Governor Palin 4 President

Juneau, Alaska - Governor Sarah Palin hailed the commencement of drilling operations today at the Point Thomson oil and gas reservoir. It is the first time a well has been drilled there since 1983. "ExxonMobil informed my administration that, at 2:30 a.m. today, drilling operations began," the governor said. "Today's action shows that our perseverance is paying off. We congratulate ExxonMobil on their successful efforts, and commend them for fulfilling their recent commitments to the state."

ExxonMobil spudded the well on one of the two leases they were allowed to continue to hold under a conditional decision in January by Natural Resources Commissioner Tom Irwin. Development of the state’s resources at Point Thomson has long been a goal for the state.

"Today's action by ExxonMobil is an important milestone in the continuing effort to see production of our state resources at Point Thomson," Irwin said.

http://www.gov.state.ak.us/news.php?id=1825