The Cook Inlet will soon be home to a mobile offshore drilling rig that received its name -- Endeavour, The Spirit of Independence -- from two Kenai residents.
Ed Marker and Erik Lindow of Kenai were both chosen as winners of Buccaneer Energy's "Name the Rig" contest. The two submissions were selected as the combined winning name from over 300 entries. The rig is set to arrive in the Cook Inlet in April or May of next year.
"We received so many excellent submissions that we simply couldn't choose just one, but decided to select two that we felt captured the essence of what bringing a jack-up rig to the Cook Inlet is all about -- energy and economic independence for Alaska," Curtis Burton, CEO of Buccaneer Energy, said in a press release.
The contest was the first of its kind held by Buccaneer, and due to the magnitude of the rig and its economic implications to the state of Alaska the company felt it was important to involve the local communities, according to a company spokesperson.
There was a large grouping of people that went through the 300 entries. Originally, they were looking for a single name, but after weighing numerous potential responses it was decided that two would be chosen and combined.
Responses for the contest came primarily from Alaska, but additional entries were received from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the U.K.
"Spirit of Independence" was submitted by Lindow, and "Endeavor" was submitted by Marker. Endeavor was a popular name submitted several times, but Marker was the first to submit it.
Marker read about the contest and heard about it from a report on KTVA CBS news. He is the sole employee of IHS, Inc. on the Peninsula, a global information company with ties to energy that employs 5,100 people worldwide.
"I thought I had a really good name that I proposed, but I still was surprised that I was a co-winner," he said.
It was felt that the two chosen names encapsulated the spirit of Alaska, according to the spokesperson. In addition, the name has ties to Alaska and Australia, where the company is publicly traded.
In 1770, Lt. James Cook commanded the British Royal Navy ship, HMS Endeavour, when he was the first to land on the east coast of Australia. In 1778, the then Capt. Cook commanded the HMS Resolution to explore Cook Inlet.
"Like Buccaneer Energy, a company that is both Australian and American, the rig name ties together Australian and American history and the spirit of exploration and independence," Burton said in a press release.
Buccaneer was founded in 2006, and is based in Sydney, Australia. It operates in the U.S. through its subsidiary Buccaneer Resources LLC, a limited liability company with offices in Houston, Texas.
It has a total of 32 onshore and offshore leases with the state, totaling 82,565 acres of land.
The company's Alaska projects include Kenai Loop, a 9,000 acre, high impact, onshore gas project in Eastern Cook Inlet; West Eagle, a low-cost, high impact gas project in the same region that includes two wells; and the Southern Cross Unit, a high impact, offshore oil and gas project in Central Cook Inlet.
Endeavor is capable of drilling 20,000 feet in depths of 18 to 300 feet, able to lift itself 60 feet and is composed of high-grade steel rated for temperatures as low as minus-10 degrees Fahrenheit.
Many submissions for the contest came with explanations of how the names would relate and be significant.
Notable Alaska runners-up included Cheechako, which means "newcomer to Alaska," submitted by Wade Thomas of Anchorage, and Spirit of Alaska, submitted by Bob St. John of Nikiski.
