwide contest, is under construction, but slowly, Mitrova said. Startup could come in 2019, a year later than planned, and even that is shaky, she said. Gazprom is likely to delay the project a year or two, as allowed under its contract with China, she said. There just isn’t an urgent need in China for the gas. The sale price of the gas is linked to oil prices, Mitrova said, and current oil prices are far off the mark for what Gazprom needs to make money on the deal. Russia isn’t alone in project delays. More than 200 trillion cubic feet of gas has been discovered offshore Tanzania and Mozambique in East Africa. The governments want to see the leaseholders build large-

scale LNG projects, and the companies are looking hard at the projects, but there are hurdles to overcome, said Lennart Luten, a Singapore-based senior manager with global energy advisers Galway Group. The complexity and cost of deep-water projects is one issue, he said, in addition to undeveloped legal and fiscal frameworks for natural gas in Tanzania and Mozambique, Luten said. Toss in stiff competition from Australia and the United States, and neither African nation may see a multi-train LNG plant sanctioned until the end of the decade, he said.

New Customers Enter Market

The good news out of the Singapore conference is that new customers are signing up for LNG, although in smaller volumes than Japan, China, and South Korea. “We expect a lot of demand to come in 1-million and 2-million-ton chunks,” said Poten & Partners’ Freer. “The smaller markets … will be important in balancing the physical market.” Floating LNG terminals—ships anchored or tied up to take delivery of LNG, store it, regasify it, and send it into onshore pipeline systems—are a low-cost and timely alternative for smaller importers to get into the game. Almost twenty FSRUs (floating storage and regasification units) are in place worldwide, Fre-

er said, with four more under construction. “It’s not ridiculous” to expect that up to half of the thirty additional proposed FSRUs could be on the job within the next several years. New or growing LNG buyers in recent years, including FSRU operators, count Lithuania, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Brazil, Argentina, China, Thailand, and India— with Vietnam and the Philippines looking to join the list. Egypt, Pakistan, and Jordan alone in 2015 imported about 6 million tons. There were thirty-three LNG buyers worldwide in 2014, Wood Mackenzie’s Chong said, with a possible fifty-five by 2020. “China and India, as well as smaller buyers, are likely to respond to lower prices,” Freer said, in a hopeful note of potential demand growth as gas becomes more costcompetitive with other energy sources. Meanwhile, a lot of long-term supply contracts with Asian customers start expiring later this decade, he said. But will they sign new deals at the traditional twenty years, Freer said, or opt for the more recent trend of shorter contracts. Freer says, “We’ll have a pretty good idea” of demand as those contracts turn over in a few years. R Larry Persily is the Oil and Gas Special Assistant to the Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor’s Office.

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

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special section

Oil & Gas

Caelus Energy’s oil-producing Oooguruk production island off the North Slope.

LOOKING A ‘OUT WEST’ FOR OIL IN NPR-A Companies continue exploration and development By Julie Stricker 96

laska’s North Slope oil producers are looking to the west for opportunities to increase production. Since the late 1960s, the hub of the development along Alaska’s Arctic coast has been Prudhoe Bay. Many companies believe large petroleum deposits are lying under the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coastal plain to the east, but that area remains off limits. So they’re looking west, to the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A). NPR-A is an Indiana-sized swath of land on the North Slope roughly between Nuiqsut to the east and to the west of Wainwright. The northern edge is bordered by the Arctic Ocean and the south edge by the Brooks Range. President Harding established the reserve in 1923 as an emergency source of oil for the country. It is also an important nesting area for migrating birds and home to a half-million caribou and other wildlife. The federal government owns most of the land, but several Alaska Native corporations also hold title to parcels. A total of 136 wells were drilled in the early part of

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

“Caelus came to Alaska with the belief that there is significant oil extraction opportunities left on the North Slope. So far the company is excited by what it sees.”

—Casey Sullivan Director of Public Affairs, Caelus

the 1900s, but no major developments resulted until 2015. That’s when ConocoPhillips started producing oil from its CD5 prospect, located on land owned by the Kuukpik Corporation, the village corporation for Nuiqsut. Arctic Slope Regional Corporation owns most of the mineral rights. ConocoPhillips is expanding that project and looking at several other sites within NPR-A. “We’re definitely focusing on the western North Slope,” says ConocoPhillips spokeswoman Natalie Lowman. Other companies, notably ASRC Exploration LLC and Caelus, are also looking at prospects to the west of Prudhoe Bay. ASRC Exploration is drilling an exploration well at Placer No. 3 just south of the Colville River Delta. The company is hoping to delineate the oil field indicated by previous wells drilled in 2004, according to an ASRC

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news release.

Caelus ‘Bullish’ on Alaska

Dallas-based independent Caelus Energy is exploring Smith Bay, about 150 miles northwest of Prudhoe Bay. It also is advancing its project at Nuna as well as continuing work at the producing Oooguruk field, which is adjacent to the areas it’s exploring. Caelus has been in Alaska since 2014, when it acquired the assets of Pioneer Natural Resources, which included Oooguruk. “Caelus came to Alaska with the belief that there is significant oil extraction opportunities left on the North Slope,” says Casey Sullivan, director of public affairs for Caelus. “So far the company is excited by what it sees.” Shortly after entering Alaska, Caelus purchased 323,000 acres on the east side of Prudhoe Bay and has already conducted a significant 3D seismic shoot on a portion

of those leases, he says. In addition, it acquired a 75 percent working interest and is the primary developer of 117,000 acres in Smith Bay, located in state waters but adjacent to NPR-A, drilling two exploration wells this winter. In previous interviews, Caelus officials have said Smith Bay could be a billion-barrel field. “Overall, our teams continue to be bullish on Alaska’s resource potential,” Sullivan says. Caelus is focusing efforts to maximize production at its flagship Oooguruk development. The company currently produces about 4 million barrels of oil annually, employing up to three hundred contractors during peak season. “Our core Caelus employees are veterans of operating on the North Slope and have earned a solid reputation as a result,” Sullivan says. “Oooguruk economically benefits Alaska through its oil production, royalty and tax payments, and jobs for Alaskans.” The location of the six-acre drill site at Oooguruk, which is five miles offshore from Harrison Bay in the Beaufort Sea, requires Caelus to drill extended reach wells “which are both operationally challenging and costly,” Sullivan says. “Over the past few years, our teams have utilized Lower 48 style hydraulic fracture completion techniques, which are again

May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

“The first phase of the Nuna development will be one of the newest production sites on the North Slope in some time. Nuna will employ hundreds of Alaskans during construction and operation and is estimated to deliver more than $1 billion in royalties and taxes to Alaska over the life of the project.”

—Casey Sullivan Director of Public Affairs, Caelus

more expensive to deploy, but have provided for significant improvements to our overall well production profiles,” he says. Fracking operations in 2016 provided good results. Onshore, Caelus is also developing its Nuna Project, located just east of the Colville River and five miles south of Oooguruk. Nuna has estimated net resources of 75 million to 100 million barrels of oil and peak production of 15,000 to 18,000 barrels per day, Sullivan says. “The first phase of the Nuna development will be one of the newest production sites on the North Slope in some time,” Sullivan says. “Nuna will employ hundreds of Alaskans during construction and operation and is estimated to deliver more than $1 billion in royalties and taxes to Alaska over the life of the project.”

Exceeding Expectations

ConocoPhillips operates the Alpine field sixty miles west of Prudhoe Bay and just outside the boundaries of NPR-A. The field holds an estimated 430 million barrels of recoverable oil and is the central hub for satellite fields estimated to hold at least another 100 million barrels. Oil pumped from CD5 is sent to Alpine for processing and then to the trans-Alaska pipeline. Peak production is expected to be 16,000 barrels per day. So far, Lowman says, the CD5 project is exceeding expectations. In April, the company approved funding for additional wells and associated on-pad infrastructure. “This will further increase production, and the additional wells and infrastructure

will bring CD5 to its full design and permit capacity,” Lowman says. The additional work on CD5 will begin this year, with the first oil expected late in 2017. The original development fund was for fifteen wells, ten of which have been completed. The cost of the project is estimated at approximately $190 million, which includes construction, drilling, and well tie-ins, she says. In addition to CD5, ConocoPhillips approved the funding to develop Greater Mooses Tooth 1 (GMT1), with construction beginning in 2017 and first oil expected in 2018. Construction will require six hundred to seven hundred workers, with a capital cost of about $900 million. That’s an optimum size for ConocoPhillips, Lowman says. “We’ve had tremendous success with projects of about $1 billion or $1.5 billion.” Although it’s a huge investment at a time many other oil companies are pulling back because of low oil prices, ConocoPhillips is looking ahead to an anticipated rise in oil prices. Because it takes so long between a project’s inception and actual petroleum projection, the company believes GMT1 will start producing when prices cycle back up. “You have to plan ahead,” Lowman says. “If you don’t plan ahead and you wait for oil prices to rise, you’re already behind. We’ve done a lot of exploration in NPR-A since the late ‘90s

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

“You have to plan ahead. If you don’t plan ahead and you wait for oil prices to rise, you’re already behind. We’ve done a lot of exploration in NPR-A since the late ‘90s and the early 2000s. We have made discoveries and we want to take advantage of those.”

—Natalie Lowman Spokeswoman, ConocoPhillips

and the early 2000s. We have made discoveries and we want to take advantage of those.” GMT1 could produce as much as thirty thousand barrels per day at peak, she says. GMT1, like CD5, will be tied into the Alpine central facility. ConocoPhillips has filed permits with BLM (Bureau of Land Management) for the prospective development of Greater Mooses Tooth 2 in August 2015. That site is about eight miles from GMT1 and will be linked to it. GMT1 is about seven miles from CD5.

“They’re kind of strung together,” she says. The foray into NPR-A raised some concerns among local Native groups and conservationists and the ConocoPhillips permit came with an $8 million environmental mitigation fee and other stipulations. “There’s a lot to getting a permit in NPRA,” Lowman says. “It’s not as short of a process as we’d like it to be.”

Feds Visit NPR-A

Environmental oversight in the NPR-A has not always been so strict. The petroleum potential of the region has been recognized for nearly a century, and the landscape is littered with old wellheads, fuel barrels, and debris from wells drilled and abandoned by the US Navy and US Geological Survey. When the Bureau of Land Management took over the region, it inherited the responsibility to plug and remediate the sites. In March, BLM Director Neil Kornze traveled to NPR-A to help cap two test wells drilled by the US Navy in the 1950s. One is a dry hole drilled by the US Navy in 1950 to assess the limits of the Simpson Oil Field. It is about fifty miles south of Barrow. The second is at Iko Bay near Barrow, drilled by the Navy in 1975 where failed well components are leaking methane. The cleanup is funded by 2013’s Helium

Stewardship Act, under which Senator Lisa Murkowski secured $50 million toward cleanup of the legacy wells. In 2015, $10 million was spent plugging three legacy wells. In December, BLM contracted with Marsh Creek LLC and Olgoonik Corporation responsible for the remaining $40 million to clean up eighteen wells in 2016. Both companies are owned by Alaska Natives: Marsh Creek is a joint venture between Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation and SolstenXP; Olgoonik is the village corporation for Wainwright. “The Bureau of Land Management has redoubled its efforts to clean up the unplugged wells that are spread through many parts of the National Petroleum Reserve,” Kornze says in a statement issued by BLM. “We have come a long ways in just a few years.” In addition, Kornze visited the village of Wainwright to finalize the transfer of about 1,500 acres of land to the Olgoonik Corporation for future development. Oil development in NPR-A has the potential to help Alaska Natives throughout the state. In addition to direct jobs, such as capping wells and in the oilfields, the oil companies will pay royalties to ASRC, which owns much of the subsurface mineral rights in the area. Under clauses 7(i)

CMY

www.akbizmag.com

May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

and 7(j) in the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, 70 percent of those royalties are split with the other Alaska Native regional and village corporations. NPR-A is also believed to hold substantial quantities of natural gas. Three wells near the city of Barrow provide natural gas to residents and local utilities. On the southeast edge of NPR-A, Australian independent Linc Energy started an ambitious exploration strategy near Umiat. Test wells showed promising results and Linc Energy

increase in oil severance taxes will affect ConocoPhillips’ business decisions, Lowman says. “From our view, it’s only been a year and a half since the residents of Alaska voted to keep SB21 in place,” she says. “Changing it again sends the wrong signal. We are paying more in taxes now than we would have under ACES. We never could have predicted oil prices would have fallen like they have. “We’re not asking for change, we’re just asking for consistency in the tax framework.”

ners great concerns. As a smaller company looking to bring new developments online, that current system under SB21 provides a level-of upfront capital support that is critical to those new projects coming to fruition. “We appreciate the complexity of Alaska’s fiscal challenges, but are hopeful that policy makers will have a forward looking approach and build policies that encourage new oil production and grow Alaska’s economy.” In the meantime, ConocoPhillips plans

“We’re not asking for change, we’re just asking for consistency in the tax framework.”

—Natalie Lowman Spokeswoman, ConocoPhillips

says independent estimates show a resource of one billion barrels of oil. It is continuing its environmental studies and development plan in 2016 amid a period of corporate belttightening due to low oil prices.

Policy Uncertainty

Oil companies are keeping a close eye on the Alaska Legislature as it debates ways to ease the state’s fiscal crisis. And while ConocoPhillips is ineligible for many of the tax credits open to smaller independents, any

Caelus’s Sullivan says its Nuna project represents a significant economic benefit to Alaska, but is currently constrained by lingering oil prices and uncertainty in Alaska’s oil fiscal policies. “SB21 in many ways is what attracted Caelus to Alaska—but even SB21 represented the fifth tax change in ten years. And yet, the Legislature is again contemplating another change to the tax and credit systems,” Sullivan says. “The fiscal uncertainty causes both Caelus and our financial part-

to keep looking to the west for future development. “We think there’s plenty of potential because we’re developing GMT1. We are drilling two exploration wells in Greater Mooses Tooth west of the proposed GMT2,” Lowman says. “We’re continuing to look in NPR-A for commercial quantities of oil.” R Julie Stricker is a journalist living near Fairbanks.

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special section

Alaska Crane an Inspiration to the Oilfield Support Industry

Oil & Gas

Company enters market in downturn with new business model and equipment By Susan Harrington

An Alaska Crane crew at work on the North Slope. © Alaska Crane

102

hen one thinks of a fleet of cranes, one envisions a thriving economy, progress, construction, and the like. One doesn’t necessarily see the Alaska oil patch in this scenario. On a closer look, though, Calista Corporation’s wholly owned subsidiary STG Incorporated and its wholly owned subsidiary Alaska Crane emerge as contenders. After all, oil patch maintenance is ongoing, regardless of the price of oil, and exploration and development have not stopped completely. Services and support are still needed and, in that scenario, cranes are essential pieces of needed equipment.

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

Even so, as the price of oil continues to stay low the oil patch continues to contract and economize. Many oilfield service and support companies are looking outside the industry for work, and there are few organizations entering the field. Not so with the Calista’s crane and construction subsidiaries, which are well-known for their contributions in the construction of wind farms, bulk fuel tank farms, bridges, power plants, and big buildings in Alaska. In April, when practically nobody wanted to talk about work in the Alaska oil patch and many companies were suffering in the downturn, I had the pleasure of speaking with Alaska Crane Director of Business Development David Myers, Project Development Manager Erik Reed, and Operations Manager Luke Hough. They are excited about the opportunities on the North Slope and the oil patch and across Alaska, for that matter. They are implementing a new business model on the North Slope and offering up new ways to solve problems, better ways of doing things, and opportunities for companies to spend less money to get more done.

New Ops Office

In January Alaska Crane opened an operations office and took residence at sister company Brice Equipment’s compound in Dead-

“With our large capacity cranes, clients may look to them, not to save money but to make money. We have smaller cranes to offer, but with these large-capacity options, clients may perform more work on the ground, swinging larger prefabricated or pre-assembled members into place. The LTM 1220-5.2 can lift 3,200 pounds at 279 feet and the LTM 1500 can lift 9,000 pounds at 350 feet. Alaska has never had this combination of mobility, capacity, and reach for construction methods.”

—Luke Hough Operations Manager, Alaska Crane

horse. This facility includes a nine-acre pad for laydown, with plans to expand by an additional five acres, and twenty-one thousand square feet of office and shop space. It was a natural fit to partner with one of their sister companies under Calista while deploying a new business model to the area: taxi crane services. Alaska Crane started the taxi crane service in 2004, and it has proven successful, so in this downturn economy they decided to offer it on the North Slope. There was a soft startup last October when the company had a project-based presence. In January they brought up more cranes

and hired more people so that cranes could be dispatched any time for any amount of time, just like calling a taxi cab. The concept of a taxi crane is taking hold. In the beginning they had a couple of projects a month; now they have a few projects a week. Together these two Calista companies, Alaska Crane and STG, have a fleet of about thirty cranes, with five now stationed on the North Slope. The cranes in the fleet vary in height and capacity, from 18 ton boom trucks to 600 ton crawlers and all-terrain models. And they travel statewide, wherever the work is.

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103

Of the fleet, about ten cranes support the taxi crane service and twenty are generally dedicated to project-based deployment at any given time throughout the state. Some of these cranes are enormous. In fact, Alaska Crane recently took delivery of two new Liebherr all-terrain cranes: the LTM1500-8.1, an eight-axle 600 ton, and a LTM1220-5.2, a five-axel 265 ton, which was immediately dispatched to the North Slope. The 600 ton crane was originally going straight to the North Slope as well, but by the time it was delivered to Alaska it was scheduled for work on the road system and around Anchorage this summer, with

plans to move it to the North Slope later on in the year.

Large Capacity Cranes

Some people might be hugely impressed by the sheer size of these cranes, but it’s what they can do that is causing excitement. These large, high capacity cranes drive down the road at highway speeds and allow for much more work to be done on the ground where it’s more efficient and safe to put large projects together. They also, in many cases, eliminate the need for two crane picks or for having people work at heights and all the inefficiencies that brings.

“With our large capacity cranes, clients may look to them, not to save money but to make money,” says Hough. “We have smaller cranes to offer, but with these large-capacity options, clients may perform more work on the ground, swinging larger pre-fabricated or pre-assembled members into place. The LTM 1220-5.2 can lift 3,200 pounds at 279 feet and the LTM 1500 can lift 9,000 pounds at 350 feet. Alaska has never had this combination of mobility, capacity, and reach for construction methods.” These last two purchases culminate the investment in cranes for the time being. They’ve been adding two or three a year for the last three years and think they probably have enough for now. With the downturn, which is viewed as temporary, they’ve had time to familiarize industry players with the capabilities and new ways of doing things. Company representatives have gone to trade shows and luncheons and traveled the state letting people know what they’ve got and what they can do. “In this tough economic environment, we are proud to offer these all-terrain cranes as an innovated solution to our client’s needs,” says Myers. As with any new business endeavor, it’s important to educate and inform those who will reap the benefits.

Reinventing Themselves

Alaska Crane is reinventing itself and becoming active in the North Slope oil fields thanks to their parent company Calista investing in the start-up market. Plus they are there, ready, and committed to their clients to go through the pains with them. Calista provided the support to do that. Alaska Crane had to reinvent themselves with the market and they speak highly of Calista for allowing them to explore a new market in the oilfield services sector. “We are offering transparent hourly crane service with concessions, rather than daily with addons, to help our customers maintain their business,” says Reed, “and it is beginning to work. Through this approach we are starting to see increased business opportunities.” Alaska Crane is just one success story about one company that’s finding a niche in Alaska’s oil patch. It’s inspirational because they’re entering the market in a downturn. Many other companies continue providing all manner of services, support, supplies, and equipment in the Alaska oil and gas industry, and some of those companies are expanding their offerings into other sectors of the economy as well. Some companies are venturing out of state for work, both in the United States and outside the country. In the next few pages we’ve shared some information from Alaska Economic Trends to help illustrate employment related to the oil and gas industry. R 104

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

The role of

ustry is exn 2016 followoil and gas owth. Many the past decade, nstruc�on or the oil industry has oil and gasbeen an important ok place contributor in the to net job gains, adding more than ge projects 6,000 jobs from 2005 t summer conto 2015. Growth wasn’t steady throughout nt level with the period, however,

especially following the 2008 oil price crash—and oﬀ-season oil large swings in employment aren’t k isn’t likely unprecedented. y with theIn 2008, prices started falling well before uc�on on employ-ment levels and Exxon’s began to erode, but ects. Other once the losses began, struc�onemployers will cut more than 1,500 jobs in 12 months. ecause of ecoPrices then rebounded, and employment regained its late 2008 peak mid-2012 kept truc�onbywill alsoand decline growing into 2015.

Low Oil Prices’ Impact on Jobs

Oil Prices’ Impact O�� Low �� , 2004 �� on 2015Jobs

Oil Price and Oil Employment, 2004-2015

16,000

$160

14,000

$140

12,000

$120

10,000

$100

8,000

$80

6,000

$60 Oil and Gas Employment

4,000

Alaska North Slope Crude Wellhead Price, Nominal Dollars

2,000

The Source: industry is forecast to lose 1,000ofjobs in 2016, TaxforDivision continued project work and the ever-increasing Alaska Department Revenue, returning employment to roughly its 2012 level. repairs and maintenance required by aging forecast accounts for infrastructure in harsh environments. R inThis relatively conservative year. The industry signiﬁcant industry this cutbacks in 2016, but also allows is no stranger to rapidly chang-

will likely be at in 2016. A boost �on dollars could oﬀset a smaller eers budget for 2016.

ns in public and private investment, ustry is expected to lose 900 jobs

ing fortunes, though. A�er strong growth from 2000 to 2005 driven by a residen�al construc�on boom in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, the industry lost jobs for six consecu�ve years. Job cuts were ini�ally mild as demand for new housing subsided, but the na�onal housing market collapse and recession exacerbated losses toward the end of the decade. Between 2005 and 2011, the construc�on industry lost 2,800 jobs, with 1,000 disappearing between 2008 and 2009. The forecasted loss for 2016 is well within the range of historical average declines.

down of Government Job Changes

www.akbizmag.com

Local Government

$20 $0

udgets from the past ve years, ent was ush, are s�ll pumping n projects. Some of this work will but no new state-funded projects at wrap up.

