Legislature(2025 - 2026)BUTROVICH 205
01/31/2025 03:30 PM Senate RESOURCES
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| Audio | Topic |
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| Start | |
| Presentation(s): Department of Natural Resources Leasing Issues Update | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE RESOURCES STANDING COMMITTEE
January 31, 2025
3:30 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Cathy Giessel, Chair
Senator Bill Wielechowski, Vice Chair
Senator Matt Claman
Senator Forrest Dunbar
Senator Scott Kawasaki
Senator Shelley Hughes
Senator Robert Myers
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION(S): LEASING ISSUES ON THE NORTH SLOPE BY DEPARTMENT
OF NATURAL RESOURCES (DNR) AND DEPARTMENT OF LAW (DOL)
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
JOHN CROWTHER, Deputy Commissioner
Division of Oil and Gas
Department of Natural Resources
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-presented the Department of Natural
Resources (DNR) and Department of Law (DOL) report Leasing
Issues on the North Slope.
MARY GRAMLING, Chief Assistant Attorney General
Oil and Gas Section
Department of Law
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-presented the Department of Natural
Resources (DNR) and Department of Law (DOL) report Leasing
Issues on the North Slope.
ACTION NARRATIVE
3:30:53 PM
CHAIR GIESSEL called the Senate Resources Standing Committee
meeting to order at 3:30 p.m. Present at the call to order were
Senators Dunbar, Kawasaki, Myers, Hughes, Claman, and Chair
Giessel. Senator Wielechowski arrived thereafter.
^PRESENTATION(S): DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES LEASING ISSUES
UPDATE
PRESENTATION(S): DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES LEASING ISSUES
UPDATE
3:31:25 PM
CHAIR GIESSEL announced the presentation, Leasing Issues on the
North Slope by Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and
Department of Law (DOL). She explained that she invited
Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Department of Law
(DOL) to present to the committee the state's defense regarding
permission to use roads on the North Slope to access oil and gas
resources. She explained the history of the disputed road use
permissions:
• A small company built a road and a pad to access the
Mustang lease.
• ConocoPhillips established the Willow lease, a significant
oil find in the National Petroleum Reserve of Alaska
(NPRA), located in the Kuparuk River unit.
• The Pikka unit, initially developed by Oil Search Alaska
(OSA) (now Santos), is speculated to be as large as Prudhoe
Bay and requires access through the Mustang road and part
of the road to ConocoPhillips' Kuparuk River unit.
• Controversy arose over Santos' use of the ConocoPhillips-
built road, leading to a decision by the Commissioner of
the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in December 2022,
granting Santos a miscellaneous land use permit.
• ConocoPhillips appealed the decision, leading to a court
ruling in November 2024 that reversed the DNR's decision,
granting ConocoPhillips full rights to the road and the
ability to charge for its use.
CHAIR GIESSEL said the resources committee would not seek to
interfere with the court decisions, but that it was important
for the committee to know the state's stance on this state
property rights issue.
3:38:07 PM
SENATOR MYERS noted for the record that, though there was no
technical conflict of interest because there was not a bill
being discussed, his livelihood depended on and was directly
related to the roads and the companies involved in the lawsuits
that were the subject of the presentation.
3:39:05 PM
JOHN CROWTHER, Deputy Commissioner, Division of Oil and Gas,
Department of Natural Resources, Anchorage, Alaska, began the
presentation, Leasing Issues on the North Slope by Department of
Natural Resources (DNR) and Department of Law (DOL). He said
that there would be limitations on what could be shared with the
committee because the matter was pending appeal in the Supreme
Court.
3:39:47 PM
CHAIR GIESSEL said the two companies [involved in the road use
proceedings] were negotiating over the use of the road(s) and
any fees that might be appropriated. She explained that those
negotiations were separate from the lawsuit which addressed a
more fundamental issue of the shared use of facilities on the
slope. She emphasized that sharing the use of existing
facilities on the North Slope would significantly reduce the
cost of [oil and gas] production.
