Port may get bonanza

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, January 12, 2005

EVERET – An oil and natural gas field under development off the coast of Russia has sparked some new business for the Port of Everett.

A big cargo vessel is tied up at the port this week, loading 280,000 pounds of equipment bound for Sakhalin Island and a joint drilling project of ExxonMobil and two Russian companies.

“I’ve been chasing this for 10 years,” said Carl Wollebek, director of marine terminals for the port.

Wollebek said he hopes the shipment will be the first of many to the oil field, a venture that could help the port build up its cargo business. He noted that development of the Prudhoe Bay oil reserves in Alaska was a big boon for the port.

“Everett benefited immensely,” he said of the Alaska project. “We hope this is just the tip of the iceberg.”

The offshore drilling near Sakhalin was declared commercial in 2001. It’s estimated to have recoverable reserves of 2.3 billion barrels of oil and 17.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Much of the equipment being shipped to Russia on the Fesco vessel Kapitan Man are components of a gas and oil separator. The equipment will help separate the two products from the undersea wells, and also clean out any impurities.

In addition to the separator, the ship is also taking on prefab buildings to be used as offices. Some of the crates weigh as much as 90,000 pounds.

Since most products are shipped in containers, Everett has lost much of its business over the years to Seattle and Tacoma, which focus on container shipping. The port has tried to specialize in odd-sized containers, such as those with jet parts from overseas, and on shipments not in containers.

The oil field business, which involves a lot of odd-sized cargo, could help the port redevelop its business. In addition to the Exxon venture, a number of other major oil companies plan projects off the Russian coast.

“All the big guys have a presence on that island,” Wollebek said.