2005 �� 2016

$40

Reprinted from Economic Forecast for 2016, Alaska Economic Trends 1/2016, by Caroline Schultz. Data source: Alaska Department of Revenue, Tax Division.

loss

State government loss accelerates State government led all industries for losses in 2015, shedding 700 jobs. (See Exhibit 4.) State employment, which includes the University of Alaska, had grown slowly for the past decade. Between 2004 and 2014, state government added 2,400 jobs for about a 1 May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly 105 percent growth rate per year.

meronuch of new �on t last

rofessional and business services is a broad industry, responsible for 13 percent of all payroll jobs in Anchorage. It includes law ﬁ rms, engineering ﬁ rms, employment services, tech support companies, and janitorial services and refuse companies. Because it has so many unrelated components, it’s 7,781 a tough sector to 6,511 forecast. Its weakest link for 2016 will be related to losses in the oil and construction industries. The architectural and engineering services slice, which represents 22 percent 2005 2006 of the industry and more than 4,200 jobs, * Preliminary

is strongly tied to oil and construction. As a result, professional and business services is

forecast to lose about 300 jobs in 2016, or about 1.5 percent. R

Prudhoe Bay Jobs Up through 2015 Prudhoe Bay Jobs Up through 2015 2005 �� 2015 2005 to 2015

12,313 11,196 10,417

10,485

10,565

10,848

10,967

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

12,997

9,069

2007

2008

2014

2015*

* Preliminary Source: Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Research and Analysis SecƟon

PRL Logistics, Inc.

ted the n Ancade, s responsible for over a nt growth. In 2015, it grew jobs, the most of any in-

repeat performance, with ed implementa�on of the dicaid expansion could add

ourism

PROVEN PERFORMANCE rea�on — is driven by — local consump�on as well as Logistics Solutions tourists. Last year it grew by 300 jobs, and this year it’s — Integrity in Everything We Do expected to gain another 200. — Transparent Operations — Global Expertise

The visitor slice of this industry should fare well again in 2016, as the ingredients for another strong visitor season are in place. Bed taxes collected for the rst two quarters of 2015 were up 6 percent and air travel numbers into Anchorage this past season were up 10 percent. The na�onal economy also con�nues to grow and energy prices remain low, which will likely generate more conven�on and visitor traﬃ c. and Back Safely” “There

hich includes accommoentertainment, and rec-

Ron Hyde, President & CEO

The industry projects a strong season, and early bookings reect that op�mism. The Alaska Travel Industry 421 W. 1st Ave, Suite 250 I Anchorage, AK I Ofﬁce: 907.261.9440 I pacrimlog.com Associa�on predicts tourism will grow by 2 to 3 percent in 2016, Your Lodging & Logistics Campus on the Kenai River and the cruise ship industry projthecannerylodge.com ects its passenger count will top 106 Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com ��-��-�� , 2015 the 1 million mark for the rst

ernment Losses Increasing

Reprinted from Anchorage Forecast, Alaska Economic Trends 1/2016, by Neal Fried. Data source: Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Research and Analysis Section

over, ked fell by the 016’s in

Oil, construction losses will affect other professional services

Statewide Employment Forecast—Employment by Industry, 2014 to 2016

Total Nonfarm Employment2 Total Private Sector Natural Resources and Mining Oil and Gas Construction Manufacturing Retail Trade Wholesale Trade Transportation, Warehousing and Utilities Information Financial Activities Professional and Business Services Educational3 and Health Services Health Care Leisure and Hospitality Other Services Government Federal Goverment4 State Government5 Local Government6

2014 Monthly Average1

2015 Monthly Average1

Change 2014 to 2015

Percent Change 2014-15

2016 Monthly Average

337,600 255,400 17,300 14,100 17,800 14,400 36,800 6,500 21,500 6,200 12,100 30,000 46,800 33,900 34,200 11,800 82,200 14,900 26,500 40,800

339,300 257,500 17,500 14,300 18,000 14,000 37,300 6,400 21,700 6,200 12,300 30,300 47,100 34,400 34,900 11,800 81,800 14,900 25,800 41,100

1,700 2,100 200 200 200 -400 500 -100 200 0 200 300 300 500 700 0 -400 0 -700 300

0.5% 0.8% 1.2% 1.4% 1.1% -2.8% 1.4% -1.5% 0.9% 0% 1.7% 1.0% 0.6% 1.5% 2.0% 0% -0.5% 0% -2.6% 0.7%

336,800 256,100 16,500 13,300 17,100 14,200 37,400 6,400 21,700 6,200 12,300 30,000 47,400 34,900 35,200 11,700 80,700 14,900 24,800 41,000

Change Percent 2015 to Change 2016 2015-16 -2,500 -1,400 -1,000 -1,000 -900 200 100 0 0 0 0 -300 300 500 300 -100 -1,100 0 -1,000 -100

-0.7% -0.5% -5.7% -7.0% -5.0% 1.4% 0.3% 0% 0% 0% 0% -1.0% 0.6% 1.5% 0.9% -0.8% -1.3% 0% -3.9% -0.2%

Reprinted from Economic Forecast for 2016, Alaska Economic Trends 1/2016, by Caroline Schultz. Data source: Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Research and Analysis Section.

E�� , 2014 �� 2016

3 6 Preliminary and es�estimates mates Preliminary andadjusted adjusted Private education only Includes public school systems 4 Excludes self-employed workers, ﬁshermen, Excludesand uniformed military Excludes self-employed workers, shermen, domes�c workers, unpaid family workers 5 3 domestic workers, and unpaid family workers Includes the University of Alaska Private educa� on only 4 Excludes uniformed military 5 Includes the University of Alaska 6 Includes public school systems Source: Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Research and Analysis SecƟon 11 22

S. employment fell 4.3 percent while Alaska lost 0.4 ercent. Alaska’s 2009 dip was about half of what the ate is forecasted to lose in 2016.

aska’s last recession was in the 1980s. Total employent fell 4.3 percent in 1986 and 4.8 percent in 1987, more than 20,000 lost jobs in two years.

ey diﬀerences between Alaska’s current economy and e helter-skelter early ‘80s suggest a repeat of that ash is unlikely. The economy s�ll depends heavily on l, but the early 1980s economy was characterized by enzied and specula�ve growth. Alaska’s economy and opula�on are more mature today.

hat’s not to say projected job losses won’t be serious that they’ll be short-lived. Alaska faces a future of dening oil produc�on in a low commodity price environent. Simply put, Alaska is producing less wealth than it sed to, and the oil industry may not serve as a lifeline the long run. But regardless of whether 2016 becomes n isolated year of loss or the beginning of a drawn-out ownturn, dips in employment will be more common in were in the last. e next 28www.akbizmag.com years than they

The role of oil and gas For the past decade, the oil industry has been an important contributor to net job gains, adding more than 6,000 jobs from 2005 to 2015. Growth wasn’t steady throughout the period, however, especially following the 2008 oil price crash — and large swings in employment aren’t unprecedented. (See Exhibit 3.) In 2008, prices started falling well before employment levels began to erode, but once the losses began, employers cut more than 1,500 jobs in 12 months. Prices then rebounded, and employment regained its late 2008 peak by mid-2012 and kept growing into 2015. The industry is forecast to lose 1,000 jobs in 2016, returning employment to roughly its 2012 level. This rela�vely conserva�ve forecast accounts for signicant industry cutbacks in 2016, but also allows for con�nued project work and the ever-increasing repairs and maintenance required by aging infrastructure in harsh environments. May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

107

special section

Oil & Gas

Next Round of LNG Project Reports To FERC Expected to start late spring By Larry Persily (This update, provided by the Kenai Peninsula Borough mayor’s office, is part of an ongoing effort to help keep the public informed about the Alaska LNG project.)

laska LNG plans to start submitting the project’s second round of draft “resource reports” to federal regulators in late spring, running into July before the last of the thirteen environmental and engineering reports will be turned in to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and available to the public. The first reports will be the general project description (Resource Report No. 1) and alternatives (No. 10), according to minutes of meetings held between Alaska LNG and FERC officials in January. The other eleven reportsincluding soils, air quality, water quality, community impacts and safety “are anticipated to be submitted on a staggered schedule between May and July,” according to the meeting notes filed in FERC’s public docket. Though weak global LNG (liquefied natural gas) markets have called into question whether the Alaska project will proceed to the next level of engineering and design spending in 2017, the partners have said they remain committed to finishing their preliminary work this year and preparing the reports for submittal to FERC. Though not as much as last year, Alaska LNG project teams and their contractors will be back in the field this year for onshore and offshore work as they collect more data for regulators and their own design and decision needs. The partners-North Slope producers ExxonMobil, BP, and ConocoPhillips, and the state of Alaska-spent almost $500 million from 2012 through 2015, including three summers of field work. The partners approved a work plan of more than $200 million for this year. The project’s full budget, through construction, was estimated in 2012 at $45 billion to $65 billion for producing as much as 20 million metric tons of LNG per year (about 2.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day).

Complete Project Description

Despite its title, the general project description of Report No. 1 will weigh in at several 108

thousand pages—including maps—giving the public the most detailed look to date at where and how the Point Thomson-toPrudhoe Bay gas pipeline, North Slope gas treatment plant, Prudhoe Bay-to-Nikiski pipeline, and LNG plant and marine terminal at Nikiski would be built. The other filing expected in late spring, Report No. 10, is required to set out alternatives to the project—discussing the other options for moving North Slope gas to market. Discussing alternatives is required for every federal environmental impact statement (EIS), and Alaska LNG is no exception. One option long championed by many Alaskans would be to route the pipeline to Valdez, site of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline terminal, instead of Nikiski. Several public comments submitted to FERC last year raised that issue. Alaska LNG will be required in Report No. 10 to explain why it did not select Valdez for the gas liquefaction plant and marine terminal, just as it will explain why it rejected other sites around Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound. In its January meetings with project team members, FERC officials also advised that the alternatives report should cover pipeline route options around—or just inside—the border of Denali National Park. The gas line needs to make it through several miles in a tight area near the park entrance about twothirds of the way south from Prudhoe Bay to Nikiski, with the Nenana River, a deep gorge, the Parks Highway, railroad tracks, tourism businesses, and a steep hillside to the east presenting an engineering and environmental challenge. The project sponsors have long acknowledged that routing challenge, as has the state in its earlier work on a smaller North Slope gas line project. Running the buried pipeline just inside the park boundary would avoid sight and safety conflicts with tourism businesses and tourist views along the narrow route

between the highway, railroad tracks, river, and gorge. It would avoid building the line into the hillside to the east. And it could make natural gas more easily available for park facilities, providing a cleaner option to diesel fuel. Separate from the main line routing decision, the state is in charge of selecting off-take points along the line to allow for in-state gas distribution.

Change in Federal Law Possible The 1980 Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, which added to Denali National Park, allows pipelines through parks and refugees created under the act. But it requires a very specific regulatory process that effectively gives any one federal agency the ability to stop the entire project from Prudhoe to Nikiski and directs that in such cases the president would have to decide. That process would be in addition to the FERC-led EIS that all federal agencies would use in their own permitting and regulatory decisions. Looking to assist the project in its consideration of the pipeline route option through the edge of the park, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski in February introduced an amendment before the full Senate to resolve the duplicative regulatory process. The amendment, part of a comprehensive energy bill, would not otherwise eliminate any environmental standards or agency authorities and would remove the additional step only for a high-pressure gas pipeline in Denali. The amendment was waiting for Senate floor action as of early March. House approval would be required before the bill could go to the president. The National Park Service, in a January phone call meeting with Alaska LNG, FERC, and other federal agencies, reported it was preparing to advise the project “regarding development of an alternative that

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

would comply with the National Park Improvement Act, particularly the requirement to select a route that the National Park Service determines will have the least environmental impact.” FERC, Alaska LNG, and the contractor selected to help FERC prepare the EIS meet monthly to review project issues. It’s part of the pre-filing process, which encourages a project development team and federal officials to discuss concerns and share information in advance of a full application to FERC. In addition to continuing those regular meetings, FERC and Alaska LNG have discussed that resource report workshops for multiple federal and state agencies will be held a month or so after the second series of draft reports are filed. (Alaska LNG submitted its first draft reports in February 2015.) Information from the final resource reports would be incorporated into the EIS. Drafting the EIS would start with a project application. Alaska LNG also told FERC in January that it plans to hold one-on-one meetings this year to discuss project details with each agency. Similar meetings have been a constant in the project development plan, such as an air emissions and modeling meeting held with federal officials in in Seattle in December.

Work Plans for 2016

Not all of this year’s work involves fulfilling regulatory agency requests. Alaska LNG expects to make a decision this spring whether to stick with its original plan to use forty-two-inch-diameter pipe for the gas line or move up to forty-eight-inch pipe as proposed by Alaska Governor Bill Walker to accommodate unknown future gas discoveries. “A general range of impacts associated with forty-eight-inch pipe will be presented in the next draft resource reports,” according to the January meeting notes. The larger, heavier pipe would present its own construction challenges, particularly in setting the pipe on the seabed floor across almost thirty miles of Cook Inlet. This year’s field work in the area of the LNG plant in Nikiski may include:  Drilling fifty onshore geotechnical boreholes to learn more about the site’s soil and ground characteristics, of particular importance for supporting the heavy liquefaction modules and other equipment that would be located at the plant site.  A ten-day “aquifer test” in area of the plant to test groundwater capability. Alaska LNG

estimates it would need about 380,000 gallons of water a day during construction and less than half that volume during plant operations. It is still reviewing options for water sources.  More seafloor mapping in the area of the LNG marine terminal and pipeline route across Cook Inlet. This would include retrieving and redeploying devices that measure currents and gather ice data.  Gathering geotechnical data near to shore at the LNG plant site and along the Cook Inlet crossing. Alaska LNG has applied to the state for permission to drill about twenty-five boreholes offshore.

Field Work

Field work was expected to start in April or May and run three to four months, with some onshore work possibly running into October. No deep seismic work is planned this year, and no test trenching will be conducted in the shallow waters near shore. Alaska LNG will not use a jack-up rig for offshore drilling as it did last year. Instead, a smaller rig mounted on a vessel will be used. Along the 806-mile pipeline route from Prudhoe to Nikiski, teams are planning to continue cultural and archeological sur-

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PROGRAM & PROJECT MANAGEMENT • ENGINEERING DESIGN PERMITTING • CONSTRUCTION • INSTALLATION • INTEGRATION

PHON E E MAIL

907.761.6000 | TOLL- FR E E 877.761.6003 | FA X 907.761.6001 info@nhtiusa.com | WE B www.nhtiusa.com

May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

109

veys, though at about half of last year’s levels. Installation of noise monitoring equipment is planned for selected sites along the route to gather baseline data for the EIS. The project continues to acquire land at the LNG plant site, having assembled more than six hundred of the eight hundred to nine hundred acres needed. Demolition crews took down nine structures on the acreage last year—buildings that presented safety or security hazards—with plans this year to take down perhaps twenty or so more buildings. Separate from the LNG project, but related, Alaska LNG continues to review options for rerouting a portion of the Kenai Spur Highway away from the liquefaction plant, LNG storage tanks, and marine terminal. That route feasibility work and determining the regulatory requirements will continue in 2016, but the project has no plans to identify specific parcels or purchase land for a highway reroute this year. A timeline for those decisions will depend on whether the LNG project sponsors decide to advance to the next stage of development, called FEED (front-end engineering and design), which could cost $1 billion to $2 billion.

Weak Markets Don’t Help That billion-dollar-plus decision will de-

110

pend in great part on market conditionsincluding oil and gas prices, global LNG supply and demand—and fiscal and operating agreements among the producer partners and between the producers and the state. One of the biggest challenges is the gas balancing agreement, which would govern how much gas from each of the project’s anchor fields—Prudhoe Bay and Point Thomson—feeds into the gas treatment plant at Prudhoe and down the line to Nikiski. The three producers have different shares in the two fields and each company needs to protect its own interests. At Prudhoe Bay, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips each hold 36 percent of the gas reserves, with BP at 26 percent. At Point Thomson, ExxonMobil has a commanding 62 percent share of the gas, with BP at 32 percent and ConocoPhillips at 5 percent. How much gas and when the gas feeds into the project will determine each partner’s revenues. How to handle maintenance, for example, or supply disruptions from either field-taking more gas from the other field to maintain LNG production—while continuing to honor each partner’s contractual deliveries to customers are part of the gas balancing negotiations.

Walker is frustrated with the pace of the complex negotiations, including fiscal terms between the state and producer partners. And all of the partners are frustrated with the market, which has taken a steep dive in prices while work has been underway on Alaska LNG. Spot-market prices for LNG delivered to Asia in March 2016 are down three-quarters from record highs just two years ago. Cargoes at $5 per million Btu are common. “The elephant in the room has been for some time—what do we do in the challenging times of low oil prices and how does that impact the project?” Walker said at a February 17 press conference with the producers. The partners will look at whether there is “another ownership structure that makes more sense,” Walker said, though he did not offer any specifics. “We will be looking at different options, different structures of how that would work,” Walker said, without providing details. The governor said in February he hoped to have more information in March. R Larry Persily is the Oil and Gas Special Assistant to the Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor’s Office.

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

ALASKA BUSINESS MONTHLYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S

Exploration & Production

2016 OIL & GAS DIRECTORY

Apache Corporation 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 3 8 8 0 5 BP Exploration (Alaska), Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 1900 2000 2300 2300 2200 2000 Caelus Energy Alaska, LLC 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 ~70 ConocoPhillips Alaska, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 1000 1300 1200 1100 1100 1000 Denali Drilling, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 20 15-30 20 20 18

ith the changes occurring in the Alaska Oil & Gas industry, as Alaska Business Monthly finalized the May 2016 Oil & Gas Directory we thought it would be both timely and informative to share what data we have of the industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recent Alaska Employee history, going back six years.

6 Year Employment Figures

Doyon, Limited 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 1383 1722 1530 Eni Petroleum 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 50 56 60 60 ExxonMobil 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 168 ~140 100 100 99 Furie Operating Alaska LLC 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 10-12 10-12 8 Hilcorp Alaska LLC 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 500 500 310 300 Shell Exploration & Production Co. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 5 200 220 120 90 78

EXPLORERS & PRODUCERS EXPLORERS & PRODUCERS

ALASKA BUSINESS MONTHLY | 2016 OIL & GAS DIRECTORY

Company

112

AK Estab. Empls.

First Name

COMPANY

TOP EXECUTIVE

FOUNDED/ESTAB. AK

Apache Corporation 510 L St., Suite 310 Anchorage, AK 99501 Phone: 907-272-2722 Fax: 907-277-0005

John Hendrix, GM

BP Exploration (Alaska), Inc. PO Box 196612 Anchorage, AK 99515-6612 Phone: 907-561-5111 Fax: 907-564-4124

Janet Weiss, Reg. Pres.

Caelus Energy Alaska, LLC 3700 Centerpoint Dr., Suite 500 Anchorage, AK 99503 Phone: 907-277-2700 Fax: 907-343-2190

Pat Foley, Sr VP AK Ops

ConocoPhillips Alaska, Inc. PO Box 100360 Anchorage, AK 99510 Phone: 907-276-1215 Fax: 907-265-1410

Joe Marushack, Pres.

Denali Drilling, Inc. 8240 Petersburg St. Anchorage, AK 99507 Phone: 907-562-2312 Fax: 907-562-5971

Ron Pichler, Pres.

Doyon, Limited 1 Doyon Pl., Suite 300 Fairbanks, AK 99701-2941 Phone: 907-459-2000 Fax: 907-459-2060

Aaron Schutt, Pres./CEO

Eni Petroleum 3800 Centerpoint Dr., Suite 300 Anchorage, AK 99503 Phone: 907-865-3300 Fax: 907-865-3384

Scot Childress, Ops Mgr. AK

ExxonMobil PO Box 196601 Anchorage, AK 99519 Phone: 907-561-5331 Fax: 907-564-3719

Cory Quarles, AK Production Mgr.

Furie Operating Alaska LLC 1029 W. Third Ave., Suite 500 Anchorage, AK 99501 Phone: 907-277-3726 Fax: 907-277-3796

Bruce Webb, Sr. VP

Hilcorp Alaska LLC PO Box 244027 Anchorage, AK 99524 Phone: 907-777-8300 Fax: 907-777-8310

John Barnes, Sr. VP Exploration & Production

Shell Exploration & Production Co. 3601 C St., Suite 1334 Anchorage, AK 99503 Phone: 907-770-3700 Fax: 907-770.3636

Cam Toohey, AK GM

lisa.parker@apachecorp.com apachecorp.com

@BP_Alaska alaska.bp.com

info@caelusenergy.com caelusenergy.com

COPAlaskaInfo@ConocoPhillips.com conocophillipsalaska.com

rpichler@ak.net or denali@ak.net denalidrilling.com

info@doyon.com doyon.com

eni.com

exxonmobil.com

furiepetroleum.com

Business Activity

WORLDWIDE\AK EMPLOYEES

SERVICES

1954 2010

4,500 Oil and gas exploration and development. 3

1959 1959

20,000 In Alaska BP operates nine North Slope oilfields in the Greater Prudhoe Bay area and 1,900 owns significant interests in six producing fields operated by others. BP also owns significant non-operating interests in the Point Thomson development project and the Liberty prospect.

2011 2014

1952 1952

1970 1970

~90 ~70

Independent exploration and production company. Operates the Oooguruk field on the North Slope. Specialize in exploration, development, and production of oil and gas. Currently focused on the pursuit, identification, and development of strategic opportunities across Alaska, and beyond.

16,900 An independent exploration and production company. www.conocophillipsalaska.com; 1,000 https://twitter.com/COP_Alaska; https://www.facebook.com/conocophillip

20 20

DDI provides geotechnical, environmental, mineral exploration, commercial water well and large diameter (8') shaft drilling. We also drill, install tie-backs and construct retaining walls. We have provided these services throughout Alaska since 1970. Specialized equipment for onshore and offshore.

1972 1972

1,832 Doyon Drilling - Oil & Gas Drilling; Doyon Universal Services - Security & Camp 1,383 Services; Doyon Associated - Construction; Doyon Anvil - Engineering; Doyon Remote Facilities & Services - Camps and Camp Services.

1926 2006

77,000 Eni is an integrated energy company. Active in 77 countries, with a staff of 78,400 50 employees, it operates in oil and gas exploration, production, transportation, transformation and marketing, in petrochemicals, oilfield services construction and engineering.

1870 1954

75,000 ExxonMobil is the largest holder of discovered gas resources on the North Slope and the 168 largest interest owner of the Prudhoe Bay unit. The company is currently constructing the Point Thomson Project on the North Slope, a natural gas condensate development expected to begin production in 2016.

2006 2011

10-12 Gas & oil exploration company. 10-12

2012 2012

1,381 Hilcorp is one of the largest privately-held exploration and production companies in the 500 US. We strive for US energy independence. Hilcorp was named to the 2013 & 2014 FORTUNE Top 100 Companies to work for list. Protecting the environment and ensuring a safe, healthy workplace are our priorities.