3:40:26 PM
SENATOR MYERS commented that environmental impact would also be
reduced by the shared use of facilities.
CHAIR GIESSEL concurred.
3:40:38 PM
MR. CROWTHER moved to title slide 1:
[Original punctuation provided.]
Leasing Issues
Senate Resources Committee
Presented by:
John Crowther, Deputy Commissioner, Department of
Natural Resources
Mary Gramling, Chief Assistant Attorney General,
Alaska Department of Law January 31, 2025
MR. CROWTHER said the presentation would focus on the state's
defenses, and the history of administrative and judicial
activities. He emphasizes the need to protect the state's
litigation positions and interests during negotiations and
highlighted the importance of avoiding actions that could
exacerbate disputes or create on-ground issues. He stressed the
critical near-term state interest in ensuring the winter
construction season could proceed without delays and expressed
appreciation for the workers on the ground and their
professionalism and cooperation during the ongoing dispute. He
emphasized DNR's and Department of Law's commitment to being
constructive with all parties involved in the dispute.
3:43:03 PM
MR. CROWTHER outlined the presentation plan.
• Review two visual slides [maps] to orient the committee
about where the roads in dispute are located on the north
slope.
• Review the history of administrative decisions and court
actions as well as the expected process for the supreme
court appeal.
• Present statements of state's interest and efforts to
protect them.
• Answer questions from the committee.
3:43:44 PM
MR. CROWTHER moved to slide 2 titled "Appendix D from MLUPNS 22-
001" and said the map was included in the permit application for
access corridors filed by Santos Alaska. He pointed out the
Kuparuk River Unit (KRU), owned and operated by ConocoPhillips
and said it had significant production volumes and was very
important to the state. He also noted the Pikka Unit and
Colville River Unit (CRU) and said Santos was immediately
working on the Pikka Unit, also shown on the map.
MR. CROWTHER said the colored lines on the map indicated the
existing road network, the access corridors that were the
subject of the permit application [to which the map applied].
3:45:15 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR said the map was difficult to read and asked
which of the roads on the map were in dispute.
3:45:28 PM
MR. CROWTHER said there were a couple of reasons that the
[existing] roads would need to be used. He said there was very
limited road infrastructure on the north slope for a variety of
reasons:
• minimize environmental impact
• high cost and challenge of developing roads
• history of road development
MR. CROWTHER detailed the routes necessary to reach the Pikka
Unit as well as to transmit equipment, supplies and commodities
and said it was DNR and DOL's understanding that these needs
were the reason the Santos permit included all the road networks
in the permit application.
3:47:38 PM
SENATOR MYERS referred to the 2023 budget, in which the Alaska
Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) received the
Mustang Road as part of a bankruptcy settlement with one of the
previous developers at the Mustang pad. He said the road was
given to the state as part of the developer's yearly dividend
back to the state. He asked whether the state still owned the
Mustang road.
3:48:11 PM
MR. CROWTHER explained that the appropriations provisions were
outside the direct authority of the Department of Natural
Resources (DNR) but said the legislature included general
language regarding AIDEA's annual dividend payment to the state
and the appropriations did not alter any substantive law and did
not direct AIDEA to make a transfer of the road. He said AIDEA
sold the full suite of Mustang LLC assets to a third-party
operator, which is now in production and using the road and
facilities, benefiting the state. He said there were disputes
related to the easement that were resolved through mutual assent
between the parties. He said there were no active disputes or
issues with the respective easements at present.
3:49:52 PM
SENATOR KAWASAKI asked whether the different colors of the roads
on the map indicated different owners or operators.
3:50:05 PM
MR. CROWTHER said the document was prepared by Santos and he
could not provide the reason for the different colors. He noted
that the colors divided the access corridors into segments that
have natural purposes or destinations. He pointed out the blue
and red segments and said those road portions went to mine
sites. He suggested that a company might have a license or
authorization to receive materials from those sites and the ap
may have been indicating the use or purpose of that segment, but
he said he was not sure.
