AOGA Announces 2025 Industry Award Winners
ConocoPhillips Alaska wins the Project of the Year for horizontal directional drilling under the Colville River.
Photo Credit: ConocoPhillips Alaska
In advance of its late-August annual conference in Anchorage, the Alaska Oil and Gas Association (AOGA) announced the individuals and companies it will honor with the 2025 AOGA Industry Awards. The professional trade association is giving out four awards, two recognizing companies for outstanding performance and two individuals: a rising star making early impact in the industry and a person who has made a career of industry support.
Two for ConocoPhillips
ConocoPhillips Alaska wins the AOGA Project of the Year for Environmental Stewardship and Innovation for the use of horizontal directional drilling to install dual pipelines under the Colville River. AOGA says the technique sets a new precedent in sustainable engineering by completing the difficult task in a single winter construction season. Completed with zero reportable injuries and no environmental impact to the river, AOGA touts the project as a highlight of integrating advanced technology, safety, and minimal ecological disturbance. Real-time water monitoring confirmed the protection of a vital subsistence resource for the community of Nuiqsut. The project sets a new benchmark for environmental accountability and is a testament to the potential for innovation, even in one of the world’s most challenging operating environments.
A second honor for ConocoPhillips Alaska goes to an employee who has made an immediate and definitive impact on the oil and gas industry before reaching the age of 35. Sydney Long, a senior analytics engineer, has swiftly advanced through key roles in engineering and analytics at ConocoPhillips Alaska. Her work includes contributing to the longest well in North America, the 35,526-foot Fiord West well in the Kuparuk reservoir, and developing industry-leading technical guidance that has helped shape company practices.
Long is recognized as a mentor within ConocoPhillips and actively works to share industry knowledge with professionals in every area of the company. In addition to her work on the clock, Long shares her passion for Alaska’s energy future by volunteering for Alaska Resource Education, sparking student interest in careers across Alaska’s resource industries.
Current Issue
August 2025
The Contractor of the Year Award for Safety Performance recognizes an oil and gas support company that demonstrated exemplary commitment to safety. Denali Universal Services (DUS), a broad-spectrum camp support and security provider, clinched the win this year.
DUS has been a cornerstone contractor for ConocoPhillips Alaska for more than thirty years, known for embedding a proactive and comprehensive safety culture throughout its operations. From achieving twenty years of incident-free operations to receiving multiple ConocoPhillips safety honors, DUS consistently demonstrates safety leadership, according to AOGA. A sustained commitment to safety as a personal value across all levels, even beyond the workplace, positioned DUS as a model for what a safety-first culture can achieve across Alaska’s oil and gas industry.
The Marilyn Crockett Lifetime Achievement Award this year goes to Mark Ireland, currently senior vice president of subsurface and exploration at Santos in Anchorage. Ireland’s forty-year career includes leadership in nearly every major oil field west of the Kuparuk River and international technical leadership roles. A mentor, innovator, and respected voice in the industry, Ireland is credited with shaping the future of Alaska’s oil sector, including the development of the Pikka Unit. He is set to retire in November, leaving behind a legacy of technical excellence and quiet, principled leadership. AOGA says Ireland’s work has not only advanced production in Alaska but has built a culture of mentorship and integrity that continues to influence young professionals across the industry.
The Lifetime Achievement Award is named in honor of the former AOGA executive director Marilyn Crockett, who dedicated her forty-one-year career to, as she stated, “growing Alaska’s economy through a vibrant oil and gas sector in the state.” The award honors the dedication Crockett displayed during her career: exceptional devotion of time, effort, thought, and action consistently shown in his/her work for the betterment of the oil and gas industry in Alaska.
A committee of industry experts, both active and retired, reviewed the 2025 AOGA Industry Award submissions. The awards will be presented at the 2025 AOGA conference, scheduled for August 27 and 28 at the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center in Anchorage.
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