1952 2005

90,000 Oil and gas. 5

hilcorp.com

May 2016 | www.akbizmag.com

The solution to your oil and gas needs Lynden has a long history of supporting the oil and gas industry with our ability to carry your materials to the most remote locations around the world. Our ďŹ&#x201A;eet of Hercules aircraft and trucks are at the ready and routinely handle large, heavy, and hazardous loads. With a reputation of dependable service, innovation and quick responses year round, Lynden is the solution to your oil and gas project needs.

www.lynden.com 1-888-596-3361

6 YEAR EMPLOYMENT FIGURES BY COMPANY

ALASKA BUSINESS MONTHLY | 2016 OIL & GAS DIRECTORY

114

Services, Support, Supplies & Equipment 6 Year Employment Figures 3M Alaska 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 12 11 11 12 14 15 Acuren 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 59 15 240 240 100 Advanced Supply Chain International LLC 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 230 230 230 235 200 AECOM 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 200+ 250 350 32 aeSolutions 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 24 53 50 AFF Distribution Services 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 145 6 60 25 160 Air Liquide America L.P. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 73 73 75 73 Airgas USA LLC 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 19 20 19 19 19 19 AirSide Solutions, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 0 0 Alaska Airlines 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 1825 1800 1740 1650 1700 1788 Alaska Analytical Laboratory 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2 3 3 3 2 5 Alaska Commercial Development Group 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 4 6 4 Alaska Directional LLC 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 18 20 16 Alaska Dreams, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 30 25 30 25 25 25 Alaska Hydraulics, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 22 25 25 25 Alaska Interstate Construction LLC 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 215 155 450 350 300 400 Alaska Investigation Agency LLC 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 5 15 May 2016 | www.akbizmag.com

First Name

Company

AK Estab. Empls.

TOP EXECUTIVE

3M Alaska 11151 Calaska Cir. Anchorage, AK 99515 Phone: 907-522-5200 Fax: 907-522-1645

Stephanie Mathers, Reg. Mgr.

FOUNDED/ESTAB. AK

Acuren 600 E. 57th Pl., Suite B Anchorage, AK 99518 Phone: 907-569-5000 Fax: 907-569-5005

Frank Noble, Reg. Mgr. AK

WORLDWIDE\AK EMPLOYEES

SERVICES

1972 1972

89,000 3M manufactures a wide range of products covering many markets in Alaska. In the area 12 of natural resources, we provide products and services which support the oil/gas and mining industries in worker safety, electrical and communications, welding protection, fire and corrosion protection.

1976 2002

3,00 Materials engineering, nondestructive examination and integrity management for the oil 59 and gas, power, mining, transportation and construction industries.

Advanced Supply Chain International LLC Scott Hawkins, Pres & CEO 3201 C St., Suite 308 Anchorage, AK 99503 sales@ascillc.com Phone: 907-345-2724 Fax: 907-345-8621 ascillc.com

1999 1999

255 230

AECOM 700 G St., Suite 500 Anchorage, AK 99501 Phone: 907-562-3366 Fax: 907-562-1297

Joe Hegna, Alaska Operations Manager

1904 1948

aeSolutions 3800 Centerpoint Dr., Suite 620 Anchorage, AK 99503 Phone: 907-865-5992 Fax: 907-865-5993

Chris Hickling, AK Business Unit Mgr.

AFF Distribution Services 5491 Electron Dr. #8 Anchorage, AK 99518 Phone: 907-563-7094 Fax: 907-563-7094

Jared Lastufka, Ops Mgr.

Air Liquide America L.P. 6415 Arctic Blvd. Anchorage, AK 99518 Phone: 907-562-2080 Fax: 907-564-9752

Robert Cook, GM

Airgas USA LLC 6350 Arctic Blvd. Anchorage, AK 99518 Phone: 907-563-6644 Fax: 907-562-2090

William Sanborn, Reg. Pres. NorPac

AirSide Solutions, Inc. 2222 West Valley Hwy. N., Suite 140 Auburn, WA 98001 Phone: 253-833-6434 Fax: 253-833-6825

Rick Lafferty, VP/ Region Mgr.

Alaska Airlines 4750 Old Int'l Airport Rd. Anchorage, AK 99502 Phone: 907-266-7200 Fax: 907-266-7229

Marilyn Romano, Reg. VP AK

Alaska Analytical Laboratory 1956 Richardson Hwy. North Pole, AK 99705 Phone: 907-488-1271 Fax: 907-488-0772

Stefan Mack, PE/Pres.

Alaska Commercial Development Group 3324 Koba Way Fairbanks, AK 99709 Phone: 907-457-1861 Fax: 907-457-2781

innovation.3malaska@mmm.com 3M.com

acuren.com

aecom.com

chris.hickling@aesolns.com aesolns.com

youtube.com/americanfastfreight americanfast.com

us.airliquide.com/en/contact-us.html us.airliquide.com/en/welcome.html

airgas.com

rlafferty@wsminc.biz adb-air.com

alaskaair.com

Supply chain management specializing in asset intensive resource industries.

85,000 AECOM Alaska is a team of over 200 engineers, scientists, planners & support staff over 200 providing arctic-smart engineering & environmental services for the complete project lifecycle from permitting for air, water, soils & solid waste, to planning, design & construction through production & site closure

1998 2008

143 24

aeSolutions is a complete system integrator specializing in safety instrumented systems, automation, process safety consulting, industrial cybersecurity, alarm management, and operations & maintenance solutions; supporting all phases of the Process Safety Lifecycle.

1988 1988

375 145

Third-party warehousing & distribution company; short- & long-term storage; order processing, deliveries, & inventory reports; cold storage, chill to freeze; pick & pack individual orders; through bill of lading & single invoice; bypass mail service. A division of American Fast Freight, Inc.

1902 1955

50,000+ Providing packaged and bulk gas, scientific and calibration gases, welding tools, filler 73 metals, hardgoods and machines to oilfield and pipeline constructors. Full line of rental welders and plasma equipment and repair (warranty and other) for all major welding equipment and tool manufacturers.

1982 1996

17,000 Airgas is the largest U.S. distributor of industrial, medical and specialty gases and 19 welding equipment and supplies. Airgas is the third largest distributor of safety products in the U.S.

1978 1988

1932 1932

10 0

AirSide Solutions is a full line provider of Airfield and Heliport Lighted Navigation systems, Technical Services, and logistics support to the aviation market in Alaska.

15,200 Alaska Airlines and its sister carrier, Horizon Air, together, provide passenger and cargo 1,825 service to more than 100 destinations in Alaska, Canada, Mexico, Hawaii, Costa Rica, and the Lower 48.

2008 2008

2 2

ADEC certified environmental testing laboratory. Soil and water analysis for methods 8021B, AK101, AK102, and AK103.

Matthew Greer, Pres.

1997 1997

4 4

General contractor located in Fairbanks, Alaska who design/builds from the ground up wood/metal framed industrial buildings. Has space for lease for oil/gas semi-truckers looking for affordable/secure/clean warehouse.

Alaska Directional LLC PO Box 871130 Wasilla, AK 99687 Phone: 907-750-9025 Fax: 907-357-9027

Billy Long, Pres./Member

2012 2012

18 18

Horizontal directional drilling, trenching, utility installation.

Alaska Dreams, Inc. 2081 Van Horn Rd., #2 Fairbanks, AK 99701 Phone: 907-455-7712 Fax: 907-455-7713

Meini Huser, Pres.

1994 1994

30 30

Design, sales and construction of fabric covered structures and pre-engineered metal buildings.

Alaska Hydraulics, Inc. 166 E. Potter Dr., Suite #1 Anchorage, AK 99518 Phone: 907-562-2217 Fax: 907-561-1262

Thomas Loran, Pres.

1976 1976

22 22

Hydraulic repair and design, sales and service.

Alaska Interstate Construction LLC 2525 C St., Suite 305 Anchorage, AK 99503 Phone: 907-562-2792 Fax: 907-562-4179

Dave Cruz, Pres.

1995 1995

215 215

Alaska Interstate Construction, LLC is an Alaska company providing heavy civil construction services to private industry, as well as local, state and federal government agencies in the oil and gas, mining and public works sectors throughout Alaska-from the Aleutian chain to the North Slope.

Alaska Investigation Agency LLC 1064 S. Settlers Cir. Palmer, AK 99645 Phone: 907-745-1133 Fax: 907-745-1136 www.akbizmag.com | May 2016

klovejoy@alaska-analytical.com alaska-analytical.com

akdirectional@alaskadirectional.com alaskadirectional.com

sales@alaskadreamsinc.com alaskadreamsinc.com

sales@alaskahydraulics.om alaskahydraulics.com

info@aicllc.com aicllc.com

Donna Anthony, CEO Donna@alaskaaia.com alaskaaia.com

2011 2011

SERVICES, SUPPORT, SUPPLIES & EQUIPMENT

COMPANY

Services

ALASKA BUSINESS MONTHLY | 2016 OIL & GAS DIRECTORY

SERVICES, SUPPORT, SUPPLIES & EQUIPMENT

5 5

Workman's Comp Investigations, oilfield investigations, accident reconstruction, insurance investigations, pre-employment background checks, executive protection, surveillance, uncover investigations, school security, cell phone & tower extraction, criminal & civil investigations, and security.

115

6 YEAR EMPLOYMENT FIGURES BY COMPANY

ALASKA BUSINESS MONTHLY | 2016 OIL & GAS DIRECTORY

MORE THAN A CENTURY IN ALASKA AND COUNTING

www.foss.com Always Safe. Always Ready.

MOTION & FLOW CONTROL PRODUCTS INC.

Serving Alaska since 1969 27 Locations 275 Employees $10 Million worth of inventory

Fluid Power Specialists For the Oil and Gas Industry • • • • • • • • •

Black Cat Blades Wiggins Service Systems Graco Lincoln Harrington Dixon Pump Parker Hannifin Parker Racor Parker Filtration & Hydraulics

Anchorage - North 1716 Post Road 907.277.1406

Anchorage - South 360 E. Int’l Airport Rd. 907.561.3630

• • • • • • • • •

Industrial Hose Industrial Fittings Instrumentation Hydraulics Valves-Motors-Cylinders Hydraulic Hose Lubricants Grease Equipment Hoists

Fairbanks 1607 Well St. 907.456.4414

www.mfcpinc.com

116

Wasilla 1201 S. Hay St. 907.376.7275

Alaska Marine Lines 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 25 28 13 14 91 91 Alaska Pump & Supply, Inc. (a DXP Company) 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 30 27 Alaska Sales and Service 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 220 214 223 220 215 Alaska West Express 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 185 154 133 129 117 115 Alcan Electrical & Engineering, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 110 175 175 153 205 All American Oilfield LLC 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 52 75 Allied GIS, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2 2 2 2 1 2 Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 800 2000 800+ 800 790 735 American Fast Freight, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 145 160 150 60 165 160 American Fast Freight, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 145 160 120 165 160 American Relocation Services 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 145 150 150 20 25 160 APICC 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 6 6 5 6 5 5 Arcadis 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 20 20 23 Arctic Catering & Support Services 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 500 Arctic Controls, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 4 4 4 5 5 5 Arctic Foundations, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 16 15 17 15 15 ARCTOS LLC 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 5 7 10 6 8 2 ARS Aleut Analytical (formerly Analytica) 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 20 15 20 20 20 25 May 2016 | www.akbizmag.com

Alaska Marine Lines 100 Mt. Roberts St. Juneau, AK 99801 Phone: 907-586-3790 Fax: 907-463-3298

Kevin Anderson, Pres.

Alaska Pump & Supply, Inc. 261 E. 56th Ave., Bldg A Anchorage, AK 99518 Phone: 907-563-3424 Fax: 907-562-5449

Terry Gorlick, Pres. AK Rtng Equip.

Alaska Sales and Service 1300 E. Fifth Ave. Anchorage, AK 99501 Phone: 907-265-7535 Fax: 907-265-7507

Diana Pfeiffer, Pres.

Alaska West Express 1048 Whitney Rd. Anchorage, AK 99501 Phone: 907-339-5100 Fax: 907-339-5117

Scott Hicks, Pres.

Alcan Electrical & Engineering, Inc. 6670 Arctic Spur Rd. Anchorage, AK 99518 Phone: 907-563-3787 Fax: 907-562-6286

Scott Bringmann, Pres.

All American Oilfield LLC 14896 Kenai Spur Hwy., Suite 203 Kenai, AK 99611 Phone: 907-283-1048 Fax: 907-283-1051

Pete Dickinson, Pres.

Allied GIS, Inc. 8600 Spendlove Dr. Anchorage, AK 99516 Phone: 907-333-2750 Fax: 907-333-2751

Gail Morrison, Pres./Sr. GIS Analyst

Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. PO Box 196660, MS 542 Anchorage, AK 99519-6660 Phone: 907-787-8700 Fax: 907-787-8240

Thomas Barrett, Pres.

American Fast Freight, Inc. 3501 Lathrop St., Suite L Fairbanks, AK 99701 Phone: 907-452-7129 Fax: 907-451-7103

Ron Moore, AK Sales Mgr.

American Fast Freight, Inc. 5025 Van Buren St. Anchorage, AK 99517 Phone: 907-248-5548 Fax: 907-243-7353

Ron Moore, AK Sales Manager

American Relocation Services 5491 Electron Dr., Unit 1 Anchorage, AK 99518 Phone: 907-248-2929 Fax: 907-561-4244

Damian Naquin, GM

APICC 2600 Cordova St., Suite 105 Anchorage, AK 99503 Phone: 907-770-5250 Fax: 907-770-5251

Cari-Ann Carty, Exec. Dir.

Arcadis 880 H St., Suite 101 Anchorage, AK 99501 Phone: 907-276-8095 Fax: 907-276-8609

Roe Sturgulewski, AK Ops Leader

Arctic Catering & Support Services 3230 C St., Suite 200 Anchorage, AK 99503 Phone: 907-562-5588 Fax: 907-562-5898

David Gonzales, CEO

Arctic Controls, Inc. 1120 E. Fifth Ave. Anchorage, AK 99501 Phone: 907-277-7555 Fax: 907-277-9295

Scott Stewart, Pres.

Arctic Foundations, Inc. 5621 Arctic Blvd. Anchorage, AK 99518 Phone: 907-562-2741 Fax: 907-562-0153

Edward Yarmak, Pres.

ARCTOS LLC 130 W. Int'l Airport Rd., Suite R Anchorage, AK 99518 Phone: 907-632-1006 Fax: 866-532-3915

Kirsten Ballard, CEO

ARS Aleut Analytical (formerly Analytica) 4307 Arctic Blvd. Anchorage, AK 99503 Phone: 907-375-8977 Fax: 907-258-6634

Elizabeth Rensch, Business Dev.

COMPANY

www.akbizmag.com | May 2016

TOP EXECUTIVE

FOUNDED/ESTAB. AK

amlcsc@lynden.com lynden.com/aml

sales@alaskapump.com alaskapump.com

richardd@aksales.com aksales.com

information@lynden.com lynden.com/awe

sbringmann@alcanelectric.com alcanelectric.com

info@allamericanoilfield.com allamericanoilfield.com

gmorrison@alliedgis.com alliedgis.com

facebook.com/alyeskapipeline alyeska-pipe.com

youtube.com/americanfastfreight americanfast.com

alaska@americanfast.com americanfast.com

youtube.com/americanfastfreight americanrelocationservices.com

info@apicc.org apicc.org

cynthia.oistad@arcadis.com arcadis.com

info@arcticcatering.com arcticcatering.com

customerservice@arcticcouriers.com arcticcontrols.com

info@arcticfoundations.com arcticfoundations.com

info@arctosak.com arctosak.com

er@analyticagroup.com amrad.com

1980 1980

1908 1978

surveillance, uncover investigations, school security, cell phone & tower extraction, criminal & civil investigations, and security.

WORLDWIDE\AK EMPLOYEES

257 25

SERVICES

Alaska Marine Lines is a marine transportation company providing barge service to and from Alaska and Hawaii. We offer twice weekly service to Southeast Alaska and Central Alaska, seasonal service to Western Alaska, and bi-weekly service to Hawaii. Charter services are also available.

3,500 Serving industrial, municipal and commercial customers, Alaska Pump (a DXP 30 Company) is at the leading edge of technology providing the best rotating equipment, bearing and PT, MROP, safety products, expert service and engineered solutions from skids to complete modules. Field services are available.

1944 1944

220 220

Full Line General Motors Automobile and Truck lines (Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, & Cadillac) with GM Parts and Service.

1978 1978

198 185

Alaska West Express provides truckload transportation throughout the United States and Canada, specializing in shipments to and from Alaska, where we are the leader in transporting liquid- and dry-bulk products, hazardous and non-hazardous chemicals and petroleum products.

1971 1971

110 110

Electrical & Telecommunications, Security, CCTV, Outside Line Construction, Oil Production Modules, Hazardous Electrical Installation, and 508A Control Panel Fabrication.

2010 2010

52 52

On-shore and off-shore services include drilling, maintenance and support, workover, coil tubing, grind and inject, and well testing crews. Professional services include oilfield engineering, consulting and management services. Owner/operator of workover Rig 111.

2002 2002

5 2

GIS/mapping for oil & gas industry, spill response training and plume modeling - CIOSM and GNOME - environmental, land ownership, permitting, utility, programming, web services, ArcGIS Online, mobile apps, software sales, training, ESRI Business Partner & Adapx software resellers.

1970 1970

800 800

Alyeska Pipeline Service Company has operated the Trans Alaska Pipeline System since 1977, and has delivered more than 17 billion barrels of oil. Focused on safe and flawless operations and sustainability, Alyeskaﾃ不 employees are working to manage the challenges of declining throughput.

1984 1984

375 145

Ocean freight forwarding, freight consolidation of all kinds, LTL/LCL, full loads & single shipments, temperature protected, dry vans, specialized equipment, heavy haul, project logistics, barge, steamship, intra-state trucking, warehousing, distribution, military shipments, etc.

1984 1984

375 145

1988 1988

375 145

Commercial/residential relocation, moving & storage, temperature-controlled facilities, ocean freight forwarding, complete packing and crating services, free detailed estimates, military approved, certified moving consultants, budget service available. Also locations in Fairbanks, Soldotna & Kodiak.

1999 1999

6 6

APICC works with industry and educational and training institutions to prepare Alaskans to work in living wage jobs in Alaska, and to ensure an available, well-trained Alaskan workforce.

1888 1994

SERVICES, SUPPORT, SUPPLIES & EQUIPMENT

Donna@alaskaaia.com alaskaaia.com

ALASKA BUSINESS MONTHLY | 2016 OIL & GAS DIRECTORY

Palmer, AK 99645 Phone: 907-745-1133 Fax: 907-745-1136

28,000 Arcadis is Alaskaﾃ不 leading provider of construction and program management services 20 and a leading global design, project management and consultancy firm.

1973 1973

500 500

Remote Camp Services: Camp Management, Catering, Housekeeping, Janitorial, Maintenance, Security, HSE Systems, Incinerator & generator management, Procurement, and Expediating.

1985 1985

4 4

Arctic Controls Inc. is Alaska's leading expert in valves, flow meters, actuators, instrumentation, and process controls for commercial oil, gas, and water management. Providing professional expertise for all commercial applications and can assist you with estimates and recommendations.

1972 1972

16 16

Two-phase thermosyphons for long-term ground freezing: used for permafrost stabilization, frozen dams, containment, etc.

2007 2007

5 5

ODPCP "C" Plans, full range spill prevention & response planning services, response management & support, project permitting, compliance assistance with state & federal oil pollution regulations. Project engineering, API certified tank, piping & AWS welding inspections, HSE & waste management plans.

1991 1991

20 20

Full service state certified analytical laboratory with facilities located in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Wasilla. ARS specializes in drinking water, waste water, general water quality testing, contaminated sites and RCRA waste characterization.

117

6 YEAR EMPLOYMENT FIGURES BY COMPANY

ALASKA BUSINESS MONTHLY | 2016 OIL & GAS DIRECTORY

Home…

Away from Home When you work in the rugged climate of Alaska’s North Slope, having a comfortable, modern place to rest is a necessity. At Brooks Camp, each sound insulated room includes a private bathroom, rocker recliner,

• Hot Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner • 24-Hour Spike Room • Free Wi-Fi • Exercise Room & Pool Tables • Conveniently located in Deadhorse • Environmentally designed

For availability and rates: 907.659.6233 brookscampmanager@brooksrangesupply.com

colvilleinc.com

Ku p a r u k C e n t r a l Channel Bridge

E NGINEERS, I NC.

118

ASRC Energy Services LLC 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2744 3368 3305 2530 5000 3797 ATCO Structures & Logistics Ltd. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2 2 2 2 2 2 Beacon Occupational Health & Safety Services 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 329 320 300 250 250 180 Bering Marine Corporation 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 25 26 30 29 28 27 Bristol Bay Industrial 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 60 Brooks Range Supply, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 42 42 40+ 40 40 40 C2 North LLC 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 4 2 2 2 2 3 Cardno 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 11 13 13 12 11 Carlile 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 420 500 550 500 500 525 CCI Industrial Services LLC 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 246 300 300 377 150 CH2M 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2285 2403 2424 2332 3100 3100 Chugach Alaska Corporation 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 750 600 500 586 649 722 Chugach Alaska Services LLC 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 78 85 Chugach Professional Oilfield Services 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 3 4 Colville, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 200 200 185 160 125 98 CONAM Construction Co. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 250 300 100 100 50 Construction Machinery Industrial 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 110 112 105 114 102 109 Craig Taylor Equipment 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 62 62 57 55 60 60 May 2016 | www.akbizmag.com

Company

Estab. Empls. Jeff Kinneeveauk, Pres./CEO

ATCO Structures & Logistics Ltd. 425 G St. Anchorage, AK 99501 Phone: 907-677-6983 Fax: 907-677-6984

Steve Lockwood, Pres.

FOUNDED/ESTAB. AK

info@asrcenergy.com asrcenergy.com

atco@atcosl.com atcosl.com

WORLDWIDE\AK EMPLOYEES

SERVICES

1985 1985

3,008 A Ă&#x2019;one-stop shopĂ&#x201C; for consulting and contracting services to the energy, natural 2,744 resources, infrastructure, industrial, marine, and power industries. AES offers a broad range of in-house vertical integration services, self-performance capabilities, and a large cross-trained craft labor pool.

