Crowley plans new fuel terminal, storage at Mat-Su’s Port MacKenzie

Crowley Fuels has secured a permit for a new fuel terminal and bulk storage facility at Port MacKenzie, the Upper Cook Inlet port operated by the Matanuska-Susitna Borough on Knik Arm. The company has been in discussions with the borough on the project since last summer but signed the permit agreement Jan. 5, Dave Griffin, the port director, told the Mat-Su borough assembly at its Jan. 6 meeting.

The permit allows Crowley to finalize its planning to determine the acreage it needs and the optimal site for facilities. The project is likely to require 20 to 30 acres, and possibly 40 acres, Griffin said, and could see a final investment decision in fall, 2026, with construction and the start of fuel deliveries by tanker in 2027. Crowley is a major fuel distributor in Alaska.

This would be a major new source of revenue for the port, which now supports barge operations and periodic deliveries of bulk cargo by large vessels. Crowley could be delivering 200 million gallons of fuel per year to the new facility. At a one-cent-per-gallon “wharfage” fee this would mean about $2 million a year in revenues to the port, which is owned by the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. Fees for leasing land, owned by the borough, would be in addition to this, Griffin said.

Crowley’s move will likely encourage other companies to establish fuel facilities at the port. Central Alaska Energy, an affiliate of Vitus Energy, has pending plans for a fuel terminal and distribution at Port MacKenzie, and the company may now move forward with its plan.

In other port developments, Griffin said that Terra Energy, an affiliate of Flatland Energy, has also signed a permit to explore the leasing of port land for energy facilities related to potential coal development in the western Mat-Su region where Flatlands is exploring on state leases. Facilities using large amounts of power that could be generated in a Terra Energy coal power plant, like a data center, could be located at the port, although this project should still be considered speculative.

Another source of new business for the port will be to support contractors working on the large multi-year reconstruction at the Port of Anchorage, which is two miles from Port MacKenzie across Knik Arm. Contractors there will need space to store equipment and materials and are now making inquiries about the use of Port MacKenzie, where there is ample land available.

Meanwhile, Port Mackenzie’s barge business continues to grow, Griffin told the assembly. In the last three years nine new barge companies have starting using the port to support operations. Two companies, Cruz Construction and Western Construction, are long-time customers who are active in serving western Alaska communities.

The port continues to add to its capabilities and has been successful in landing federal infrastructure grants totaling $20 million in the last four years, Griffin said. The most recent grant is one to improve security at the port and, prior to that, a grant to build a roll-out ramp for seasonal maintenance work by barge operators. Griffin said the port hopes to solicit bids and sign contracts for building the ramp in 2026 and with construction underway in 2027 following the completion of federal environmental reviews, the borough assembly was told.

In other presentations to the assembly, Mat-Su public works director Tom Adams gave a presentation on the borough’s infrastructure development focusing on road projects and right-of-way acquisition, and Mat-Su community development director Jillian Morrissey gave an update on activities at the eight community libraries operated by the borough in small communities including Sutton, Talkeetna, Trapper Creek, and Big Lake.

Besides supporting the reading public the libraries serve as places for community meetings and support special programs for children and senior citizens. Last year there were 100,000 visits by the public, for various reasons, to the borough’s libraries, Morrissey said.

In routine actions, the assembly approved a bid of $217,182 to Samson Electric Inc. to construct elevator upgrades at Palmer Junior Middle School; a bid of $208,844 to also do work on the Palmer Junior Middle School elevator upgrades, and a contract amendment to add $147,453 for added design services for Nvision Architecture Birchtree Charter School and an additional $150,000 contingency for unforeseen additional changes needed.