Furie owner John Hendrix is at it again looking for special treatment in the Legislature. This is the third bill in three years he’s managed to get introduced that he would reap a direct benefit from. 

Representative Zack Fields (D – Anchorage) recently introduced House Bill 271, a bill that would permanently reduce the royalty rate in the Kitchen Lights Unit (the gas leases in Cook Inlet where Furie operates) from 12.55 to 3%. 

In September 2024, Hendrix petitioned the commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for royalty relief in his Kitchen Lights Unit. Five months later, the DNR approved a 76% reduction in royalties for Hendrix’s Cook Inlet gas leases. The approval was back-dated to September 2024, resulting in a $2 million credit. This Landmine article, “HEX/Furie royalty relief approved by DNR includes $2 million credit for future royalty payments,” goes into more detail. From that article: 

The $2 million represents a period of just over five months from September 1, 2024 to February 2, 2025. That works out to approximately $400,000 a month in royalty payments. At the 76% reduction, Hendrix will not have to pay any royalties to the state for around 20 months, unless he produces more gas and the royalty payments increase.

Fields’ bill aims to make permanent the massive royalty reduction approved for Hendrix by the DNR. It’s important to note that the royalty modification process the DNR uses is complex and thorough, and is subject to review and possible changes. The process includes in-house and outside experts that understand the complexities of each royalty modification request. 

Fields told the Landmine that Hendrix is his constituent, and that he wants to help get more gas produced in Cook Inlet. Fields’ sponsor statement for the bill parrots one of Hendrix’s main talking points, that he’s the “only Alaska-owned and headquartered oil and gas production company.”

But Fields’ bill also demonstrates a troubling pattern of behavior from Hendrix – getting naive or gullible legislators to introduce legislation that directly benefits his business.

For years, Hendrix has tried to get a massive 90% property tax reduction for his assets in the Kitchen Lights Unit. The current property tax is approximately $1.6 million a year, split between the state and the Kenai Peninsula Borough.

The State Assessment Review Board (SARB) ruled twice against Hendrix, first in May 2021 and again in May 2022. Both times, they upheld the $81.7 million assessment. Both were unanimous decisions. In May 2024, an Anchorage Superior Court judge also ruled against Hendrix’s attempt to massively reduce his property taxes.

In February 2023, the Senate Resources Committee, via Senator Cathy Giessel (R – Anchorage), introduced a bill that would radically change how the state calculated oil and gas property taxes. When I tried to talk to her and warn her about the bill and Hendrix, she was dismissive. She also referred to it as the “Furie bill.” This Landmine article, “Senate bill aims to radically change how oil and gas property taxes are calculated,” explains how that bill would have directly benefitted Hendrix. 

Two days after the Landmine article came out, Giessel withdrew the bill. 

Hendrix has remained persistent. Public records obtained by the Landmine show on December 5, 2026 Hendrix and Furie executives met with Acting Revenue Commissioner, Attorney General-designee Stephen Cox, and Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche. The Department of Law told the Landmine they could not comment on matters of litigation. But I confirmed the meeting was made at the request of Hendrix and was about his long-sought-after massive property tax reduction. 

A year after Giessel’s bill died a quick death, Hendrix found another patsy to try and benefit his business. This time it was Senator Jesse Bjorkman (R – Nikiski).

In February 2024, Bjorkman introduced a bill that would have had the state forcibly acquire private overriding royalties in Cook Inlet. These are essentially other royalties paid to private parties that typically help develop an oil or gas field. Hendrix was aware of the overriding royalties when he bought Fuire out of bankruptcy in 2019. But he wants to get rid of them.

This Landmine article, “Hendrix Handout: Senate bill would have state forcibly acquire private overriding royalties in Cook Inlet,” explains how the bill would have allowed the state, through eminent domain, to forcibly acquire overriding royalties in Cook Inlet. The vast majority of gas in Cook Inlet is produced by Hilcorp. They never asked for this provision.

When I tried to talk to Bjorkman and warn him about the bill and Hendrix, he claimed the bill had nothing to do with Furie or Hendrix, and that he had not spoken to Hendrix about it. A week later, I obtained a letter from Furie written months before Bjorkman introduced the bill.

The letter proposed to do precisely what Bjorkman’s bill did. The letter was sent from Mark Slaughter, Furie’s chief commercial officer, to Taia Energy, owned by Houston based geologist/geophysical interpreter, Carl Marrullier – who owns a small overriding royalty in the Kitchen Lights Unit for work he did many years ago. 

This Landmine article, “December letter from Furie proposed nearly identical acquisition of overriding royalties as new bill from Sen. Bjorkman,” provides more detail. 

Unlike Giessel’s bill, which was withdrawn a week after she introduced it, Bjorkman’s bill died a slow death. It failed to ever get a single hearing. 

It appears Hendrix may have better luck getting a handout from the House majority than the Senate majority.

Fields’ HB 271 is scheduled for a hearing on February 4 at 1 pm in the House Resources Committee. And guess who is providing invited testimony? Mark Slaughter, Furie’s chief commercial officer who wrote the above referenced letter that proposed to do exactly what Bjorkman’s bill tried to do.