Oil and gas development in the Arctic could bring some major changes to the city of Adak. On Tuesday, Offshore Systems Inc and several subsidiaries of the Aleut Corporation signed an agreement to collaborate on developing the former military base as a support hub for Arctic oil drilling. OSI spokesperson Jim Butler says the community is a logical place for future development. 

“Adak is a former naval station. It has significant fuel storage capacity. It has in excess of 400,000 feet of warehouse space. It has runways, large runways, that allow for heavy cargo planes to come in and out, passenger vessels. It has a number of lodging facilities and everything from an idle movie theatre to a roller rink. It’s basically a small town that is currently not being utilized, in addition to a deepwater port in a protected area.”

When the naval base was operational, Adak was home to more than 6,000 people. Currently, its residents number less than 400. When the base shut down in 1997, ownership of most of the island’s facilities passed to the Aleut Corporation. Many of them are not in use at the moment and some have fallen into disrepair. The agreement could represent a step towards getting some of those facilities back up and operational, although Butler cautions that any development depends on interest by the oil companies. 

“I don’t anticipate a lot of… improvements, if you will, to existing facilities until those are being done in a way that actually meets the needs of prospective clients.”

Those clients could be Statoil or ConocoPhillips or Shell – any of the oil companies planning to work on the outer continental shelf. Butler says OSI and the Aleut Corporation didn’t enter into the agreement with a specific customer in mind. Rather, he says, the partnership is intended to signal the potential for development on Adak. 

“JB: It might be sufficient to have someone say, ‘well, this is another option for us, for our planning purposes, when we’re looking at moving large vessels in and out of the area. This helps us maybe move forward with our project,’ as opposed to only having one option.’ 
SJ: [That option] currently being Unalaska.
JB: Yeah, Unalaska.”

But Butler is quick to add that development on Adak doesn’t mean OSI will be ending its operations in Unalaska, which include logistical support for Shell Oil.

"OSI has been there for over 30 years and it plans to be there for a lot longer," he says.

The Aleut Corporation and the City of Adak declined to comment on the deal.