In January 2020, a report prepared for the Alaska Oil & Gas Association (AOGA) by McKinley Research served to underscore the importance of Alaska’s oil and gas industry. The impact report defines seventeen organizations as “primary companies” in Alaska’s oil and gas industry, most of which are production companies like ConocoPhillips, Hilcorp, Oil Search, and Eni Petroleum. The report details the spending of these companies on Alaska goods and services—and here is where Alaskan-owned companies begin to shine.

In 2018 alone the primary companies paid $4.4 billion to approximately 1,000 Alaska support services companies. Mckinley’s report defines Alaska companies as either based in the state, with resident and non-resident employees, or based Outside but with a satellite office and employees in state.

Just about one-quarter (24 percent) of this $4.4 billion was dished out to private companies supporting the industry through various construction services. Delta Constructors is one of these companies. Delta was formed more than ten years ago by principal partners possessing decades’ worth of collective industry experience. “Delta Constructors is a 95 percent self-perform general contractor supporting the oil and gas industry in the upstream and midstream sectors,” says a Delta spokesperson. “In addition to integrated construction services, we provide project management services, assist clients in TIC estimating, supply chain and logistics services, fabrication and truckable module assembly, and commissioning services.”

Delta Constructors has experienced growth despite what it describes as a retracting industry. “Opportunities for construction have remained relatively flat on the North Slope, with a new drill site installed approximately every other year,” the spokesperson says, noting the exception is the 2015 Point Thomson facility installation project in which Delta participated. “Before this, major construction projects for expansion on the Slope were abundant.”

Delta points to the GHX-1 and GHX-2 projects in the late ’90s, Alpine and Northstar in the early 2000s, the Pioneer Natural Resources Ooguruk installation in 2007, and the Eni Petroleum Nikaitchuq facility installation in 2011.

The company notes that North Slope operations are placing an increased emphasis on health, safety, and environment (HSE). “The focus that the North Slope producers have placed on HSE for their employees, their contractors, and the environment over the last twenty years is exponential to that of other industries—even within the same industry compared to other regions of the United States.” Recently, Delta Constructors began installing the GMT-2 facilities for ConocoPhillips in its Alpine field, going on its fourth year of executing capital projects for the production giant. Delta is also keeping an eye on opportunities to support ConocoPhillips’ Willow development and Oil Search’s Nanushuk development.

Per McKinley Research’s findings, 28 percent of the $4.4 billion spent was paid to oil field support service companies. This group includes companies like ASRC Energy Services, Colville, Doyon Drilling, and Peak Oilfield Service Co., a subsidiary of Bristol Bay Industrial Services. Unsurprisingly, Alaska Native Corporations and their various subsidiaries have been instrumental in supporting growth in the oil and gas industry in Alaska.

Alaska Native owned ASRC Energy Services (AES) has provided a comprehensive suite of services to Alaska’s oil and gas industry for more than forty years. Services include operations and maintenance, pipeline construction and maintenance, remediation, engineering, staffing, security, equipment rentals, pumping, production testing, regulatory, environmental, and other consulting services. To support operations, AES deploys more than 800 pieces of equipment on the North Slope, owns a 53,000-square-foot equipment and maintenance facility, and has a mancamp in Deadhorse. To find solutions for a sustainable future, the AES Technology Department is building out its capabilities in sustainable resource development, clean energy, and environmental remediation, including the development and 2021 deployment of an all-Alaskan, novel, proprietary technology for treating PFAS contaminated soils. AES is a wholly owned subsidiary of Arctic Slope Regional Corporation.

Another Alaska Native Corporation making its mark in the oil and gas sector is Doyon Limited. Its subsidiary Doyon Drilling has grown into one of the state’s leading drilling and exploration contractors. It currently operates eight rigs on the North Slope. The subsidiary was formed in 1982 as a joint venture between Doyon and Nugget Alaska. A little more than a decade later, Doyon bought out Nugget’s share in the business. Echoing Delta Constructors’ observation, Doyon Drilling has emphasized an HSE management system to “demonstrate HSE leadership, commitment to continual improvement, and HSE responsibility to its stakeholders.” The company explains the system’s purpose is to provide a structure for key management processes that drive Doyon Drilling’s workplace, health, safety, and environmental performance. This is also a rigorous training regimen that includes dozens of health and safety modules, ensuring its employees are well equipped to handle the industry’s hazards. Two years after Doyon Drilling started operations, another Doyon subsidiary came into the picture: Doyon Anvil, a joint venture between Doyon and Anvil Corporation. The design, engineering, and procurement firm has projects in each of the upstream, midstream, and downstream segments of Alaska’s oil and gas industry. Past work in its upstream portfolio includes providing critical project control services for Drill Rig 142, which sister company Doyon Drilling headed up. Efforts in the midstream arena include extensive work with storage tanks—from design to inspection. The bulk of Doyon Anvil’s downstream roles focus on revamping refineries in Alaska and locations across western America and Canada.

AOGA’s economic impact report groups the remaining chunk of spending—roughly one-half of the $4.4 billion—into a third category. This group, referred to as “Other Suppliers of Goods and Services,” encompasses a broad range of firms providing a variety of goods and services, including technical services (13 percent); transportation and warehousing (10 percent); retail/wholesale (9 percent); accommodations and food service (4 percent); and then an additional “other” grouping within the subset (12 percent). While not explicitly stated in the report, it becomes quickly apparent that many Alaskan-owned businesses could fall under multiple categories. This is due to the cross-functionality that is commonplace among companies operating in this space, which can sometimes be challenging to quantify in economic analyses. An example of this is a third Doyon subsidiary: Doyon Remote Facilities & Services. Doyon Remote Facilities & Services is Doyon’s answer to the logistical challenges of housing a workforce in remote locations. The company offers seven different camp configurations that range from 21 to 140 beds, which can be tailored to clients’ specific needs. Doyon Remote Facilities & Services explains that the camps can be rapidly deployed, with most camp mobilizations completed in anywhere from two to seven days. Doyon Remote Facilities & Services provides additional services such as administration and maintenance, construction, and logistics, as is typical of these multifaceted oil field service providers.

The economic impact from the oil and gas industry is felt in every corner of the state—from royalties and taxes collected by local and state governments to high-paying careers that support local commerce. According to the McKinley Research report, Alaska’s oil and gas industry paid $3.1 billion in state and local taxes for FY 2019. The organization reports, “no other private sector comes close to generating more economic impact in Alaska.” For comparison purposes, economic impact reports from years prior show that another primary industry in Alaska—the seafood industry— contributes around $172 million to funding for state, local, and the federal government. The oil and gas industry supports an estimated 77,600 Alaskan jobs. The sector accounts for 14 percent of resident Anchorage employment, 6 percent in Fairbanks, and roughly 7 percent in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. As an encouraging sign for future employment growth opportunities, promising exploration and development projects such as Willow and Horseshoe are in the works. They could collectively contribute between 14 billion and 35 billion barrels of oil—more than the entirety of all petroleum recovered thus far in Alaska’s history. This bodes well for the future of Alaska’s oil and gas support industry and for those Alaskan-owned companies leading the way.