1947 2009

1,500 ATCO Structures & Logistics offers complete infrastructure solutions to customers 2 worldwide, including remote work force housing, portable offices and trailers, innovative modular facilities, construction, site support services, operations support, catering and noise reduction technologies.

Beacon Occupational Health & Safety Svcs. Holly Hylen, Pres./CEO 800 Cordova St. Anchorage, AK 99501 info@beaconohss.com Phone: 907-222-7612 Fax: 907-222-6976 beaconohss.com

1999 1999

351 329

On-site medical staffing, safety staffing, full service third-party administration drug and alcohol testing, occupational medicine, and work related injury and illness management, and training.

Bering Marine Corporation 6400 S. Airpark Pl. Anchorage, AK 99502 Phone: 907-248-7646 Fax: 907-245-1744

Rick Gray, Pres.

1985 1985

25 25

Bering Marine Corporation provides highly specialized, contracted marine services to reach water-locked villages and other remote Alaska locations. Bering Marine gets building materials, equipment and gravel to some of Alaska's most isolated spots.

Bristol Bay Industrial 5015 Business Park Blvd., Suite 4000 Anchorage, AK 99503-7146 Phone: 907-231-9929

Mark D. Nelson, Pres./CEO

2015 2015

60 60

Working alongside our clients to develop long-term, sustainable results, Bristol Bay Industrial is Alaska's innovative industrial services integrator. We create customized Client Solutions in support of the entire project life cycle by leveraging our member companies and strategic partners.

Brooks Range Supply, Inc. Pouch 340008 Prudhoe Bay, AK 99734 Phone: 907-659-2550 Fax: 907-659-2650

Eric Helzer, Pres./CEO

1982 1982

42 42

Diverse range of automotive and heavy equipment parts, industrial and hydraulic hose, hardware, welding equipment, safety and MRO supplies, propane refilling, oil spill materials, lubricants, WSB fuel and oil enhancement products, hand and power tools, NAPA, True Value, VIPAR, IWDC Welding.

C2 North LLC 4141 B St., Suite 201 Anchorage, AK 99503 Phone: 907-569-9122 Fax: 603-388-0793

Melanie Roller, Owner/Principal

2001 2001

5 4

Small business certifications with an emphasis on Alaska Native corporations. Project management, technical writing and business solutions for the oil and gas industry.

Cardno 3150 C St., Suite 240 Anchorage, AK 99503 Phone: 907-563-0438 Fax: 907-563-0439

Meg Thornton, Sr. Cons./Offc. Mgr.

Carlile 1800 E. First Ave. Anchorage, AK 99501-1833 Phone: 907-276-7797 Fax: 907-278-7301

Terry Howard, President

CCI Industrial Services LLC 5015 Business Park Blvd., Suite 4000 Anchorage, AK 99503 Phone: 907-258-5755 Fax: 907-770-9452

A. Ben Schoffmann, Pres./CEO

CH2M 949 E. 36th Ave., Suite 500 Anchorage, AK 99508 Phone: 907-762-1500 Fax: 907-762-1600

Terry Bailey, Sr. VP/AK Reg. Mgr.

Chugach Alaska Corporation 3800 Centerpoint Dr., Suite 1200 Anchorage, AK 99503-4396 Phone: 907-563-8866 Fax: 907-563-8402

Gabriel Kompkoff, CEO

Chugach Alaska Services LLC 3800 Centerpoint Dr., Suite 1200 Anchorage, AK 99502 Phone: 907-261-0474

Ryan Kegley, GM

Chugach Professional Oilfield Services 14896 Kenai Spur Hwy., Suite 203 Kenai, AK 99611 Phone: 907-283-1048

Tanya Dickinson, Ops Mgr.

Colville, Inc. Pouch 340012 Prudhoe Bay, AK 99734 Phone: 907-659-3198 Fax: 907-659-3190

Eric Helzer, Pres./CEO

CONAM Construction Co. 301 W. Northern Lights Blvd., Suite 300 Anchorage, AK 99503 Phone: 907-278-6600 Fax: 907-278-4401

Dale Kissee, Pres.

Construction Machinery Industrial 5400 Homer Dr. Anchorage, AK 99518 Phone: 907-563-3822 Fax: 907-563-1381

Ken Gerondale, Pres./CEO

Craig Taylor Equipment 733 Whitney Rd. Anchorage, AK 99501 Phone: 907-276-5050

Chris Devine, Pres./CEO

www.akbizmag.com | May 2016

information@lynden.com lynden.com/bmc

solutions@bbindustrial.com bbindustrial.com

manager@brooksrangesupply.com brooksrangesupply.com

mroller@c2north.com c2north.com

linkedin.com/company/cardno cardno.com

carlile.biz

info@cciindustrial.com cciindustrial.com

Terry.Bailey@ch2m.com ch2m.com/alaska

communications@chugach.com chugach.com

CASinfo@chugach.com chugach.com

info@allamericanoilfield.com allamericanoilfield.com

info@colvilleinc.com colvilleinc.com

conamco.com

o.prestwick@cmiak.com cmiak.com

facebook.com/craigtaylorequipment craigtaylorequipment.com

1984 1984

8,000 Full-service, consulting firm providing specialized technical services in environmental 11 impact assessments (NEPA); environmental planning, permitting and compliance, natural and cultural resources, hazardous materials and hazardous waste, due diligence, and subsurface utility engineering.

1980 1980

600 420

Transportation and logistics company offering multi-model trucking as well as project logistic services across Alaska and North America.

1989 1989

246 246

Corrosion-under-insulation refurbishment; asbestos and lead surveys and abatement; specialty coatings; sandblasting; tank and vessel cleaning; fire proofing; demolition and hazardous waste removal; operations, maintenance and construction; oil spill response; heat treat services.

1946 1962

22,007 Premier Alaskan oil & gas contractor with planning, siting, engineering, procurement, 2,285 logistics, sealift/truckable modules fabrication, piping, construction, program & construction management, operations & maintenance, supporting oil, gas, transportation, environmental, water, mining & government.

1972 1972

5,450 Chugach provides wide-ranging services for federal, municipal and commercial clients 750 including facilities management and maintenance, construction and engineering, technical and information technology, education and oil and gas services.

2008 2008

78 78

Chugach Alaska Services provides tailored, cost-efficient staffing solutions to Alaska's oil and gas industry.

2015 2015

3 3

Chugach Professional Oilfield Services provides professional oilfield engineering, consulting and management services to operators across Alaska.

1981 1981

200 200

Colville's group of oilfield companies provide a full compliment of Arctic Logistics capabilities. Our services include fuel, aviation, waste management, transport, industrial supply and camp services.

1984 1984

250 250

General construction contractor specializing in design and construction of oil and gas facilities and pipelines, mining facilities, water and sewer facilities, and other remote infrastructure projects.

1985 1985

110 110

Construction and mining equipment sales, rentals, service, and parts.

1954 1954

62 62

Factory authorized dealer for: Doosan large excavators, loaders & articulated trucks; Bobcat mini-loaders & excavators; Dynapac compaction rollers; Fecom land clearing attachments & carriers. Providing sales, rentals, parts, and service. Alaskan owned and operated, serving AK for more than 60 years.

SERVICES, SUPPORT, SUPPLIES & EQUIPMENT

TOP EXECUTIVE

ASRC Energy Services LLC 3900 C St., Suite 701 Anchorage, AK 99503 Phone: 907-339-6200 Fax: 907-339-6212

ALASKA BUSINESS MONTHLY | 2016 OIL & GAS DIRECTORY

COMPANY

Services

119

Trans-Alaska Pipeline Construction, 1976-77 Proud to be Employee Owned.

Alaska Rubber Group Member of:

Associated Wire Rope Fabricators

Alaska Rubber

& RIGGING SUPPLY AK: ANCHORAGE • FAIRBANKS • KENAI • WASILLA WA: EVERETT • PASCO • SEATTLE • SPOKANE • TACOMA

www.alaskarubber.com • Toll Free: 800-478-7600

Turnagain Marine Construction Operating throughout Alaska and the Cook Inlet. Now with two new heavy lift crane barges: 280 x 76 x 350 Ton 230 x 60 x 250 Ton Both equipped with heavy Cook Inlet mooring systems. Marine Construction

Piers/ Docks

Rock Anchors

Design-Build

Driven Pile

Heavy-Lift Support

Marine Structures

Socketed Pile

Offshore Crane & Barge Support

9330 Vanguard Dr. #100 Anchorage, AK 99507 907-261-8960

www.Turnagain.build 120

P2-3a-03 Alaska State Library Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. Photo Collection

6 YEAR EMPLOYMENT FIGURES BY COMPANY

ALASKA BUSINESS MONTHLY | 2016 OIL & GAS DIRECTORY

Alaska Rubber & Rigging Supply is proud to support the people and industries whose’ pioneering spirit built Alaska.

Crowley Solutions, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 450 450 500 500 550 625 Cruz Construction, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 320 326 250 65 65 Cruz Marine LLC 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 20 20 20 10 15 12 Deadhorse Aviation Center 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 8 10 9 120 6 Delta Constructors LLC 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 70 100 100 Delta Leasing LLC 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 40 43 35 22 24 Dowland-Bach Corporation 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 29 28 26 29 26 25 Doyon Associated LLC 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 300 Doyon Limited 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 1383 1722 1530 Doyon Universal Services LLC 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 800 860 900 900 920 850 Era Helicopters LLC 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 150 150 130 175 125 119 ESS Support Services Worldwide 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 500 350 300 300 300 367 Everts Air Cargo 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 265 255 250 275 287 283 Fairweather LLC 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 81 115 140 120 160 110 Fluor Alaska, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 48 80 85 Foss Maritime Company 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 20 6 24 5 50 10 Foundex Pacific, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 15 15-25 15 20 20 12 GeoTek Alaska, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 25 25 25 15 15 May 2016 | www.akbizmag.com

Company

Estab. Empls. Bruce Harland, VP

Cruz Construction, Inc. 7000 E. Palmer Wasilla Hwy. Palmer , AK 99645 Phone: 907-746-3144 Fax: 907-746-5557

Dave Cruz, President

Cruz Marine LLC 7000 E. Palmer-Wasilla Hwy. Palmer, AK 99645 Phone: 907-746-3144 Fax: 907-746-5557

Kevin Weiss, GM

Deadhorse Aviation Center PO Box 34006 Prudhoe Bay, AK 99734 Phone: 907-685-1700 Fax: 907-685-1798

Tim Cudney, Dir.

Delta Constructors LLC 3000 C St., Suite 202 Anchorage, AK 99503 Phone: 907-771-5800 Fax: 907-771-5911

Ed Gohr, CEO

Delta Leasing LLC 8101 Dimond Hook Dr. Anchorage, AK 99507 Phone: 907-771-1300 Fax: 907-771-1380

Rudi von Imhof, Pres.

Dowland-Bach Corporation PO Box 230126 Anchorage, AK 99523-0126 Phone: 907-562-5818 Fax: 907-562-5816

Reed Christensen, Pres./GM

Doyon Associated LLC 615 Bidwell Ave., Suite 100 Fairbanks, AK 99701 Phone: 907-374-9130

Warren Christian, Pres.

Doyon Universal Services LLC 11500 C St., Suite 100 Anchorage, AK 99515 Phone: 907-522-1300 Fax: 907-522-3531

Thomas (Bob) Kean, Pres.

Doyon, Limited 1 Doyon Pl., Suite 300 Fairbanks, AK 99701-2941 Phone: 907-459-2000 Fax: 907-459-2060

Aaron Schutt, Pres./CEO

Era Helicopters LLC 6160 Carl Brady Dr., Hangar 2 Anchorage, AK 99502 Phone: 907-550-8600 Fax: 907-550-8608

Elliott Neal, VP AK

ESS Support Services Worldwide 201 Post Rd. Anchorage, AK 99501 Phone: 907-865-9818 Fax: 907-865-9866

Larry Weihs, COO

Everts Air Cargo PO Box 61680 Fairbanks, AK 99706 Phone: 907-450-2300 Fax: 907-450-2320

Robert Everts, Pres./CEO

Fairweather LLC 301 Calista Ct. Anchorage, AK 99518 Phone: 907-346-3247 Fax: 907-349-1920

Linda Leary, President

Fluor Alaska, Inc. 4300 B St., Suite 210 Anchorage, AK 99503 Phone: 907-865-2000 Fax: 907-865-2023

Wyche Ford, GM/Sr. Project Dir.

Foss Maritime Company 188 W. Northern Lights Blvd., Suite 1020 Anchorage, AK 99503 Phone: 907-782-4950 Fax: 907-782-1185

Gary Faber, Sr. VP Marine Trans.

Foundex Pacific, Inc. 2261 Cinnabar Lp. Anchorage, AK 99507 Phone: 907-522-8263 Fax: 907-522-8262

Howard Grey, Mgr.

GeoTek Alaska, Inc. PO Box 11-1155 Anchorage, AK 99511-1155 Phone: 907-569-5900 Fax: 907-929-5762

Christopher Nettels, Pres.

www.akbizmag.com | May 2016

FOUNDED/ESTAB. AK

crowley.com

info@cruzconstruct.com cruzconstruct.com

info@cruzmarine.com cruzmarine.com

deadhorseaviation.com

info@deltaconstructors.net deltaconstructors.net

info@deltaleasing.com deltaleasing.com

reed@dowlandbach.com dowlandbach.com

doyonassociated.com

doyonuniversal.com

info@doyon.com doyon.com

erahelicopters.com

lweihs@ess-worldwide.com essalaska.com

info@evertsair.com evertsair.com

facebook.com/fairweatherllc fairweather.com

fluor.alaska@fluor.com fluor.com

info@foss.com foss.com

hgrey@foundex.com foundex.com

ksmith@geotekalaska.com geotekalaska.com

1892 1953

WORLDWIDE\AK EMPLOYEES

SERVICES

5,500 Crowley Solutions was formed in 2010 to provide increased support services to the oil 450 and gas industry including turnkey project management solutions, ocean towing, heavy lift transportation services, spill response services, tank farm and fuel management services.

1981 1981

450 320

Experts in resource development and heavy civil construction.

1989 1989

20 20

Shallow draft marine support for heavy civil construction and resource development based in Cook Inlet with services extending to the western and arctic coast of Alaska. Eco friendly tugs and ramp barges that have double hull fuel tanks and hospital grade silencers.

2012 2012

8 8

The Deadhorse Aviation Center is Fairweather, LLC's multi-modal aviation facility designed to meet the needs of onshore and offshore oil and gas development on the North Slope. The DAC has 2 large hangars, office space, terminal, full-service medical facility, bedrooms, and a full dining facility.

2007 2007

350 70

Delta Constructors specializes in Construction Management (estimating, planning, scheduling and project execution) and direct hire construction for structural, piping, mechanical, electrical and instrumentation disciplines, in support of Up & Mid-Stream Oil and Gas development.

2002 2002

40 40

Specialized leasing of fleet trucks, SUVs, vans, & shuttle buses, as well as construction & mining equipment, oil & gas equipment. GM, Dodge & International warranty repair center. Alaskan-owned. Deadline driven. Results oriented. Anchorage/Kenai/Prudhoe Bay/Fairbanks/Remote Alaska.

1975 1975

29 29

Wellhead Control Systems, NRTL Listed Industrial Control Panel Fabrication, Automation Services/Systems Integration, Stainless Steel Tubing, Pipe, Fittings, Flanges. Chemical Injection and Custom Stainless Steel fabrication.

2006 2006

300 300

Doyon Associated, LLC (DAL) specializes in arctic pipeline construction and associated infrastructure. DAL has an established presence in Alaska with offices in Fairbanks and Anchorage, and shop/yard facilities in Fairbanks and Deadhorse.

1946 1946

950 800

Operational support including catering, housekeeping, facility maintenance, and security.

1972 1972

1948 1948

1,000 Founded in Alaska in 1948, Era not only serves the oil and gas industry in Alaska, but 150 provides services for state and government business, executive charter services, flightseeing tours, environmental surveys, utility and construction work.

1986 1986

200,000 Restaurants, lounges, and espresso operations. Catering services: small to large remote 500 site facilities for short- or long-term projects, including offshore drilling platforms, employee staffing and leasing, in-flight services, governmental agency support services and Impressions Catering.

1995 1995

255 265

Everts Air Cargo is an Alaskan owned and operated air carrier that provides scheduled freight service to 12 rural communities in Alaska and charter service throughout Central and North America.

1976 1976

105 81

Founded in 1976 by Sherron Perry, Fairweather offers a range of highly-specialized services to support remote oil & gas & mining operations. These services include remote medical & HSE support, meteorological & oceanographic forecasting, aviation & airstrip support & expediting & logistics services.

1912 1954

39,716 Fluor is one of the worldﾃ不 largest publicly traded engineering, procurement, construction 48 (EPC), maintenance, and project management companies. Fluor works with governments and Clients in diverse industries around the world to design, construct, and maintain complex and challenging capital projects

1889 1922

1,700 Foss Maritime offers marine services without equal across the globe, in remote ports & 20 in extreme environments. Our experienced crews specialize in pioneering cargo transport and project services using cutting edge technology, with a steadfast commitment to quality, safety & the environment.

1983 1983

65 15

Provide geotechnical and environmental drilling services. Equipped for drilling with air and mud rotary, sonic, coring, and auger tools. Some of our equipment is specially designed for helicopter support. This year we added a jack-up rig.

2002 2002

25 25

We specialize in the acquisition of subsurface data for both the environmental and geotechnical professional communities. If your needs involve the characterization of the subsurface we offer Drilling, UVOST, Utility Clearance, Ground Penetrating Radar, and/ or Vacuum Clearing.

SERVICES, SUPPORT, SUPPLIES & EQUIPMENT

TOP EXECUTIVE

Crowley Solutions, Inc. 201 Arctic Slope Ave. Anchorage, AK 99518 Phone: 907-777-5505 Fax: 907-777-5550

ALASKA BUSINESS MONTHLY | 2016 OIL & GAS DIRECTORY

COMPANY

Services

121

6 YEAR EMPLOYMENT FIGURES BY COMPANY

ALASKA BUSINESS MONTHLY | 2016 OIL & GAS DIRECTORY

Discover

Fountainhead Hotels locally owned in Fairbanks

Wander Lake at Wedgewood Resort Fairbanks, Alaska

CALL DIRECT - SAVE MORE! Corporate Best Value - Government Rates Sophie Station Suites - Wedgewood Resort - Bridgewater Hotel Airport Courtesy Van Service - WiFi Reservations 800.528.4916 | FountainheadHotels.com 122

Global Services, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 50 25 15 Golder Associates, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 35 40 44 40 40 44 GPS Alaska 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 4 4 6 Great Circle Flight Services 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 8 8 10 8 8 Hawk Consultants LLC 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 60 ~80 100 Hectorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Welding, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 7 7 6 6 3 8 High Tide Exploration 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2 3 1 2 Kakivik Asset Management LLC 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 177 250 200 185 200 182 Kassbohrer All Terrain Vehicles, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 4 0 4 0 Lifewater Engineering Company 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 10 8 10 8 Lounsbury & Associates 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 80 80+ 85 85 79 76 LW Survey 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 10 10 Lynden Air Cargo 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 164 154 153 173 158 139 Lynden International 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 46 51 53 50 55 48 Lynden Logistics 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 3 3 3 3 3 3 Lynden Oilfield Services 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 28 Lynden Training Center 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 4 15 11 10 6 5 Lynden Transport, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 65 150 134 148 146 145

May 2016 | www.akbizmag.com

Company

Estab. Empls.

Golder Associates, Inc. 2121 Abbott Rd., Suite 100 Anchorage, AK 99507 Phone: 907-344-6001 Fax: 907-344-6011

Mitchells Richard, Mgr. AK Ops

GPS Alaska 360 E. Int'l Airport Rd., Suite 10 Anchorage, AK 99518 Phone: 907-562-8000 Fax: 907-562-8080

Kevin Silvernale

Great Circle Flight Services 6121 S. Airpark Pl. Anchorage, AK 99502 Phone: 907-245-1232 Fax: 907-245-1501

Cathy Porter, Mgr. Aviation Svcs.

Hawk Consultants LLC 670 W. Fireweed Ln., Suite 201 Anchorage, AK 99503 Phone: 907-278-1877 Fax: 907-278-1877

Maynard Tapp, Mng. Member

Hector's Welding, Inc. 701 Finnel Dr. North Pole, AK 99705 Phone: 907-488-6432 Fax: 907-488-8385

Ken Therriault, VP/GM

High Tide Exploration 180 E. Hygrade Ln. Wasilla, AK 99654 Phone: 907-354-3132

Chris Hoffman, Owner

Kakivik Asset Management LLC 5015 Business Park Blvd., Suite 4000 Anchorage, AK 99503 Phone: 907-770-9400 Fax: 907-770-9450

A. Ben Schoffmann, Pres./CEO

Kassbohrer All Terrain Vehicles, Inc. 18460 SW 126th Pl. Tualatin, OR 97062 Phone: 503-783-1935 Fax: 503-783-1936

Dennis McGiboney, VP Sales/Mktng.

Lifewater Engineering Company 1936 Donald Ave. Fairbanks, AK 99701 Phone: 907-458-7024 Fax: 907-458-7025

Bob Tsigonis, Pres., PE

Lounsbury & Associates 5300 A St. Anchorage, AK 99518 Phone: 907-272-5451 Fax: 907-272-9065

Jim Sawhill, Pres.

LW Survey 1075 Check St., Suite 202 Wasilla, AK 99654 Phone: 907-357-8375

Gordon Brinker, Pres.

Lynden Air Cargo 6441 S. Airpark Pl. Anchorage, AK 99502 Phone: 907-243-7248 Fax: 907-257-5124

Rick Zerkel, Pres.

Lynden International 6441 S. Airpark Pl. Anchorage, AK 99502 Phone: 907-243-6150 Fax: 907-243-2143

John Kaloper, Pres.

Lynden Logistics 6400 S. Airpark Pl. Anchorage, AK 99502 Phone: 907-245-1544 Fax: 907-245-1744

Alex McKallor, Pres.

Lynden Oilfield Services 1048 Whitney Rd. Anchorage, AK 99501 Phone: 907-339-5100 Fax: 907-339-5117

Scott Hicks, Pres.

Lynden Training Center 4325 Cinch St. Fairbanks, AK 99701 Phone: 907-456-2223 Fax: 907-456-2266

Scott Hicks, Pres.

