ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Gov. Sean Parnell will ask legislators for $8 million
for preliminary work that could lead to construction of a 90-mile road to
oil and gas reserves in the northern foothills of the Brooks Range.

Parnell wants the money for permitting and environmental work for a road
that could reach Umiat along the Colville River, where a reservoir holds
250 million barrels of prized light, sweet oil and the potential for
more. A road also would provide year-round access to the Gubik natural
gas complex east of the river.

Estimated construction costs are $360 million.

Underwriting the cost of a road for the petroleum industry will lead to
jobs and speed up production from the region, Parnell said.

"Transportation costs limit access and impede development," Parnell said.
"We're going to change that and get more private-sector jobs in the
process."

Pamela Miller, Arctic program director for the Northern Alaska
Environmental Center in Fairbanks, said Friday people would want to weigh
in on the best route for such a road. She also questioned whether the
road investment and annual maintenance would make it cost-effective.

"You need all these pieces to understand the benefits of throwing scarce
transportation dollars for a road to serve the oil companies," she said.
"I'm just looking for facts right now."

Preliminary figures put the cost at $225 million for 75 miles of road to
the Gubik complex. It would take 15 more miles of road and a bridge
across the Colville River - $90 million for the bridge and $45 million
for the additional road - to reach Umiat on the east side of the National
Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.

Umiat is 175 miles southeast of Barrow and 330 miles northwest of
Fairbanks. The new road would stretch west from the Dalton Highway, the
mostly gravel "haul road" that lets trucks reach Prudhoe Bay from the
interior Alaska road system.

Alaskans have been aware of petroleum at Umiat since before statehood
when pools of oil were spotted seeping to the surface. Oil and gas
reserves were confirmed starting in 1946, said Joe Balash, an energy aide
to Parnell.

Parnell said the road, which crosses mostly state land, eventually could
be expanded to the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, which holds an
estimated 12 billion barrels of oil and 73 trillion cubic feet of natural
gas.

Development at Umiat or Gubik would required a pipeline to reach the
trans-Alaska pipeline.

Officials from Renaissance Alaska LLC, owner of several Umiat leases,
told Petroleum News in September that a key issue in moving ahead with
its holdings was the price of crude and what other companies in the area
were doing. Shared baseline environmental studies and a shared right of
way could reduce project costs. Company officials also expressed hope for
the state road, which could share a pipeline corridor.

Former Gov. Sarah Palin made the same road money request last year. Palin
quit in July, and Parnell replaced her. He is seeking a four-year term in
the 2010 election.
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