Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority has reached a deal with Buccaneer Energy Limited and Ezion Holdings Limited to bring a jack-up drilling rig to Cook Inlet.

AIDEA unanimously approved a resolution of joint ownership in the project, which will bring the first rig into that area in several years.

“AIDEA’s role as Alaska’s economic finance authority is committed to helping build a strong Alaska economy, so we look for projects that support major sectors in targeted industries and regions, especially projects that support critical components of Alaska’s economy,” said AIDEA Spokesman Karsten Rodvik. “So our goal here with investing in Cook Inlet drilling is to encourage much needed oil and gas drilling.”

Rodvik said this is roughly an $85 million project, in which AIDEA will invest up to $30 million in as part owner. AIDEA will also help secure funding levels. “Our job is to move forward with this project and make this happen,” he said.

Rodvik said the rig that will make its way to Cook Inlet is called the Endeavour and is currently owned by Transocean. He said the next step is for it to be transferred from Malaysia to Singapore and undergo additional work and winterization modifications to make the rig, which was originally designed for work in the North Sea, to be even stronger and more capable for use in Cook Inlet and other Alaskan waters.

“Once all of this work is complete, the tentative schedule is for the first well to be started in late summer,” Rodvik said.

Buccaneer Energy Chief Executive Officer Curtis Burton said the rig is rated for depths of up to 300 feet and has the ability to work over wells on existing platforms in Cook Inlet.

The project could also enable the deal to benefit from tax credits from legislation sponsored by Sen. Thomas Wagoner, R-Kenai, that passed last year. The tax credits apply to the first such rig to reach Cook Inlet.

The senator’s aide, Mary Jackson, said the partners here will certainly be in a position to take advantage of it if they become the first to drill.

“We have our permitting largely done and a couple of things outstanding, but those are fairly innocuous and we expect to be the first to start drilling,” Burton said, explaining that being the first to start is only part of the deal. They must also reach the target depths.

In a press release, Wagoner states the tax credits have created the “stampede” he was hoping for, as Escopeta Oil is also working on bringing a jack-up rig to Alaska.

He states in a press release, “We’ve got two separate companies working hard to bring a jack-up rig to Cook Inlet to drill. The stampede is on and I wish both companies the best of luck. I don’t care who gets there first, we just want to get drilling!”

• Contact reporter Jonathan Grass at 523-2276 or at jonathan.grass@juneauempire.com.