Lynden Transport, Inc. 3027 Rampart Dr. Anchorage, AK 99501 Phone: 907-276-4800 Fax: 907-257-5155

Paul Grimaldi, Pres.

www.akbizmag.com | May 2016

FOUNDED/ESTAB. AK

facebook.com/globalsrvc globalsrvc.com

golder.com

info@gpsalaska.com gpsalaska.com

dispatch@greatcircleflight.com greatcircleflight.com

davenorton@hawkpros.com hawkpros.com

hectors@acsalaska.net hectorswelding.com

chris@hightidealaska.com hightidealaska.com

info@kakivik.com kakivik.com

chales@pistenbullyusa.com pistenbullyusa.com

Bob@LifewaterEngineering.com LifewaterEngineering.com

k.ayers@lounsburyinc.com lounsburyinc.com

f.schilling@lwsurvey.com lwsurvey.com

charters@lynden.com lynden.com/lac

ancall@lynden.com lynden.com/lint

information@lynden.com lynden.com/llog

information@lynden.com lynden.com/loil

ltc@lynden.com lynden.com/training

trananccs@lynden.com lynden.com/ltia

1982 1982

1960 1980

WORLDWIDE\AK EMPLOYEES

50 50

SERVICES

Remote camps, industrial catering, and facilities management.

6,500 Arctic and geotechnical engineering, groundwater resource development, environmental 35 sciences and remedial investigation.

2004 2004

4 4

PRECISION GPS and machine control sales service rental training and support for surveyors and contractors offering TOPCON, SOKKIA, CARLSON, and FARO products.

2005 2005

8 8

GCFS provides personal and attentive concierge style FBO services to private and charter aircraft traveling to, from, and throughout Alaska. Open 24/7/365.

1985 1985

80 60

Project management services for the Alaska oil & gas industry, primarily through staff augmentation services. We also provide technical consulting services during all phases of project delivery & serve clients in contract closeout, claims consulting, and dispute resolution services.

1956 1956

7 7

Steel sales, iron fabrication: 10' shear and brake; roll, Iron Worker; and 10' X 12' plasma table.

2010 2010

2 2

We gather underwater video to depths of 1,000 ft. using our Remotely Operated Vehicle throughout Alaska and locations worldwide. As biologists, we are well suited to describe underwater habitat or can team with engineers to assess the condition of underwater structures.

1999 1999

177 177

Kakivik is a full service industrial asset integrity management company specializing in Nondestructive Testing (NDT), External and Internal Corrosion Investigations, Quality Program Management and Field Chemical and Corrosion Management including chemical laboratory and coupon/probe operations.

1969 1985

450 4

PistenBully tracked utility vehicles and PowerBully tracked carriers. Up to 490 horsepower; 17 ton payload. Ice road construction, snow removal, transport equipment, pull heavy sleds, personnel cabins, special use. Support branches throughout North America.

1998 1998

10 10

Manufacturing sewage treatment plants for man camps, homes, and lodges in the most extreme environments and remote places. Manufacturing high performance plastic jet boats and rugged work boats. Custom plastic fabrication.

1949 1949

80 80

Civil engineering, land surveying, planning, construction management. Servicing local and state government, oil and gas industry and private development. Offices in Anchorage, Wasilla, Kuparuk and Billings, Montana.

1998 1998

500 10

We offer clients an array of survey solutions, covering the full life cycle of projects from preliminary planning to final as-built positioning. We combine current technologies including LiDAR and GPS, with industry-leading expertise to provide quality facilities, land and route survey services.

1996 1996

165 164

Charter air cargo service. Scheduled air cargo and express package service.

1980 1980

221 46

Air cargo and express-package services, nonscheduled and scheduled air transportation, air courier services, freight transportation services and local delivery services.

1984 1984

11 3

Arrangement of freight transportation, information management and logistical services.

2015 2015

28 28

Lynden Oilfield Services, a division of Alaska West Express, provides support for exploration, production, and service companies on the North Slope working to develop Alaska's oil and gas resources.

1995 1995

4 4

Providing training in hazardous materials transportation, emergency response, Incident Management, hazardous waste, work place safety, and equipment operation, the Lynden Training Center, a division of Alaska West Express, Inc., is 'the hands-on training facility'.

1954 1954

257 65

SERVICES, SUPPORT, SUPPLIES & EQUIPMENT

TOP EXECUTIVE

Kurt Winkler, Pres.

ALASKA BUSINESS MONTHLY | 2016 OIL & GAS DIRECTORY

COMPANY

Global Services, Inc. 1701 E. 84th Ave. Anchorage, AK 99507 Phone: 907-349-3342 Fax: 907-349-2015

Services

Full-service, multi-mode freight transportation to, from and within Alaska.

123

6 YEAR EMPLOYMENT FIGURES BY COMPANY

ALASKA BUSINESS MONTHLY | 2016 OIL & GAS DIRECTORY

We’re here to go above and beyond for you. We applaud the efforts and accomplishments of America’s workers. Every day, you go above and beyond to make your family, your community and your business stronger. And for more than 75 years, Colonial Life has gone above and beyond to help you succeed, providing benefits that help protect all the things you’ve worked so hard to build. Call on us to help you manage the ever-increasing costs and complexities of benefits, and to help provide your employees financial protection that they value and understand.

To learn more, contact: Pamela Whitfield, Alaska District Manager 907-274-0227 Pamela.Whitfield@ColonialLife.com

ColonialLife.com DISABILITY

ACCIDENT

LIFE

CRITICAL ILLNESS

CANCER

©2016 Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company, Columbia, SC | Colonial Life insurance products are underwritten by Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company, for which Colonial Life is the marketing brand. AD-004

124

Maritime Helicopters 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 46 80 60 40 20 20 Modular Transportable Housing 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 1 1 Motion Industries, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 7 11 4 5 5 3 Motion Industries, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 7 11 8 7 6 2 MWH 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 25 30 30 40 40 60 N C Machinery 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 257 257 265 250 230 192 NGL International LLC 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 10 5 NMS 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2100 1804 2200 3329 NMS Security 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 500 486 2200 NMS Staffing 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 100 90 200 2200 200 NORCON, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 247 138 136 317 415 400 North Star Terminal & Stevedore Co. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 25-50 ~50 - 50-150 100 75 Northern Land Use Research Alaska LLC 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 17 15 15+ 21 15 20 NRC Alaska LLC 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 100 100 75 108 100 75 Offshore Systems Kenai (Nikiski) 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 25 32 20 20 Offshore Systems, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 50 138 60 40 40 Offshore Systems, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 100 150 150 20 20 Olgoonik Inspection Services 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 3 6 May 2016 | www.akbizmag.com

Company

Estab. Empls.

Modular Transportable Housing 3116 Commercial Dr. Anchorage , AK 99501 Phone: 877-929-9902

Stacy Stoltenow, VP

Motion Industries, Inc. 1895 Van Horn Rd., Unit A Fairbanks, AK 99701 Phone: 907-452-4488 Fax: 907-456-8840

Nick Morgan, Fbx. Branch Mgr.

Motion Industries, Inc. 53341 Sandy Ln., #A Kenai, AK 99611 Phone: 907-283-4452

Matt Bailey, Anch. Branch Mgr.

MWH 1835 S. Bragaw St., Suite 350 Anchorage, AK 99508 Phone: 907-248-8883 Fax: 907-248-8884

Chris Brown, AK Reg. Mgr.

N C Machinery 6450 Arctic Blvd. Anchorage, AK 99518 Phone: 907-786-7500 Fax: 907-786-7580

John Harnish, Pres./CEO

NGL International LLC 301 W. Northern Lights Blvd., Suite 660 Anchorage, AK 99503 Phone: 907-365-6299 Fax: 907-365-6250

Jane Treadway, Client Mgr.

NMS 800 E. Dimond Blvd., Suite 3-450 Anchorage, AK 99515 Phone: 907-273-2400 Fax: 907-273-2424

Matthew Daggett, President

NMS Security 800 E. Dimond Blvd. Anchorage, AK 99515 Phone: 907-273-2400 Fax: 907-273-2424

Bill Tandeske, VP Ops

NMS Staffing 800 E. Dimond Blvd., Suite 3-450 Anchorage, AK 99515 Phone: 907-729-5570 Fax: 907-729-5579

Eric Fox, VP Ops

NORCON, Inc. 949 E. 36th Ave., Suite 143 Anchorage, AK 99508 Phone: 907-762-1500 Fax: 907-275-6300

Randy Barnes, VP Norcon, Inc.

North Star Terminal & Stevedore Co. 790 Ocean Dock Rd. Anchorage, AK 99501 Phone: 907-263-0120 Fax: 907-272-8927

Jeff Bentz, Pres.

Northern Land Use Research Alaska LLC 234 Front St. Fairbanks, AK 99701 Phone: 907-474-9684 Fax: 907-474-8370

Burr Neely, GM

NRC Alaska LLC 425 Outer Springer Lp. Palmer, AK 99645 Phone: 907-258-1558 Fax: 907-746-3651

Blake Hillis, Sr. VP NRC Alaska

Offshore Systems Kenai (Nikiski) PO Box 8505 Nikiski, AK 99635 Phone: 907-776-5551 Fax: 907-776-8836

Kelly McNeil, VP

Offshore Systems, Inc. PO Box 920427 Dutch Harbor , AK 99692 Phone: 907-581-1827 Fax: 907-581-1630

Jeff Savage, GM

Offshore Systems, Inc. 2410 E. 88th Ave. Anchorage, AK 99507 Phone: 800-733-6434 Fax: 907-646-1430

Jeff Savage, Gen. Mgr.

Olgoonik Inspection Services 3201 C St., Suite 700 Anchorage, AK 99503 Phone: 907-562-8728 Fax: 907-562-8751

Darrell Harris, GM

www.akbizmag.com | May 2016

FOUNDED/ESTAB. AK

info@maritimehelicopters.com maritimehelicopters.com

office@mthousing.net mthousing.net

MiMarketing@motionindustries.com motionindustries.com

chris.brown@mwhglobal.com mwhglobal.com

sfield@ncmachinery.com ncmachinery.com

jane.treadway@ngl-intl.com tikigaq.com

information@nmsusa.com nmsusa.com

nmsusa.com

nmsstaffing@nmsusa.com nmsstaffing.net

Inquiries@NORCON.com norcon.com

scottv@northstarak.com northstarak.com

nlur@northernlanduse.com northernlanduse.com

PNielsen@nrcc.com nrcc.com

offshoresystemsinc.com

olgoonikinspectionservices.com

WORLDWIDE\AK EMPLOYEES

SERVICES

1973 1973

46 46

We support petroleum, construction & marine industries as well as federal/state agencies. Our fleet includes Bell 206L, 407 and twin-engine 412HP & BO-105 Eurocopters. Our 86Ă&#x2022; helipad equipped vessel supports remote marine-based operations. Bases in Homer-Fairbanks-Kenai-Kodiak-Dutch Harbor-Valdez.

1995 1995

25 1

Mining/Logging Camps, Construction Camps, Construction Offices, Jobsite Engineering Units, Industrial Facilities, Laboratories, Field Offices, Dormitory buildings, Office Buildings, Urban Housing, Shower and Locker Room Facilities, Medical Buildings, Exercise Buildings, Classrooms, Survival Units.

1970 2010

6,343 A leading distributor of industrial maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) 7 replacement parts (over 5.9 million parts), including bearings, power transmission, hydraulic/pneumatic components, linear, hydraulic/indus. hose, indus. & safety supplies, process pumps, seals & material handling.

1970 2010

6,343 A leading distributor of industrial maintenance, repair and operation (MRO) replacement 7 parts (over 5.9 million parts), including bearings, power transmission, hydraulic/ pneumatic components, linear, hydraulic/industrial hose, industrial and safety supplies, seals, process pumps & material handling.

1945 1982

7,000 Water, wastewater, environmental remediation, permitting and power. 25

1776 1926

1,192 Cat machine sales, parts, service, and rental. Cat engines for marine, power generation, 257 truck, petroleum, and industrial applications. Sales and rental of Cat and other preferred brands of rental equipment and construction supplies.

2010 2010

1974 1974

15 10

NGL International, LLC (NGLI) is a small logistics company with large business depth, resources and means. As a leading provider of logistics solutions, we leverage the capabilities of our global presence to enhance the efficiencies and effectiveness of supply chain processes.

2,400 With more than three decades of delivering support services, NMS is skilled in meeting 2,100 the needs of clients in urban, rural and remote site locations, whether you need to manage a remote camp, deliver catering services to your corporate headquarters, or provide security for your manufacturing plant.

1974 1974

700 500

Providing security services in Alaska since 1974, we serve a wide variety of clients including federal, state and local governments, corporate facilities, healthcare providers, manufacturing centers, the telecommunications industry, and museums with an expansive array of security services.

1991 1991

100 100

Dedicated to finding and placing the most qualified employees in various types of skilled and technical positions. We partner with each client, getting to know exactly what your staffing needs are so we can find that perfect match. Our highly trained and skilled recruiters seek out the best talent.

1974 1974

247 247

NORCON is a full-service General Contractor with expertise in mechanical, electrical, instrumentation & process pipe installations for AK Oil & Gas. Our experienced craft labor executes projects including well tie-ins, critical shutdowns/turnarounds, scaffolding, and support facility construction.

1950 1950

1991 1991

2014 2014

SERVICES, SUPPORT, SUPPLIES & EQUIPMENT

TOP EXECUTIVE

Robert Fell, Dir. Ops

ALASKA BUSINESS MONTHLY | 2016 OIL & GAS DIRECTORY

COMPANY

Maritime Helicopters 3520 FAA Rd. Homer, AK 99603 Phone: 907-235-7771 Fax: 907-235-7773

Services

25-50 Stevedore, marine logistics and operated crane services. We are also providing state of 25-50 the art driven foundations with our ABI Mobile Ram Machines. We are now DOT approved for bridge foundation work. 17 17

National Historic Preservation Act Sec. 106 assessments; identification, evaluation, mitigation services-prehistoric/historic archaeology, historic architecture, cultural landscapes, and subsistence investigations; documents to satisfy NEPA and permitting requirements; reg compliance; consultation.

1,000 Emergency spill response, hazardous/non-hazardous waste disposal, petroleum product 100 recycling, industrial cleaning services, vacuum truck services, automotive fluids recycling and sales, environmentally friendly cleaners/degreasers, site clean-up and remediation. Anchorage/Kenai/Prudhoe/Fairbanks.

1982 1982

25 25

Vessel support services to Cook Inlet Oil and Gas companies, full service dock facility, fuel, storage and material handling services.

1982 1982

65 50

Since 1983, Offshore Systems, Inc. (OSI) has been the premiere fuel and dock facility in Western Alaska. 1,500 linear feet of dock space, around-the-clock stevedoring services, secure, dry warehousing and cold storage, and material handling equipment.

1983 1983

115 100

Dock facilities in Nikiski, Dutch Harbor, and Adak servicing the oil and fishing industries. Services include dock space, warehousing, cold storage, stevedoring services, heavy equipment, and fuel.

2014 2014

3 3

Olgoonik Inspection Services provides integrity compliance inspection, nondestructive testing, engineering, and remediation services for government and commercial clients. Inspections are performed in accordance with ASNT, ASME, API 653, API 510, API 570, NACE, AWS-CWI, and STI.

125

6 YEAR EMPLOYMENT FIGURES BY COMPANY

ALASKA BUSINESS MONTHLY | 2016 OIL & GAS DIRECTORY

126

KEEP YOUR PROFIT IN YOUR POCKET ESS Labor Services is part of Compass Group, 6th largest employer in the world. Our buying power allows us to offer associates premium benefits at substantially lower prices.AND SAVE TIME AND MONEY! Instead of surviving start thriving! • ESS employs your staff, you manage them. We’ll take care of the benefits, payroll, HR and all administrative duties. • Increase your appeal! • Attract and retain top talent with better benefits. • Invest in your employees and they’ll invest in you!

Free your time, grow your business.

Employee Leasing is the new business trend

Owned, supported and managed by the sixth largest company in the world.

Kelli Madlock, ESS Labor Services Manager a division of Compass Group 201 Post Road Anchorage, 907-865-9818 kmadlock@ess-worldwide.com

Olgoonik Oilfield Services 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 14 35 31 26 2 8 Orion Marine Contractors, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 60 60 Pacific Lumber 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 1 Paramount Supply Company 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 4 4 5 5 5 5 Peak Oilfield Service Company LLC 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 670 910 800 553 580 530 Petroleum Equipment & Services, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 23 25 28 22 20 15 Petrotechnical Resources of Alaska LLC 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 75 70-100 85 90 100 70 PND Engineers, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 80 87 87 86 77 75 Polar Supply Co. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 600 700 700 29 35 30 Price Gregory International 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 300 300 200 200 50 210 PRL Logistics, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 165 Quality Equipment Sales & Services 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 11 12 8 11 12 12 Quantum Spatial 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 27 39 40 65 Samson Tug & Barge Co. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 80 110 ~100 70 40 Schlumberger Oilfield Services 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 850 1000 900 866 800 450 Security Aviation 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 25 25 25 25 25 21 Shoreside Petroleum, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 105 110 105 95 Siemens Industry, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 100 100 100 100 90 83 May 2016 | www.akbizmag.com

Company

Estab. Empls. Weston Howe, VP

Orion Marine Contractors, Inc. 740 Bonanza Ave. Anchorage, AK 99518 Phone: 907-561-9811

Bryce Erickson, VP

Pacific Lumber 421 W. First Ave., Suite 245 Anchorage, AK 99501 Phone: 907-351-8089

John Horjes, Dir. Business Dev.

Paramount Supply Company 7928 King St. Anchorage, AK 99518 Phone: 907-349-0280 Fax: 907-349-0281

Jay Goold, Branch Mgr.

Peak Oilfield Service Company LLC 5015 Business Park Blvd., Suite 4000 Anchorage, AK 99503 Phone: 907-263-7000 Fax: 907-263-7070

Patrick Walsh, Pres./CEO

Petroleum Equipment & Services, Inc. 5631 Silverado Way, Unit G Anchorage, AK 99518 Phone: 907-248-0066 Fax: 907-248-4429

Kevin Durling, Pres.

Petrotechnical Resources of Alaska LLC 3601 C St., Suite 1424 Anchorage, AK 99503 Phone: 907-272-1232 Fax: 907-272-1344

Tom Walsh, Mng. Partner

PND Engineers, Inc. 1506 W. 36th Ave. Anchorage, AK 99503 Phone: 907-561-1011 Fax: 907-563-4220

Jim Campbell, Pres.

Polar Supply Co. 300 E. 54th Ave. Anchorage, AK 99518-1230 Phone: 907-563-5000 Fax: 907-562-7001

Ed Waite, Sr. VP

Price Gregory International 301 W. Northern Lights Blvd., Suite 300 Anchorage, AK 99503 Phone: 907-278-4400 Fax: 907-278-3255

Robert Stinson, Sr. VP

PRL Logistics, Inc. 421 W. First Ave., Suite 250 Anchorage, AK 99501 Phone: 907-261-9440 Fax: 907-261-9441

Ron Hyde, Pres./CEO

Quality Equipment Sales & Services 11801 S. Gambell St. Anchorage, AK 99515 Phone: 907-349-6215 Fax: 907-349-2332

Ray Belanger, Pres./Owner

Quantum Spatial 2014 Merrill Field Dr. Anchorage, AK 99501 Phone: 907-272-4495 Fax: 907-274-3265

Adam McCullough, AK Bsns. Dev. Dir.

Samson Tug & Barge Co. 329 Harbor Dr. Sitka, AK 99835 Phone: 1800-331-3522 Fax: 907-747-5370

George Baggen, Pres./CEO

Schlumberger Oilfield Services 6411 A St. Anchorage, AK 99518 Phone: 907-273-1700 Fax: 907-273-4760

Christine Resler, GeoMarket Mgr.

Security Aviation 6121 S. Airpark Pl. Anchorage, AK 99502 Phone: 907-248-2677 Fax: 907-248-6911

Stephen "Joe" Kapper, Pres.

Shoreside Petroleum, Inc. 6401 Lake Otis Pkwy. Anchorage, AK 99507 Phone: 907-344-4571 Fax: 907-349-9814

Kurt Lindsey, Pres.

Siemens Industry, Inc. 5333 Fairbanks St., Unit B Anchorage, AK 99518 Phone: 907-563-2242 Fax: 907-563-6139

Leverette Hoover, GM AK

www.akbizmag.com | May 2016

FOUNDED/ESTAB. AK

oilfield@olgoonik.com olgoonikoilfieldservices.com

BErickson@OrionMarineGroup.com OrionMarineGroup.com

johnh@pacaklumber.com pakaklumber.com

jaygoold@paramountsupply.com paramountsupply.com

peak@peakalaska.com peakalaska.com

sales@pesiak.com pesiak.com

info@petroak.com petroak.com

pndengineers.com

dshooner@polarsupply.com polarsupply.com

pricegregory.com

info@pacrimlog.com pacrimlog.com

quality@ak.net quessak.com

contact@quantumspatial.com quantumspatial.com

sales@samsontug.com samsontug.com

randerson2@slb.com schlumberger.com

sales@securityaviaition.biz securityaviation.biz

info@shoresidepetroleum.com shoresidepetroleum.com

leverette.hoover@siemens.com siemens.com

WORLDWIDE\AK EMPLOYEES

SERVICES

2009 2009

14 14

Arctic Solutions and Exploration Support; Remote Logistics; Scientific Services and Acquisition; Program and Project Delivery, Environmental Compliance, Engineering, Unmanned and Remote Sensing, Arctic-based Heavy Equipment Operations, and Natural Resource Development.

2009 2012

130 60

Pile driving, bridge construction, dock and trestle construction, shore protection, dredging, rock quarry operation.

2007 2007

6 1

Wholesale "direct-ship" suppliers of ALL construction and specialty materials serving ALL industries in Alaska. ALL Wood, Timbers, Treated, Plywood, Panels, EWP, GLB, Metal, SIP, GEO, Rigid Foam, GWB, Helical Piers, Millwork, and Hardware. WE STOCK MATS IN ALASKA. Rig, Crane, Composite, and Access.

1954 1982

150 4

Paramount Supply Company is an industrial wholesaler founded in 1954 by John Hagen. Paramount quickly built its reputation with quality products and exceptional service. That tradition literally began out of the trunk of the founders car, continues today. 22 locations in AK, AZ, ID, OR, TX, WA & WY.

1987 1987

696 670

Oilfield general contracting, heavy civil construction, ice roads, camps, all-terrain vehicle transport, rig moving and drilling support.

