Hilcorp presents Cook Inlet and North Slope updates: storage, supply and a phase‑1 gas sale agreement

Hillcorp Alaska told the House Resources Committee on Jan. 28, 2026 that it has grown its Alaska workforce and drilling activity, is expanding regulated gas storage access for utilities, and has entered a phase‑1 gas sale precedent agreement to advance a North Slope gas line.

Luke Sorge, senior vice president for Hillcorp Alaska, said Hillcorp now directly employs about 1,750 Alaskans (with roughly 3,500 indirect contractor jobs) and operates eight drilling rigs (six on the North Slope and two in Cook Inlet). Sorge said Hillcorp supplies about 50 billion cubic feet of natural gas per year to South Central Alaska and has deployed sustained drilling and well work to maintain that supply.

On storage, Hillcorp described Pool 6 and other reservoirs used for seasonal storage, noted operational issues at an independent storage facility (Singza) during cold weather in 2024, and said Hillcorp filed with the Regulatory Commission of Alaska to make regulated storage capacity available; the company has since signed storage agreements with utilities.

Sorge said Hillcorp has signed a phase‑1 gas sale precedent agreement with Glenfarn to advance critical export infrastructure to move North Slope gas to market and to provide in‑state volumes for South Central customers; Hillcorp said it intends to be an early supplier of volumes into that phase‑1 pipeline.

Hillcorp also discussed Cook Inlet price dynamics and historical consent‑decree pricing (consent decree ended in 2017), potential expansion of storage deliverability (via additional compression and possibly additional well access), and interest in CO2 storage studies with Sumitomo. Committee members asked operational and price questions; Hillcorp said it will provide additional technical follow‑ups as requested.