1983 1983

23 23

We are in the business of supplying special products in the Alaska oil and gas market. Representing the following industry leaders: TESCO, Halliburton drill bits, Weatherford cementation products, and Tam packers.

1997 1997

75 75

Alaska's oil and gas consultants specializing in geoscience, engineering, project management, seismic and well data.

1979 1979

120 80

General civil, structural, geotechnical, arctic, marine, and coastal engineering; survey; permitting; hydrology; metocean; quality assurance; inspection.

1985 1985

8,000 Polar Supply is Alaska's leading supplier of industrial products and construction 600 materials. Putting customer service first, Polar has consistently delivered for clients large and small. A Division of Spenard Builders Supply with locations in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Kenai.

1974 1974

1,500 Pipeline, power, heavy industrial construction, EPC and consulting services. 300 Infrastructure construction services provider.

2002 2002

165 165

PRL is Alaska-Owned and Operated with a high commitment to Safety. From expediting to your most complex, remote logistics challenges, PRL provides scalable logistics solutions worldwide to meet your logistics needs and ensure project success. We specialize in Alaska, the Lower 48, and beyond.

1982 1982

11 11

Truck Up-fitter, Construction Equipment, Vehicle Maintenance, Highway Maintenance Equipment. Thomas Bus & Dimon Coach Dealer.

1960 1960

469 27

Quantum Spatial's comprehensive capabilities encompass the acquisition, analysis, integration, and management of geospatial data. We offer a diverse portfolio of advanced imaging and remote sensing technologies, backed by powerful modeling, visualization, and GIS tools.

1937 1937

160 80

Alaskan owned, we offer the full range of barge freight & cargo hauling services, transporting cargo to Sitka, Cordova, Valdez, Fairbanks, Prudhoe Bay, Seward, Anchorage, Kenai Peninsula, Kodiak, King Cove, Dutch Harbor, Juneau, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Wrangell, Prince of Whales Island & Metlakatla.

1956 1956

100,000 Oilfield Services. 850

1985 1985

25 25

24/7 on-demand air charter. Approved carrier for Corps of Engineers, State and Federal Agencies. Executive travel, crew changes, HAZMAT, "HOT" cargo and medical transports.

1981 1981

105 105

Shoreside Petroleum is an Alaskan owned fuel and lubricants distributor marketing fuels, lubricants, and other petroleum related products in Southcentral Alaska & PWS with terminals in Anchorage, Wasilla, Cordova, Whittier and Seward. Shoreside also owns & operates the Ă&#x201D;Essential 1Ă&#x2022; brand.

1849 1982

SERVICES, SUPPORT, SUPPLIES & EQUIPMENT

TOP EXECUTIVE

Olgoonik Oilfield Services 3201 C St., Suite 700 Anchorage, AK 99503 Phone: 907-868-5112 Fax: 907-562-8751

ALASKA BUSINESS MONTHLY | 2016 OIL & GAS DIRECTORY

COMPANY

Services

350,000 Energy Services Company (ESCO)/Total Building Integrator: to include Building 100 Automation/Energy Management control systems, fire alarm, HVAC mechanical systems, security (card access, CCTV, intrusion, etc.), audio and video solutions and mass notification systems.

127

6 YEAR EMPLOYMENT FIGURES BY COMPANY

ALASKA BUSINESS MONTHLY | 2016 OIL & GAS DIRECTORY

Built to deliver a better world AECOM is one of the largest and most respected providers of engineering and construction support services in the world. AECOM has served Alaska’s oil and gas industry since the discovery of oil on Alaska’s North Slope.

907.562.3366 www.aecom.com

• Sales • Ser vice • Par ts Before

Transportation Tank & Trailer SERVICE CENTER

907-451-8265 (TANK) 800-692-5844 3050 Van Horn ~ Fairbanks, AK

After

Service – Contact Wayne Walker Parts – Contact Brett Granger • National Board “R” Stamp & DOT Inspections & Certifications • Leak Repairs, Rebarrels & Tank Change Outs • Bottom Loading, Vapor Recovery Conversions, Pumping Systems • Large Parts Inventory

Subscribers give us an email address for your

DIGITAL EDITION Go to akbizmag.com/Subscribe Add your email address under Manage Subscriptions

128

Spenard Builders Supply, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 600 700 700 700 700 750 Stallion Rockies LTD 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 13 20 Steigers Corporation 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 0 1 0 1 Swagelok Alaska 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 10 10 8 10 11 11 TransGroup Worldwide Logistics 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2 2 1 1 1 2 Tri-Jet Manufacturing Services 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 11 12 9 TTT Environmental Instruments & Supplies 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 10 13 12 9 8 10 Tulugaq 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2 2 Tutka LLC 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 10-30 10-30 40 30 40 20 Udelhoven Oilfield System Services 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 371 579 858 604 832 832 UMIAQ 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 100 200 200 200 200 71 Unitech of Alaska 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 6 6 6 5 Vigor Alaska 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 185 200 161 157 120 120 Washington Crane & Hoist 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 9 10 7 7 7 5 Waste Management of Alaska, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 16 7 3 4 0 1 West-Mark Service Center Fairbanks 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 12 12 14 12 9 9 Wolseley Industrial Group (Ferguson Enterprises) 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 98 Yukon Equipment, Inc. 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 43 43 45 45 32 32 May 2016 | www.akbizmag.com

Company

Estab. Empls. Ed Waite, Senior VP

FOUNDED/ESTAB. AK

Stallion Rockies LTD 9874 Sag River Rd. Prudhoe Bay, AK 99734 Phone: 907.659.9874 Fax: 713.275.9169

David Mannon , CEO

Steigers Corporation 791 South Park Dr., Suite 800 Littleton, CO 80120-5719 Phone: 800-935-6569 Fax: 303-500-3113

William Steigers, Chairman/CEO

Swagelok Alaska 341 E. 56th Ave. Anchorage, AK 99518 Phone: 907-563-5630 Fax: 907-563-4721

Brenton Burbank, Dir. AK Ops

TransGroup Worldwide Logistics 3501 Postmark Dr. Anchorage, AK 99502 Phone: 907-243-4345

Rich Wilson, Station Mgr.

Tri-Jet Manufacturing Services 1960 S. Eklutna St. Palmer, AK 99645 Phone: 866-607-1653 Fax: 907-268-2086

Brian Benson, Ops. Mgr.

facebook.com/SpenardBuildersSupply sbsalaska.com

tvega@sofs.cc stallionoilfield.com

WORLDWIDE\AK EMPLOYEES

SERVICES

1952 1952

8,000 Provides a full line of building materials and home-improvement products to fill the needs 600 of residential DIYers and commercial contractors.

2002 2007

2,400 Mobile Man Camps & Accommodations on the North Slope of Alaska. 13

1993 2004

6 0

Steigers Corporation is a full-service environmental consulting firm providing a wide range of services for industrial projects. We specialize in project development and in managing complex environmental and permitting programs.

1965 1965

10 10

Instrumentation and fluid system components. Authorized Swagelok distributor for Alaska.

2011 2011

U.S. owned full service freight forwarder and global logistics provider. We provide transportation, warehousing and specialized logistics solutions, coupled with software tailored to meet the specific needs of each individual customers - for every link in your supply chain. Areas Served: Worldwide.

2004 2004

11 11

Waterjet cutting, powder coating, ceramic coating, welding and fabrication, machiningincluding 5-axis, 3D modeling, and drafting.

TTT Environmental Instruments & Supplies Deborah Tompkins, Owner 4201 B St. Anchorage, AK 99503 info@tttenviro.com Phone: 907-770-9041 Fax: 907-770-9046 tttenviro.com

2003 2003

12 10

Portable gas detection, health and safety monitoring, environmental equipment. Rentals, sales, service and supplies. Warranty center. Alaskan owned small business.

Tulugaq 301 Calista Ct. Anchorage, AK 99518 Phone: 907-346-3247 Fax: 907-349-1920

Steve Wackowski, Ops Mgr.

2013 2013

2 2

Tulugaq provides remote sensing and scientific data collection services utilizing specialized airborne assets, in order to support Arctic oil and gas operations.

Tutka LLC 2485 E. Zak Cir., Suite A Wasilla, AK 99654 Phone: 907-357-2238 Fax: 907-357-2215

Amie Sommer, Member

Udelhoven Oilfield System Services 184 E. 53rd Ave. Anchorage, AK 99518-1222 Phone: 907-344-1577 Fax: 907-344-5817

Jim Udelhoven, CEO

UMIAQ 6700 Arctic Spur Rd. Anchorage, AK 99518 Phone: 907-677-8220 Fax: 907-677-8286

Richard S. Reich, PE/GM

Unitech of Alaska 7600 King St. Anchorage, AK 99518 Phone: 907-349-5142 Fax: 907-349-2733

Karl "Curly" Arndt, Sales

Vigor Alaska 3801 Tongass Ave. Ketchikan, AK 99901 Phone: 907-228-5302 Fax: 907-247-7200

Adam Beck, Pres.

Washington Crane & Hoist 651 E. 100th Ave., Unit B Anchorage, AK 99515 Phone: 907-336-6661 Fax: 907-336-6667

Mike Currie, VP

Waste Management of Alaska, Inc. 1519 Ship Ave. Anchorage, AK 99501 Phone: 907-274-0477 Fax: 866-491-2008

Mike Holzschuh, Territory Mgr./N.Am.

West-Mark Service Center-Fairbanks 3050 Van Horn Rd. Fairbanks, AK 99709 Phone: 907-451-8265 Fax: 907-451-8273

Grant Smith, CEO

Wolseley Industrial Group 151 W. 95th Cir. Anchorage, AK 99515 Phone: 907-273-2100 Fax: 907-273-2111

Mark Mays, AK Area Branch Mgr.

Yukon Equipment, Inc. 2020 E. Third Ave. Anchorage, AK 99501 Phone: 800-478-1541 Fax: 907-258-0169

Charles Klever, Pres.

www.akbizmag.com | May 2016

wdsteigers@steigers.com steigers.com

info@alaska.swagelok.com swagelok.com/Alaska

karic.anc@transgroup.com transgroup.com

bbenston@trijetprecision.com trijetprecision.com

facebook.com/fairweatherllc fairweather.com

amie@tutkallc.com tutkallc.com

rfrontdesk@udelhoven.com udelhoven.com

info@uicumiaq.com uicumiaq.com

carndt@unitechofalaska.com unitechofalaska.com

info@akship.com vigoralaska

SDick@washingtoncrane.com washingtoncrane.com

mholzschuh@wm.com wm.com

wwalker@west-mark.com west-mark.com

Karl.Greninger@WolseleyInd.com wolseleyindustrialgroup.com

info@yukoneq.com yukoneq.com

1999 1999

1970 1970

1982 1982

1985 1985

1994 1994

1975 2008

1971 1971

1968 2009

1950 35

1945 1945

10-30 WBE/DBE, EDWOSB/WOSB, HUBZone, General Contractor (roads, bridges, culverts), 10-30 site work, environmental cleanup and consulting, SWPPPs, NALEMP/IGAP grant management. 576 371

SERVICES, SUPPORT, SUPPLIES & EQUIPMENT

TOP EXECUTIVE

Spenard Builders Supply, Inc. 300 E. 54th Ave., Suite 201 Anchorage, AK 99518 Phone: 907-261-9105 Fax: 907-261-9142

ALASKA BUSINESS MONTHLY | 2016 OIL & GAS DIRECTORY

COMPANY

Services

Oilfield Services, Construction Management, Electrical & Mechanical Construction.

2,500 UMIAQ services include resource development, permitting, regulatory planning, 100 stakeholder relations, surveying, logistics, onshore/offshore spill response, environmental consulting Arctic science support, etc. 6 6

Unitech of Alaska offers a wide range of environmental supplies, with extensive experience in oil spill response world-wide, a knowledgeable staff, prompt service and extensive product lines.

2,500 Vigor is the largest marine industrial service company in the AK/PNW Region focused on 185 shipbuilding and repair. Alaska operations include AIDEAﾃ不 Ketchikan Shipyard and the Seward Shipyard. Our mobile workforce travels throughout Alaska providing marine and shore side businesses rapid response. 42 9

Crane builders, crane design, new crane sales, new hoist sales, lifting equipment design and sales. Material handling solutions for industry, hoists, job cranes, work stations, chain falls, lever hoists, crane upgrades, crane maintenance, crane inspection, crane repair, hoist repair and crane parts.

41,922 Hazardous and nonhazardous waste disposal, project management, complete logistical 16 oversight, complete US and Canadian manifesting, rail transportation, over-the-road transportation, marine transportation, and turnkey remedial services. 220 12

Liquid transportation tank trailer repair.

10,000 Wolseley Industrial Group provides PVF materials in every Alaska market. Locations in 98 Anchorage, Fairbanks, Soldotna, and Wasilla. We are the only ISO9001:2008 certified PVF supply house in the State of Alaska. Full time Quality Assurance provided. Steel, HDPE, pipe, valves, fittings, stainless. 43 43

Sales, service, parts, rental and lease equipment, including Case, Trail King, Elgin, Vactor, Oshkosh, Etnyre, Monroe, Trackless, and Snow Dragon. Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Wasilla locations. A subsidiary of Calista Corp.

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Inside

Alaska Business May 2016 U-HAUL -Haul Company of Alaska is pleased to announce that Smart Grocery & Dollar Store has signed on as a U-Haul neighborhood dealer to serve Anchorage. Smart Grocery & Dollar Store at 6311 Debarr Road, Suite M will offer U-Haul trucks, trailers, towing equipment, and support rental items. Remote Alaska Solutions, Inc. has also signed on as a U-Haul neighborhood dealer to serve the Eagle River community. Remote Alaska Solutions at 17205 N. Eagle River Loop Road will offer U-Haul trucks, trailers, towing equipment, and support rental items. Uhaul.com

Compiled by Tasha Anderson ment to benefit customers of both companies. Alaska Communications will now provide enterprise businesses and government agencies secure and reliable connectivity with offsite data storage at CyrusOne’s advanced, highly secure Houston data center campus. alaskacommunications.com

HUB INTERNATIONAL LIMITED ub International Limited, a leading global insurance brokerage, announced that it has acquired the assets of Gwaltney & Associates, Inc. Based in Anchorage, Gwaltney specializes in providing commercial lines insurance. Dave Gwaltney, who was the president of Gwaltney & Associates, will join Hub Northwest and report to Steve Wagner, Senior Vice President of Alaska for Hub Northwest. hubinternational.com

ALASKA COMMUNICATIONS yrusOne, a global data center provider, and Alaska Communications, Alaska’s leading broadband and IT solutions provider, announced that they have signed an agree-

AK BARK K Bark is celebrating the opening of a second location. The new, locally owned pet boutique carries toys, treats, collars, premium food, and pet-inspired gifts. The shop, located at 1921 West Dimond Boulevard, Suite 111, in Anchorage has undergone significant upgrades that will offer all pets and the people who love them an inviting and whimsical place to shop. hmbark.com

CALISTA CORPORATION alista Corporation’s Board of Directors approved the spring dividend for 2016, a record $5.6 million. Calista has declared thirteen dividends since inception, with five declared since 2014. The total distribution of all Calista Shareholder dividends is $38.9 million, with 49 percent of that total declared since 2014. calistacorp.com

BELL . Robert Bell and Associates, a fullservice engineering and surveying firm, announced that CMH Consultants has officially changed its name to BELL as of March 9. CMH, a mechanical engineering consulting firm, has been a subsidiary firm of BELL since it was purchased by the company in the early 80s. bellalaska.com

ALASKA DENALI TRAVEL laska Denali Travel (ADT), part of Viad’s Travel & Recreation Group, bolstered its Alaska tourism offerings by acquiring CIRI Alaska Tourism Corporation. The acquisition is a natural fit with ADT and a strong addition to Viad’s Travel & Recreation Group, which is executing a growth strategy focused on iconic, natural, and cultural destinations that enjoy perennial demand. alaskadenalitravel.com

MAT-SU BOROUGH he US Census released a new number on the Mat-Su Borough population, increasing it by another 1,000 to 101,095. In January, the Research & Analysis Section with the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development had shown that Mat-Su had broken through the 100,000 ceiling with 100,178 residents, surpassing

Your Project, Our Responsibility. 24/7 Service Pacific Pile & Marine has a robust fleet of marine equipment including our recent addition of a 600-Ton 4600 Ringer.

www.pacificpile.com I (907) 276-3878 276-3873 130

From critical lifts to platform support, PPM is sufficiently resourced to deliver a wide range of construction services. 620B East Whitney Road I Anchorage, AK 99501

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

INSIDE ALASKA BUSINESS

Compiled by Tasha Anderson

Fairbanks sometime in 2015 as the second largest community in Alaska, according to Demographer Eric Sandberg. matsugov.us

in all fifty states. The new store is stocked with clothing, books, shoes, housewares, and accepts donations as well. goodwill.org

ALASKA AIRLINES laska Airlines, Inc. announced the company plans to form a wholly owned subsidiary called McGee Air Services, a dedicated airline services company that combines deep industry experience with a singular focus on providing best-in-class airline services. Initially, the company will provide airline services for Alaska Airlines including ground handling, aircraft cleaning, airport mobility services, and check-in/gate services. As the company develops the infrastructure and processes, McGee Air Services will evaluate opportunities to serve other airlines. McGee Air Services will operate independently and will be led by aviation veteran Dean DuVall, who will serve as the president. alaskaair.com

DEVICE PITSTOP evice Pitstop, a national chain that buys, sells, trades, services, and upgrades computers and mobile devices at low cost, opened in Anchorage. It’s a one-stop solution to personal technology needs. Device Pitstop is located at 701 W. 36th Avenue between Seward Highway and Minnesota Drive. devicepitstop.com

TRIVERUS almer manufacturing company Triverus LLC has completed its first of four MCCRS (Mobile Reclaim Recycle System) for the US Navy. The machine uses patented technology to restore the necessary friction on flight deck surfaces and dramatically reduce pollution runoff into the ocean. The Navy’s long-term plan is for Triverus to build up to forty machines over the next six years, all of which will be made in Palmer according to Triverus President and CEO Hans Vogel. triverus.com

GOODWILL INDUSTRIES oodwill Industries opened its first retail store in Alaska, located at 3838 Old Seward Highway in Anchorage. The retail store opening in Anchorage means that Goodwill Industries, an organization in existence since 1902, now has a retail presence

ERICKSON rickson Incorporated, a leading global provider of aviation services, has been selected as a subcontractor by a pool of prime contractors that have been awarded two Multiple Award Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contracts for Counter Narcotics and Global Threat operations, logistics, and training support. These contract vehicles allow Erickson to bid on specific task orders, supporting the interdiction of the narcotics trade and assisting in the global war on terrorism. Erickson also announced two exclusiveuse contracts with the State of Alaska’s Department of Natural Resources for wildfire suppression. Under the contracts, Erickson will provide two medium-lift helicopters; one based in Palmer and another in Fairbanks. The contracts are for one year, with four additional option years. ericksoninc.com

ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES he Department of Natural Resources published a final best interest finding and determination to sell up to twentyfive thousand barrels per day of the state’s North Slope royalty oil in-kind to Tesoro Refining & Marketing Co. under a five-year

contract. The proposed sale of state royalty oil supports in-state refining and provides more economic value to the state than if it took those volumes of oil in value. DNR estimates that over its duration, the sale will yield between $45 million and $56 million in revenue in addition to what would have been obtained had this proposed royalty volume been taken in value. dnr.alaska.gov CHUGACH | ML&P n March 11, Chugach Electric Association, Inc. and Municipal Light & Power submitted a request to the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA) for approval of the purchase of ConocoPhillips’ one-third working interest in the Beluga River Unit natural gas field in Cook Inlet. The filing is the next step in the process announced February 9. If approved by the RCA, the agreement transfers 70 percent ownership of the ConocoPhillips’ interest to ML&P and 30 percent to Chugach. The total purchase price is $152 million. mlandp.com | chugachelectric.com

AIRFRAMES ALASKA irframes Alaska announced the approval and first production run of the first Ultralight Alaskan Bushwheel. The Alaska-based company worked in collaboration with French wheel-and-brake manufacturer Beringer Aero to develop the new lightweight backcountry airplane tire specifically for European light sport aircraft. The 26 inch by 12inch by 6 inch Ultralight Bushwheel features Kevlar cording, reengineered sidewalls that provide the ideal flex and energy absorption for lighter aircraft, and 0.150-inch tread that slows wear even during long taxis on paved surfaces. The first order of twenty new Ultralight Bushwheels was to ship from Alaska to France in mid-March. airframesalaska.com

Your Project, Our Responsibility. 24/7 Service

Pacific Pile & Marine has a robust fleet of marine equipment including our recent addition of a 600-Ton 4600 Ringer.

www.pacificpile.com I (907) 276-3878 276-3873 www.akbizmag.com

From critical lifts to platform support, PPM is sufficiently resourced to deliver a wide range of construction services. 620B East Whitney Road I Anchorage, AK 99501 May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

131

INSIDE ALASKA BUSINESS US ARMY he US Army officially announced that it is delaying its decision to remove 2,600 soldiers from the 4-25 Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne) stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. In July 2015, the US Army announced the reduction at JBER as part of a larger force-structure reduction from 490,000 to 450,000 troops. The US Army will delay the reduction of an Alaska-based combat unit, determining that such a move would continue to degrade its ability to respond to new threats in a rapidly changing global security environment. The 4/25 Brigade completed a significant training exercise last month at one of the most realistic, rigorous combat training centers in the world, making it among the most highlytrained units in the Army. army.mil

PETRO MARINE SERVICES | SHORESIDE PETROLEUM etro Marine Services and Shoreside Petroleum announced the launch of two new redesigned websites petromarineservices.com and shoresidepetroleum.com. The modern responsive designs blend the company’s rich history with their core value of providing the highest quality of customer service. Both sites feature a customer-friendly, intuitive navigation that’s easy to access on all devices, as well as a robust search feature and streamlined content. petromarineservices.com | shoresidepetroleum.com

AVITUS GROUP vitus Group celebrated the opening of its Anchorage Operations Center and its Fairbanks Regional Office. With Avitus Group’s acquisition of Swan Employer Services in July 2015, the company now offers co-employment, accounting, business tax planning and preparation, payroll, human

Compiled by Tasha Anderson

resources, risk and safety management, recruiting, information technology, marketing and branding, and international planning services. Avitus is a worldwide company headquartered in Denver with a major operations center in Billings, Montana. avitusgroup.com ANCHORAGE COMMUNITY LAND TRUST nchorage Community Land Trust (ACLT) announced the creation of the Mountain View Farmers’ Market, the first farmers’ market in the Mountain View neighborhood of Anchorage. It is set to open this summer and will run from June 16 to August 25, every Thursday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. The market will be located at 3543 Mountain View Drive and will activate an ACLT-owned vacant lot opposite Clark Middle School. The market will feature locally-grown food, crafts, and entertainment by residents and businesses. Anchoragelandtrust.org

STANTEC tantec, Inc. announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which it will acquire MWH Global, Inc., a Broomfield, Colorado-based global engineering, consulting, and construction management firm focused on water and natural resources for built infrastructure and the environment. With the acquisition of MWH and its 6,800 worldwide employees, Stantec will gain a position as a global leader in water resources infrastructure while earning greater presence in key targeted geographies, including the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, South and Central America, Europe, and the Middle East. MWH has a network of approximately 187 offices in twenty-six countries. The firm has a history of engaging in engineering, construction, and management consulting for some of the most technically

significant water and natural resources projects in the world, including the Panama Canal Third Set of Locks Project. stantec.com ALASKA AIR GROUP laska Air Group, Inc., parent company of Alaska Airlines and Virgin America, Inc., today announced that their boards of directors have unanimously approved a definitive merger agreement, under which Alaska Air Group will acquire Virgin America for $57 per share in cash. Including existing Virgin America indebtedness and capitalized aircraft operating leases, the aggregate transaction value is approximately $4 billion. With an expanded West Coast presence, a larger customer base, and an enhanced platform for growth, Alaska Airlines will be positioned to provide more choices for customers, increase competition, and deliver attractive returns to investors. alaskaair.com

ALASKA BUSINESS MONTHLY laska Business Monthly magazine has been named a 2015 All Star Award winner by Constant Contact, Inc., the trusted marketing advisor to hundreds of thousands of small organizations worldwide. The annual award recognizes the most successful 10 percent of Constant Contact’s customer base, based on their significant achievements leveraging online marketing tools to engage their customer base and drive results for their organization. akbizmag.com

CRICKET WIRELESS ricket Wireless is answering the call to bring Anchorage residents a reliable, nationwide 4G LTE service at affordable prices—with no annual contract. The company hosted grand opening events at its first retail store in in the Dimond Mall to celebrate the launch of its first store in Anchorage. cricketwireless.com R

• General Contracting • Marine Infrastructure • Design Build

Dutch Harbor - Unalaska, Alaska

www.pacificpile.com I (907) 276-3873 132

620B East Whitney Road I Anchorage, AK 99501

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

Business Events

Compiled by Tasha Anderson

MAY

8-11

International Green Energy Conference

Hilton Anchorage: The International Association for Green Energy is holding its 11th annual conference in Anchorage with sessions planned for all relevant green energy disciplinary areas from new concept, theory, modeling and simulation to experimental. The conference is being held in cooperation with the University of Alaska Anchorage, the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering, and the Alaska Geotourism Collaboration. iage-net.org

MAY

Alaska Bar Convention

Dena’ina Center, Anchorage: This conference provides opportunities to complete CLE requirements as well as an opening reception, several luncheons, and an awards reception and Dinner for 25, 50, and 60 year recognition. alaskabar.org

11-13 MAY

ACUL Annual Meeting

Westmark Fairbanks Hotel & Conference Center: The Alaska Credit Union League’s annual meeting is an opportunity to gather, network, and learn. alaskacreditunions.org/events.html

19-21

JUNE

JUN

2-5

Alaska Optometric Association Summer CE Conference

Land’s End Resort: The mission of the AKOA is to influence the future of eye care by ensuring the welfare of Alaskans and promoting the continued development of the profession of optometry. akoa.org

JUN

12-16

International Conference on Bear Research & Management

Dena’ina Center, Anchorage: An opportunity for bear professionals to present current research and management and conservation efforts. The theme is “Learning from our past to inform our future.” bearbiology.com

JUN

CSTE Annual Conference

Anchorage: The conference connects more than 1,400 public health epidemiologists from across the country and will include workshops, plenary sessions with leaders in the field of public health, oral breakout sessions, roundtable discussions, and poster presentations. csteconference.org/2016/

19-23

JUN

20-24

Southcentral Foundation Alaska Conference

Anchorage: Southcentral Foundation’s mission is to work with the Native Community to achieve wellness through health and related services. southcentralfoundation.com www.akbizmag.com

JULY

JUL

Alaska Business Week

Alaska Pacific University, Anchorage: Alaska Business Week is a one-week summer program teaching the basic principles of private sector business to Alaskan high school students. alaskachamber.com

16-23

AUGUST

AUG

11th Annual Renewable Energy Fair

Chena Hot Springs Resort: The Renewable Energy Fair is designed to educate the public on topics related to renewable energy and sustainability. This year’s theme, “Thinking Green and Keeping It Clean!” will be centered around a land-fill free environment. chenahotsprings.com

AUG

ICETECH 16

AUG

Aleutian Life Forum

Hotel Captain Cook, Anchorage: The Arctic Section of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers together with Alaska’s Institute of the North is now well on the way to staging the premiere international conference on ships and structures in ice. icetech16.org

15-18

Unalaska: Aleutian Life Forum is a conference gathering of national, state, and regional scientists; industry stakeholders; community leaders; and local knowledge to promote resilient coastal communities. aleutianlifeforum.com

16-20 AUG

17-19

21-23

NTCA Northwest Regional Conference

Hilton Hotel, Anchorage: NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association is the premier association representing nearly nine hundred independent, community-based telecommunications companies that are leading innovation in rural and small-town America. ntca.org

SEPTEMBER Association SEPT Alaska of REALTORS Convention

14-17

Centennial Hall, Juneau: The annual convention includes keynote and guest speakers and opportunities for ECE credits. alaskarealtors.com

Alaska Fire Conference

SEPT Fairbanks: Includes training, work-

19-24

21-22

assessments, the latest information from key industry players, and information on key issues impacting Alaska’s energy future. alaskaoilandgascongress.com

Superintendents SEPT Alaska Association Fall Conference

22-24

shops, lectures, and a firefighter competition. The 2015 theme is “Leading the Way.” alaskafireconference.com

Wasilla: The pre-conference takes place September 21. alaskaacsa.org

Alaska SEPT Museums Annual Conference

22-24

Juneau: This year’s conference theme is “Mission Possible: Creating Opportunity.” museumsalaska.org

Writers Guild/ SEPT Alaska SCBIW Annual Conference

23 & 27

BP Energy Center: Two full days of breakouts, keynotes, and panels, plus optional intensives, manuscript reviews, a juried illustrator portfolio display, and of course a Saturday children’s literature rack in association with the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. alaskawritersguild.com

Snow Symposium SEPT Alaska Dena’ina Center, Anchorage: A

one-day trade show for the snow and ice management industry brought to Alaska by the Snowfighters Institute. alaskasnowsymposium.com

AML Annual Summer Conference

Anchorage: The AML Board of Directors, Alaska Conference of Mayors, Alaska Municipal Management Association, and Legislative meet to work on AML policies and platform and to conduct business for each group. akml.org

AUG

Oil & Gas Congress SEPT Alaska The Congress includes: critical market

OCTOBER

OCT

ATIA Annual Convention & Trade Show

Anchorage: The Alaska Travel Industry Association is the leading nonprofit trade organization for the state’s tourism industry. alaskatia.org

3-6

OCT

11-12

Alaska Coalition on Housing and Homelessness Conference

Anchorage: Events include keynote speakers and training sessions. alaskahousing-homeless.org/conference

OCT

12-14

Alaska Chamber Policy Forum and Conference

Kenai: Open to the public, the Alaska Chamber’s Annual Conference is the state’s premier business conference. Traditionally held in the fall, the Conference draws 200-225 attendees and features keynote speakers, panel discussions and breakout sessions on issues of statewide concern to Alaska business. alaskachamber.com

OCT

20-22

Alaska Federation of Natives Annual Convention

Fairbanks: Annual gathering of Alaska Native peoples to discuss current news and events on a state, national and international level. This year’s theme is “50 Year: Reflect, Refresh, Renew.” nativefederation.org R May 2016 | Alaska Business Monthly

133

RIGHT MOVES Alaska USA Mortgage Company

Colleen Harrington Baer has been promoted to Regional Vice President for Alaska, California, and Washington at Alaska USA Mortgage Company. She began her career Baer with Alaska USA in 2000 as a manager of special credits and transitioned to mortgage lending in 2003. Baer has been in finance for more than twenty years.

Stantec

Andrew Niemiec, PE, has joined St antec as Transpor t ation Manager in its Anchorage office. He has more than twenty-eight years of in-state project development experience, spending Niemiec most of his professional career working for the State of Alaska in a variety of capacities. Niemiec is a graduate of the University of Alaska Fairbanks and a charter member of Alpha Kappa Chi, the civil engineering honor society.

University of Alaska Fairbanks

Permafrost hydrologist and longtime professor Larry Hinzman has been selected to serve as Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Hinzman will Hinzman oversee the university’s $100 million research enterprise and be responsible for building on UAF’s reputation as a leader in Arctic research.

The Wilson Agency

Ron Devon joins The Wilson Agency as Retirement Plan & Financial Services Account Strategist. He recently worked with investors to provide them with financial planning services. Devon has been a small business owner for most of his career. Jennifer Prowell joins The Wilson Agency as Support Services Manager. Prowell spent nearly eight years at Arctic IT before joining The Wilson Agency. She has twelve years of experience in law enforcement, including five years with the US Army. Mary Anne Aadnesen joins ConnectHR, The Wilson Agency’s human resource services division, as the HR Services Sr. Partner. She has

more than twenty years of HR experience and a SPHR-SCP certification. Aadnesen earned a BA in Spanish and History from the University of Utah and a MBA from National University.

Alaska Sea Grant

strengthening and expanding the firm’s current government relations, strategic message development, crisis management, media relations, and speech and editorial writing practices.

Office of the Governor

Alaska Sea Grant welcomes Davin Holen as the new Marine Advisory Coastal Community Resilience Specialist based in Anchorage. In his faculty position Holen will provide Alaska community residents with Holen tools for hazard mitigation, economic resilience, and climate change adaptation planning. He is close to completing a PhD program in anthropology—his dissertation title is “Fishery Dependent Communities in Coastal Alaska: Salmon, People, and Place.”

Governor Bill Walker announced his selection of a Department of Corrections Commissioner: Dean Williams. Williams spent more than thirty years working in the state’s justice system. He worked Williams for twelve years as a juvenile justice officer, five years for the Department of Law, and fourteen years as Division of Juvenile Justice superintendent overseeing various facilities throughout the state.

AKT

Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities named Dave Kemp as the Central Region Director. Kemp has eleven years of public service with ADOT&PF. Most recently he served as director for Statewide Facilities where he showed exemplary performance of managing the programming, design, and construction phases of public facility capital improvement projects across Alaska. As an efficiency and cost-saving measure, Kemp will continue to oversee Statewide Facilities in his new role.

AKT has hired engineering analyst James Keen as a Utility Consultant in its Anchorage office. Keen’s expertise includes managing complex regulatory proceedings for electric, natural gas, oil and gas pipeline, water and wastewater, and refuse utilities. Keen will focus on revenue requirement, cost of service, and depreciation studies as well as tariff filings, certificate issues, and other financial analyses and regulatory matters.

First National Bank Alaska

Having spent more than thirtyeight years working in almost all areas of the organization, Cindi Buzitis is First National Bank Alaska’s new Senior Vice President. In addition to serving as one of First National’s eleven senior vice Buzitis presidents on the executive management team, she’s also its bank secrecy act and bank operations support manager.

Strategies 360

Strategies 360 is announced that Robert Dillon has joined the firm as Senior Vice President. An expert on energy policy and politics, Dillon most recently served as senior advisor to US Senator Lisa Murkowski and as the communications director of the US Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. At Strategies 360, Dillon will focus on

ADOT&PF

NANA Management Services

Megan Moore recently joined NANA Management Services (NMS) as a Corporate Marketing Manager. In her new role, Moore provides marketing expertise for NMS and its five operating divisions. She will work with the communica- Moore tions team to plan and implement internal and external corporate marketing strategies and activities. She holds a master’s degree from Loyola University Chicago and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Alaska Anchorage.

Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation

Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation (UIC) announced that Dave Pfeifer, who took on the responsibility of UIC’s Commercial Operations as its new Senior Vice President last August, is now additionally overseeing the UIC Government Services

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Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

Compiled by Tasha Anderson business; Doris Hugo-Shavings has been promoted as the Chief of Staff for UIC Commercial Operations; and Keith Burke joins UIC Oil and Gas Support Services as its new Manager. Pheifer will help guide UIC as it transitions through an operational restructure. He holds a Master of Science in Construction and Real Estate from the University of Denver and a Master’s in Healthcare Administration from the University of Minnesota. Hugo-Shavings was originally hired by UIC as the Director of Strategy. She holds bachelor’s degrees in Strategic Communication and Political Science from the University of Alaska Anchorage and an MBA from the Michael G. Foster School of Business at the University of Washington. Burke has more than thirty years of experience working in the oil and gas industry; he’s worked for Alyeska Pipeline Services Company, Alaska Support Industry Alliance, Natchiq Sakhalin LLC, and CCI, Inc.

Alaska Center for Ear, Nose & Throat

Alaska Center for Ear, Nose & Throat welcomed Dr. Kaylyn Hum as the newest member of the practice. Hum earned her clinical doctorate in audiology from the University of Hum Utah in 2013. Prior to joining the Alaska Center for Ear, Nose & Throat she practiced at Alaska Native Medical Center.

KeyBank

Charles (Chuck) Collins has been selected to manage KeyBank’s Mendenhall branch. In this role he is responsible for day-to-day operations as well as providing financial services, including investments Collins and mortgages, to both small business and consumer clients. Collins has more than twenty-five years of financial service and sales management experience. He is a long time local businessman and attended Kansas State University. Reid Phil Reid has been promoted to a Commercial Banking Relationship Manager and Vice President. In his new role, he is responsible for

providing financial solutions to large commercial clients, maintaining existing client relationships, and developing new business opportunities throughout the state of Alaska. Reid has more than twenty-one years of financial service and sales management experience. He is a graduate of Virginia Tech.

Alaska Pacific University and an Accounting degree from the University of Alaska Anchorage. Fosselman supervises Denali’s Credit Union Service Organizations. He received a bachelor’s in Organizational Administration and an MBA from Alaska Pacific University. He has held the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter qualification and Certified Credit Fosselman Union Executive credential.

R&M Consultants

Alutiiq Museum & Archaeological Repository

Shaw

Bentti

Russell Armand has been hired to serve as the Alutiiq Museum’s Director of Operations, a position that oversees the museum’s daily financial administration, human resources program, and grants. Armand has a background in fireArmand fighting, logistical management, and finance. For the past two years he served as an independent logistics contractor for Matson, Inc., managing an annual budget of over a million dollars.

Meyers

R&M Consultants, Inc. announced the addition of Justin Shaw, PE; Emily Bentti; and Brian R. Meyers, PLS, CFedS, to their Anchorage office team. Shaw has more than five years of experience in water resources engineering. Shaw has a MS and BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Mississippi State University. He is a professional civil engineer licensed in Alaska. Bentti has more than eight years of environmental and public involvement experience. She is experienced in local, state and federal permitting, NEPA documentation, environmental site assessments, and land research and site acquisition. Bentti has a BS in Environmental Science and Regional Planning from Washington State University. Meyers has more than fourteen years of surveying and mapping experience, offering significant experience performing property, topographic, engineering design, and route surveys for clients throughout Alaska. Meyers has a BS in Geomatics from the University of Alaska Anchorage.

Erickson

Erickson Incorporated appointed Chris Maynard to Business Development Manager – Alaska. He will grow Erickson’s presence in the state for the company’s Commercial Services Business Maynard Unit. Maynard has held previous roles with ASRC Energy Service and Delta Leasing. He joins the Erickson team with significant experience in aerial fleet services management for energy exploration and tourism. Maynard is a fixed wing pilot and holds degrees from the University of Alaska Anchorage.

Denali Federal Credit Union

Denali Federal Credit Union has promoted Lily Li to Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer and Dale Fosselman to Chief Corporate Development Officer. Li is responsible for the Credit Union’s member facing departLi ments as well as back-office functions such as Loan Administration and Central Operations. She received a degree in Management Science and a Master’s in Global Finance from

Evergreen Business Capital

Evergreen Business Capital announced Teo Ransum has joined the organization as its newest Loan Officer. Ransum will be the Alaska representative for Evergreen’s Community Advantage program, focusing on non-real estate loans to underserved small business owners. Ransum joins Evergreen with more than twenty years banking experience in Alaska. R

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135

Accolades

Compiled by Tasha Anderson Alaska USA Federal Credit Union has been recognized as a leading lending institution for the US Small Business Administration’s 504 loan program by Evergreen Business Capital. Alaska USA received awards for Top Alaska Community Lending Institution, and Alaska USA’s commercial loan officer Joe Donahue was recognized as the Top Producer for the number of loans processed through Evergreen Business Capital. alaskausa.org KeyBank has announced its eighth annual perfect score of 100 percent on the Human Rights Campaign’s 2016 Corporate Equality Index. The bank also announced it is one of the top ten companies recognized by Profiles in Diversity Journal’s 12th Annual “International Innovation in Diversity Awards.” key.com

Alaska Governor Bill Walker announced Fugro as winner of the 2015 Governor’s North Star Award for International Excellence in the category of scientific exchange. Fugro was honored for its development of an airborne sea-ice management capability that enables ice thickness mapping, characterization, and monitoring over large geographic areas. fugro.com The Mat-Su Health Foundation board of directors recently announced the awarding of $1,752,000 to eight organizations working to improve the health of Mat-Su residents: $375,000 to the Alaska Youth and Family Network; $25,000 to the City of Wasilla Public Library; $50,000 to CSS Early Learning; $75,000 to MYHouse; $347,500 to Onward and Upward, Inc.; $168,840 to Sunshine Community Health Center; $195,864 to the University of Alaska Anchorage Mat-Su Campus; and $500,000 to Wasilla Area Seniors. healthymatsu.org Alaska Regional Hospital was recently designated a Center of Excellence in Minimally Invasive GynecologyTM (COEMIG) by the American Association of Gynecological Laparoscopists. To earn the COEMIG designation, Alaska Regional provided information on all aspects of its minimally invasive gynecology program and processes, including data on its surgical outcomes. Additionally, Alaska Regional Hospital is one of 106 HCAHealthcare hospitals being recognized by The Joint Commission as one of its Top Performers on Key Quality Measures related to evidence-based care for certain conditions such as heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia and surgical care. alaskaregional.com

NEW!

Michele Brown, President of United Way of Anchorage, has been invited to serve on the National Professional Council of United Ways, a select group of chief executive officers from across the country that focuses on identifying common challenges and solutions for the community-based member nonprofits. Brown will serve a two-year term beginning January 1, 2016, and ending December 31, 2017. liveunitedanc.org Matanuska Electric Association’s Charitable Foundation awarded nine grants totaling $41,500 to local non-profits during their third quarter review. Grant recipients include Food Bank of Alaska, $2,500—Food for Valley Thanksgiving Blessing meal; Girl Scouts of Alaska, $2,500—Dishes and stove for Camp Togowoods; Mat-Su Food Bank, $5,000—Nutritional meals for more than six hundred children enrolled in Food4Kids program; Mat-Su Special Santa Program, $5,000—Provide warm winter clothes to those in need through the Winter Wear Project; Mat-Su Youth Housing, $10,000—Training support to homeless youth that will allow increased capacity and functions of current facilities; Museum of Alaska Transportation and Industry, $2,000—Safe and efficient lighting through facility that will assist in prevention of deterioration of artifacts; Sunshine Community Health Center, $1,500—Transit cards for low income individuals; United Way Mat-Su, $10,000— Toyo stoves for victims of the Sockeye Fire in Willow; and Wasilla Library Association, $3,000—Library in the Woods construction assistance. mea.coop

ACCOLADES Sponsorship opportunity

Alaska Business Monthly recognizes the awards or achievements of businesses or their employees that are from press releases sent to press@akbizmag.com.Your company will get high visibility each month on these two well-read pages highlighting accomplishments of individuals or businesses from all industries statewide. Sponsorship placement includes 1/4 page banner ad (2” high x 7” wide) on 2 Accolade pages.

CONTACT OUR SALES TEAM Anne: 907 257-2910 I Bill: 907 257-2911 I Charles: 907 257-2909 I Janis: 907 257-2917 Alaska Business Monthly I 501 W. Northern Lights Blvd., Suite 100 I Anchorage, AK 99503 136

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

Alaska Airlines has been named the No. 1 on-time major North American carrier for the sixth year in a row. FlightStats Inc., which compiles on-time performance data on millions of flights each year, bestowed the honor on Alaska Airlines. No other major North American airline has received the prestigious award more times since the Portland-based company launched its on-time performance awards program in 2009. alaskaair.com The Alaska Native Medical Center became the first hospital in Alaska recognized as a comprehensive pediatric emergency care facility by the Pediatric Facility Recognition Program run by the Department of Health and Social Services in conjunction with the Alaska Emergency Medical Services for Children Advisory Board. anmc.org The Alaska State Fair impressed the judges at the 2015 International Association of Fairs and Expositions convention, bringing home a total of fourteen awards, including five first-place honors. The Fair’s first-place awards included: Competitive Exhibits Awards, Competitive Exhibit Display Photo (Single); Hall of Honor Communications Awards, Printed Promotional Material; Hall of Honor Communications Awards, Commemorative Poster; Hall of Honor Communications Awards, Misc. Marketing Promotional Display; Hall of Honor Communications Awards, Unique Advertising Specialties/ Merchandise/Souvenirs. alaskastatefair.org

Alaska USA Mortgage Company Senior Mortgage Loan Originator Catherine Donaldson has been recognized as Affiliate of the Year by the Greater Fairbanks Board of Realtors. The board annually recognizes one affiliate member who has provided outstanding contributions to the board and the Fairbanks real estate community. alaskausamortgage.com

GCI presented the Greater Fairbanks Community Hospital Foundation a $2,500 donation to purchase an Illumacam, a new technology that will enable forensic nurses at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital to collect evidence from victims of interpersonal violence such as domestic assault and child abuse. gci.com Bran Pollard, Civil Engineer at R&M Engineering, Inc., has earned his Professional Engineers (PE) license in the state of Alaska by meeting the comity requirements as established by the state’s professional licensing board. rmjuneau.com A $500,000 donation from ConocoPhillips Alaska will help complete the fourth floor of the new engineering building at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. This gift brings the company’s total donations to University of Alaska Fairbanks to more than $2.2 million. Since 2000, ConocoPhillips has donated more than $35 million to the statewide University of Alaska system. conocophillips.com

First National Bank Alaska, through corporate and employee donations, raised a record-breaking $209,550 for the United Ways of Anchorage, Tanana Valley, Kenai Peninsula, Mat-Su, and Valdez. The funds were raised during the United Way’s annual fall campaign through employee pledges, corporate matches and allocations, and special events such as a virtual auction open to employees statewide. fnbalaska.com R

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137

STEAK

EAT 

By Tasha Anderson

SHOP

PLAY

STAY

teak is a fairly straightforward dish, but many have strong feelings about the minutia that contribute to a successful steak: the cut, the seasoning, and the all-important temperature. There are a plethora of tutorials online for cooking the perfect steak at home, whether on the stove, in the oven, or even in microwave ovens. But, for those looking to coast past the preparation and clean up, Alaska’s many fine dining establishments are ready to serve up the perfect steak whenever convenient. Everyone has their idea of the perfect steak, and Alaska’s steakhouses are ready to dish it out.

138

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

By Tasha Anderson

PLAY

STAY

n the spring Alaskans and wildlife alike shed their heavy winter coats; unlike Alaska’s four-legged critters, Alaskans also switch up their footwear. Whatever one’s summer shoe needs may be there are a plethora of places in Alaska to find imported European heels, easy to wear flats and flip-flops, hiking boots, or running shoes to keep everyone moving in comfort and style.

Fun begins with

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139

BOOTS & SHOES

SHOP 

EAT

CONCERTS

EAT

SHOP

PLAY 

By Tasha Anderson

STAY

laska’s long summer days set the perfect scene for summer concerts, indoors or out. Alaska’s music festivals feature local Alaskans as well as invited guests from the Lower 48 and internationally performing the gamut of music genres from jazz to bluegrass. Additionally, the majority of Alaska’s fairs and festivals feature live musical performances, often free to the public.

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Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

SHOP

PLAY

STAY 

By Tasha Anderson

ith an area of 4,021 square miles, Kodiak Island, in the Gulf of Alaska, is the second largest island in the United States, smaller only than the island of Hawai’i. It’s home to Kodiak brown bears, the largest bears in the world (they may grow to more than one thousand pounds); other land mammals such as foxes, deer, and river otters; more than 240 species of birds; and whales, stellar sea lions, sea otters, and porpoises, among other sea life.

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3074 Mountain View Dr., Suite 169 Anchorage, AK 99501 907.885.3688 At participating locations. Contact your local Anytime Fitness® for details. Terms and conditions may apply. Each location is independently owned and operated. ©2016 Anytime Fitness, LLC.

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141

KODIAK

EAT

EVENTS CALENDAR MAY 2016

EAT

PLAY 

SHOP

MAY

Anchorage

The Alaska Native Heritage Center celebrates mothers and the opening day of its 2016 summer season. Enjoy live performances, village site tours, and free admission. Alaska Native Heritage Center, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. alaskanative.net

Anchorage MAY

Fairbanks

The Good Times are Killing Me

6-29 A play about race, real estate, and friendship, this comic drama is set in an interracial neighborhood in the 1960s. It enjoyed a long Off-Broadway run. Cyrano’s, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7 p.m.; Sundays at 3 p.m. cyranos.org MAY

MAY

Ride AWAIC

Ride AWAIC is a local motorcycle ride to benefit Abused Women’s Aid in Crisis, Alaska’s largest domestic violence safe shelter and resource center. This ride will be a poker run with food, prizes, and giveaways at each checkpoint along the way. The ride starts at the Northway Mall and ends at Denali Harley-Davidson, 10 a.m. facebook.com/RideAWAIC/

Cordova MAY

5-8

Copper River Delta Shorebird Festival

This week long festival is a great experience and a wonderful sight to see. As many as 5 million shorebirds rest and feed in Cordova during the spring migration. There are opportunities for bird watching, hiking, presentations, community events, and many more activities fun for all ages. copperriverdeltashorebirdfestival.com

Fairbanks MAY

Bacon Festival Fairbanks

Celebrate how this tasty pork product saved Fairbanks during the 1906 fire, with vendors, bacon tasting, live entertainment, and all things bacon. Downtown Fairbanks. festivalfairbanks.info 142

Join Bunnell Street Arts Center in Old Town Homer for a gourmet dinner featuring neighborhood restaurants’ gourmet fare, live entertainment, and a silent art auction to benefit art projects that spark creative vibrancy in Homer. 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. bunnellarts.org

MAY

Juneau Maritime Festival

7 This festival is a one day family friendly event showcasing many facets of Juneau’s maritime history, commerce, and culture, including helicopter rescue demonstration, great seafood, activities for kids, informational and sales booths, and songs and stories for all ages. Marine Park in Downtown Juneau, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. jedc.org/maritimefestival MAY

MAY

Soldotna

Juneau

Ketchikan

Alaska Visitor Industry Charity Walk

Also known as “Graze to Raise,” participants can sample specialty foods from local restaurants and businesses along the 5K course. When the walk ends, the fun continues with dance, drinks, live music, and children’s activities and carnival games afterward at Dena’ina. Dena’ina Center, 6 p.m. raceroster.com/ events/2016/7976/visitor-industrycharity-walk-anchorage

Dinner in the Street

Mother’s Day Celebration & Opening Day

MAY

Golden HeART Affair

13 Golden HeART Affair is a partnership between the North Star Ballet and the Fairbanks Hospital Foundation to raise money for new choreography for North Start Ballet and for Hope Totes, comfort bags for newly diagnosed cancer patients. Enjoy an evening of performance, live music, silent auction, dessert auction, cocktails, and appetizers. Salisbury Theater, UAF Campus, 7 p.m. fairbankshospitalfoundation.com

STAY

Compiled by Tasha Anderson

Celebration of the Sea Art Walk

Celebrate art and the start of a new season at the Arts Council’s 15th Annual Celebration of the Sea Art Walk. Enjoy new art pieces by local artists, live music by Scythian, refreshments, and fun. 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. ketchikanarts.org

MAY

Kenai Peninsula Birding Festival

19-22 With a variety of low cost or free activities including kids’ activities, guided birding excursions, social events, and not-to-be missed Kenai River float trip complete with local birding experts, there is something at this bird festival for every interest. kenaiwatershed.org/events

Kodiak MAY

26-30

Kodiak Crab Festival

Crab Fest is a time for the community to celebrate the abundant resources that we receive from the sea. Activities include good food games, a parade, vendors, and more. kodiakchamber.org

Haines MAY

Great Alaska Craftbeer and Homebrew Festival

27-28 Events include a Gourmet Beer Banquet on Friday, Fun-run on Saturday, and live music, local food, and excellent craft beers from breweries and distributors across the state. Limited tickets available, pre-purchase recommended. Must be twenty-one with valid ID to enter. seakfair.org Homer MAY

Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival

12-15 More than 130 bird species migrate to Kachemak Bay. Sandhill cranes, Arctic and Aleutian terns, Pacific Golden-Plover, Bristle-thighed curlew, horned puffins, and Red-necked stint are only a few bird species visitors might see. The festival includes fun and educational activities for any level of birder and all ages. homeralaska.org

Wasilla

Petersburg MAY

Little Norway Festival

11-15 This festival celebrates the signing of Norway’s constitution in 1848, the coming of spring, the beginning of the fishing season, and US Armed Forces Day. petersburg.org Sitka MAY-JUN

Sitka

31-26 Summer Music Festival

Musicians from around the world gather, presenting exquisite music in the pristine setting of Southeast Alaska. Events include free and ticketed concerts, a crab feed, a boat cruise, and lectures. alaskaclassics.org/events/ sitka-summer-music-festival

MAY

Mat-Su Concert Band Spring Concert

8 The Mat-Su Concert Band is the largest and oldest musical organization in the Mat-Su Borough and provides adult musicians from across the Valley and surrounding areas in Alaska the opportunity for musical expression and enjoyment beyond high school and college, promoting artistic enrichment in our concerts, and preserving the rich repertoire and cultural history of the wind band. Glenn Massay Theater, 4 p.m. matsuconcertband.org MAY

Taikai Con

This is the debut of Taikai Con, a convention to celebrate pop-culture, art, cinema, music, and literature, organized by nonprofit Taikai Corporation. Glenn Massay Theater, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. taikaicon.org R

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

ALASKA TRENDS

By Nolan Klouda

Alaskan Crude Production Holds while Employment Falls

o Alaskans who follow the oil and gas industry, the story of falling crude production is a familiar one. Many of us are aware that the state’s production has fallen from over 2 million barrels per day at its peak in the late 1980s to a figure closer to half a million today. Yet as the depressed price of oil dominates the news, it is noteworthy that production in February 2016 was actually higher than one year prior, by about 8 percent according to monthly production figures released by the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. Indeed, production saw four consecutive months of increases between August and December of 2015 before falling slightly in January and February 2016, according to Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission monthly production reports. This situation is almost the inverse of US crude production overall, where an upward trend in output resulting from hydraulic fracturing was interrupted by price shocks in 2015, according to US Energy Information Administration data. Of course, the story behind the data is important: fracking activity in the Lower 48—having propelled the United States toward energy self-sufficiency—has slowed considerably since crude prices began falling in 2014. Meanwhile, investments in

smaller North Slope fields in recent years (such as the ConocoPhillips CD-5 expansion into the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, which began production in 2015) could be expected to boost in-state production somewhat, even if not enough to arrest the long-term decline. Employment in the state’s oil and gas sector, on the other hand, fell over 12 percent from February 2015 to February 2016, even as crude output increased modestly. Naturally, oil companies and their vendors have been forced to cut costs, and reduce exploration activity. BP announced in January that it would cut its Alaska workforce 13 percent and in March announced an additional 4 percent in Alaska workforce reductions. These are by no means isolated incidents. In 2016, the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development forecasts a further decline of 7 percent of the oil and gas workforce, the largest percentage decline of any of the state’s major employment sectors. R Alaska Trends, an outline of significant statewide statistics, is provided by the University of Alaska Center for Economic Development.

Sources: Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, US Energy Information Administration, Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development

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143

ALASKA TRENDS

Indicator

By Khristian Viray

Units

Period

Latest Report Period

Previous Report Period (revised)

Year Ago Period

Year Over Year Change

GENERAL Per Capita Personal Income—Alaska US $ 4thQ15 55,936.0 55,818.0 54,863.0 2.0% Per Capita Personal Income—United States US $ 4thQ15 48,208.0 47,929.0 46,730.0 3.2% Consumer Prices—Anchorage 1982-1984 = 100 2ndH15 216.7 217.1 216.8 0.0% Consumer Prices—United States 1982-1984 = 100 2ndH15 237.7 236.2 237.0 0.3% Bankruptcies Alaska Total Number Filed March 30.0 31.0 34.0 -11.8% Anchorage Total Number Filed March 25.0 25.0 24.0 4.2% Fairbanks Total Number Filed March 2.0 2.0 4.0 -50.0% Labor Force in Alaska Thousands February 357.1 357.1 360.6 -1.0% Unemployment Rate Alaska Percent February 7.7 7.3 7.4 4.1% United States Percent February 4.9 4.9 5.5 -10.9% Employment Alaska Thousands February 329.5 330.9 333.9 -1.3% Anchorage/Mat-Su Region Thousands February 188.2 190.1 190.1 -1.0% Anchorage, Municipality Thousands February 147.6 149.1 149.1 -1.0% Interior Region Thousands February 47.0 47.2 47.8 -1.7% Fairbanks North Star Borough Thousands February 42.1 42.3 42.9 -1.9% Southeast Thousands February 32.0 32.1 32.5 -1.5% Juneau, City and Borough Thousands February 15.8 15.9 16.1 -1.9% Northern Region Thousands February 10.0 10.1 10.5 -4.6% Gulf Coast Thousands February 33.7 33.5 34.3 -1.7% Southwest Region Thousands February 18.5 17.8 18.6 -0.5% Sectorial Distribution—Alaska Total Nonfarm Thousands February 326.2 322.5 325.6 0.2% Goods-Producing Thousands February 43.0 41.4 45.8 -6.1% Mining and Logging Thousands February 15.9 15.8 17.5 -9.1% Mining Thousands February 15.7 15.7 17.4 -9.8% Oil & Gas Thousands February 12.9 12.9 14.7 -12.2% Construction Thousands February 14.2 14.0 15.3 -7.2% Manufacturing Thousands February 12.9 11.6 13.0 -0.8% Seafood Processing Thousands February 9.7 8.3 9.4 3.2% Service-Providing Thousands February 283.2 281.1 279.8 1.2% Trade, Transportation, Utilities Thousands February 63.5 63.9 61.3 3.6% Wholesale Trade Thousands February 6.3 6.3 6.4 -1.6% Retail Trade Thousands February 37.2 37.7 35.3 5.4% Food & Beverage Stores Thousands February 6.1 6.1 5.8 5.2% General Merchandise Stores Thousands February 10.5 10.8 10.1 4.0% Trans/Warehouse/Utilities Thousands February 20.0 19.9 19.6 2.0% Air Transportation Thousands February 5.5 5.4 5.5 0.0% Information Thousands February 6.1 6.2 6.3 -3.2% Telecommunications Thousands February 4.1 4.2 4.3 -4.7% Financial Activities Thousands February 12.2 12.1 11.6 5.2% Professional & Business Svcs Thousands February 27.7 27.6 29.2 -5.1% Educational & Health Services Thousands February 48.7 48.0 47.1 3.4% Health Care Thousands February 35.7 35.0 34.2 4.4% Leisure & Hospitality Thousands February 30.7 30.1 30.2 1.7% Accommodation Thousands February 6.3 6.1 6.4 -1.6% Food Svcs & Drinking Places Thousands February 20.3 20.1 19.8 2.5% Other Services Thousands February 11.7 11.7 11.4 2.6% Government Thousands February 82.6 81.5 82.7 -0.1% Federal Government Thousands February 14.7 14.6 14.2 3.5% State Government Thousands February 25.2 24.9 26.5 -4.9% State Education Thousands February 8.1 7.7 8.6 -5.8% Local Government Thousands February 42.7 42.0 42.0 1.7% Local Education Thousands February 24.1 23.7 24.3 -0.8% Tribal Government Thousands February 3.6 3.6 3.5 2.9% PETROLEUM/MINING Crude Oil Production—Alaska Millions of Barrels February 14.7 15.9 13.6 8.1% 144

Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com

ALASKA TRENDS

Indicator

By Khristian Viray

Units

Period

Latest Report Period

Previous Report Period (revised)

Year Ago Period

Natural Gas Field Production—Alaska Billions of Cubic Ft. February 7.6 7.9 7.7 ANS West Coast Average Spot Price $ per Barrel February 31.1 30.2 53.8 Hughes Rig Count Alaska Active Rigs February 11.0 13.0 12.0 United States Active Rigs February 502.0 619.0 1,267.0 Gold Prices $ Per Troy Oz. March 1,235.3 1,234.5 1179.64 Silver Prices $ Per Troy Oz. March 15.4 14.8 16.2 Zinc Prices $ Per tonn March 1,784.7 1,709.9 2,028.7

Year Over Year Change

-1.6% -42.2% -8.3% -60.4% 4.7% -5.2% -12.0%

REAL ESTATE Anchorage Building Permit Valuations Total Millions of $ February 20.7 15.1 32.4 -36.2% Residential Millions of $ February 4.5 3.1 7.1 -36.6% Commercial Millions of $ February 13.7 6.2 18.4 -25.5% Government Millions of $ February 2.4 5.6 6.8 Average Loan in Housing Market Statewide Single-Family Dollars 4thQ15 277,338.0 287,606.0 271,398.0 2.2% Condominium Dollars 4thQ15 188,235.0 190,451.0 189,752.0 -0.8% Multi-Family Dollars 4thQ15 697,162.0 458,177.0 397,748.0 75.3% Refinance Average Loan Statewide Single-Family Dollars 4thQ15 230,430.0 229,493.0 234,098.0 -1.6% Condominium Dollars 4thQ15 163,119.0 149,952.0 156,479.0 4.2% New Housing Built Statewide Single-Family Units 4thQ15 134.0 186.0 151.0 -11.3% Mobile Home Units 4thQ15 7.0 19.0 9.0 -22.2% Multi-Family Units 4thQ15 203.0 97.0 122.0 66.4% ALASKA PERMANENT FUND Equity Millions of $ February 50,350.3 50,087.4 53,587.4 Assets Millions of $ February 51,309.7 51,199.4 54,604.4 Net Income Millions of $ February 79.6 53.8 247.9 Net Income—Year to Date Millions of $ February 238.5 -1,724.7 1,198.5 Marketable Debt Securities Millions of $ February 83.0 45.2 -83.2 Real Estate Investments Millions of $ February -51.6 -19.6 -19.7 Preferred and Common Stock Millions of $ February -112.1 -1,301.3 1,055.4

-6.0% -6.0% -67.9% -80.1% 199.8% -161.9% -110.6%

BANKING (excludes interstate branches) Total Bank Assets—Alaska Millions of $ 3rdQ15 6,340.2 6,340.2 5,781.7 Cash & Balances Due Millions of $ 3rdQ15 378.4 378.4 299.4 Securities Millions of $ 3rdQ15 148.2 148.2 146.7 Net Loans and Leases Millions of $ 3rdQ15 2,970.6 2,970.6 2,742.9 Other Real Estate Owned Millions of $ 3rdQ15 20.4 20.4 18.0 Total Liabilities Millions of $ 3rdQ15 5,515.1 5,515.1 5,002.3 Total Bank Deposits—Alaska Millions of $ 3rdQ15 4,717.2 4,717.2 4,346.6 Noninterest-bearing deposits Millions of $ 3rdQ15 2,097.1 2,097.1 1,830.3 Interest- bearing deposits Millions of $ 3rdQ15 2,620.1 2,620.1 2,516.3

9.7% 26.4% 1.0% 8.3% 13.5% 10.3% 8.5% 14.6% 4.1%

FOREIGN TRADE Value of the Dollar In Japanese Yen Yen March 113.1 113.4 119.27 -5.2% In Canadian Dollars Canadian $ March 1.3 1.4 1.26 4.0% In British Pounds Pounds March 0.7 0.7 0.67 -0.6% In European Monetary Unit Euro March 0.9 0.9 0.91 -2.2% In Chinese Yuan Yuan March 6.5 6.5 6.11 7.0% Notes: 1. Banking data has been updated to include Alaska State Banks and Alaska’s sole federally chartered, Alaska-based bank, First National Bank Alaska. 2. Information oh housing is retrieved from AHFC website. 3. Visitor Industry is excluded as there is no recent data.

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ADVERTISERS INDEX Advanced Physical Therapy of Alaska....83 AE Solutions Alaska LLC.............................91 AECOM..........................................................122 AirSide Solutions Inc....................................87 Alaska Crane Ltd........................................ 103 Alaska Directional LLC................................ 35 Alaska Dreams Inc........................................97 Alaska Forum................................................60 Alaska Logistics.............................................65 Alaska Railroad.............................................. 55 Alaska Rubber.............................................120 Alaska Traffic Company..............................89 Alaska USA Federal Credit Union.......................27, 57 American Association of Petroleum Geologists............................81 American Marine / Penco........................143 Anchorage Opera......................................140 Anytime Fitness.......................................... 141 Arctic Catering & Support Services........85 Arctic Office Products................................25 Arctic Technology Conference..............104 ARCTOS......................................................... 114 ASRC Energy..................................................79 AT&T.................................................................23 Avis Rent-A-Car........................................... 139

BDO..................................................................32 Bell & Assoc.................................................128 C & R Pipe and Steel Inc............................. 61 Calista Corporation......................................76 Carlile Transportation Systems...........51, 77 CH2M...............................................................95 Colonial Life..................................................124 Colville Inc.................................................... 118 Construction Machinery Industrial...........2 Crowley Alaska Inc........................................71 Cruz Companies............................................98 Delta Leasing LLC.........................................49 Denali Federal Credit Union......................39 Diamond Airport Parking...........................28 Donlin Gold.................................................... 55 Dowland-Bach Corp....................................86 Doyon Limited................................................. 3 EDC Inc............................................................43 ESS Labor Services.....................................126 Everts Air Cargo Tatonduk Outfitters...............................72 Fairweather LLC............................................ 75 First National Bank Alaska........................... 5 Fluor Corp.......................................................99 Foss Maritime.............................................. 116 Fountainhead Hotels.................................122

GCI.......................................................... 69, 148 Global Services Inc...................................... 88 Hall, Render, Killian, Heath, & Lyman PC.. 33 JP Construction/ Alaska Concrete Polishing................... 44 Judy Patrick Photography........................146 Kenworth of Alaska..................................100 Landye Bennett Blumstein LLP................43 Lynden Inc............................................... 13, 113 Medical Park Family Care, Inc.................122 MFCP Motion & Flow Control Products Inc........................... 116 MICROCOM...................................................36 Motive Power Marine.................................. 37 N C Machinery..............................................111 Nalco Energy Services...............................124 New Horizons Telecom Inc.....................109 Nortech Environmental & Engineering.. 61 Northern Air Cargo........................... 134, 135 NRC Alaska.................................................. 107 Olgoonik Corp............................................ 105 Olympic Tug & Barge.................................126 Oxford Assaying & Refining Inc.............140 Pacific Coast Maritime..............................126 Pacific Pile & Marine................ 130, 131, 132 Parker Smith & Feek....................................47

PenAir..............................................................63 Personnel Plus............................................. 141 Petrotechnical Resources Alaska (PRA)..147 PND Engineers Inc..................................... 118 PRL Logistics...............................................106 Ravn Alaska.................................................... 21 Restoration Science & Engineering.........59 Ritchie Brothers Auctioneers....................93 Samson Tug & Barge....................................69 Seekins Ford Lincoln Mercury Fleet.....110 Span Alaska Transportation Inc................ 73 Stellar Designs Inc...................................... 139 Think Office................................................. 114 Truckwell of Alaska.....................................90 Turnagain Marine Construction............120 UA Local 367 Plumbers & Steamfitters.....................80 UIC Arctic Response Services................ 101 UIC Oil & Gas Services................................94 Visit Anchorage.............................................29 Washington Crane & Hoist........................45 Waste Management.....................................74 Watterson Construction.............................46 Wells Fargo Bank Alaska..............................15 Westmark Hotels..........................................28 West-Mark Service Center......................128

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Alaska Business Monthly | May 2016 www.akbizmag.com