3:50:50 PM
MR. CROWTHER moved to slide 3 titled, North Slope Leases and
referring to the map on the slide, provided an overview of the
North Slope, including the Federal coastal plain (1002 area) in
the east and the National Petroleum Reserve in the west. He
highlighted currently leased lands, with different colors
indicating different lease owners at different stages of
development and production.
3:53:00 PM
SENATOR KAWASAKI expressed appreciation for the colorful
illustration of the leases. He noted the Daniel Donkel and
Andrew Bachner areas and asked whether those leases were
currently being held or producing.
3:53:38 PM
MR. CROWTHER drew attention to the colored leases that were
outlined with navy blue. He said those were leases that had been
unitized and were under active joint production and management.
He then pointed out areas that were not outlined and said those
areas were relatively new, had not yet seen [production]
activity and were called exploration units.
He said the areas [Daniel Donkel and Andrew Bachner] outside of
the Pt. Thompson Unit had not yet been unitized, but that the
state was reviewing the unit application and working through
administrative and legal disputes related to those leaseholds.
3:55:01 PM
SENATOR KAWASAKI noted the movement to unleash America's and
Alaska's energy resources. Considering these current leases and
the duty to develop with oversight by DNR, he asked whether the
leaseholders were actively moving toward production or holding
leases for various reasons.
3:55:57 PM
MR. CROWTHER answered that there had been significant activity
on the North Slope. He said leaseholders were forming new
exploration units and that these often involve well commitments
for further exploration. He said there was a spectrum of
activity on all the leases, from initial exploration to
unitizing to continued reinvestment for more development on
long-standing leases.
3:57:04 PM
MR. CROWTHER moved to slide 4 and introduced Mary Gramling:
[Original content provided.]
Timelines
• March 28, 2022
Department of Natural Resources issues
Miscellaneous Land Use Permit North Slope 22-001
to Santos/Oil Search Alaska (OSA) Alaska
• Dec. 1, 2022
Commissioner's decision denying ConocoPhillips'
appeal
• Dec. 30, 2022
ConocoPhillips files administrative appeal in
superior court (3AN-22-09828CI)
• Dec. 17-18, 2024
Superior court order, stay of vacatur of permit
until Jan. 16, 2025
• Dec. 23, 2024
State appeals and files for stay (S19332)
• Jan. 14, 2025
Supreme Court denies stay without prejudice
• Current Status
Awaiting transcript and record from superior
court to set briefing schedule
3:57:15 PM
MARY GRAMLING, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Oil and Gas
Section, Department of Law, Juneau, Alaska, reviewed the
timeline for litigation over leasing issues. She noted that the
current litigation was still in active litigation and very early
in the case. She said her comments would focus on information
and background.
3:58:44 PM
MS. GRAMLING expanded on the timeline outlined on slide 4. She
explained that the litigation is over the permit for Oil Search
Alaska (OSA) to access land in the Kuparuk River Unit. Conoco
Phillips opposed the permit, which was initially approved and
then appealed. The state and Oil Search Alaska (OSA) are
defending the permit, with the state appealing an adverse
Superior Court decision. The Alaska Supreme Court denied the
stay motions without prejudice, allowing for reconsideration if
access is physically blocked. The case is awaiting the Superior
Court record, expected by February 3, after which briefing
orders will be issued, typically 30 days later.
4:02:57 PM
SENATOR CLAMAN asked whether the attorney general was
representing the case in-house or retaining outside counsel.
4:03:05 PM
MS. GRAMLING said representation was in-house. She said she was
one of the lead attorneys at the superior court level and at the
appeals level she would be assisting Ms. Laura Fox from
Department of Law's appellate division.
4:03:21 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR asked for clarification regarding ownership of
the land and what legal instrument was used to allow Mustang or
Conoco to build and use the roads, under what conditions.
4:04:15 PM
MS. GRAMLING answered that the roads were built over time and
there is a mismatch of authorization. She said the specific road
segment, indicated in purple on the map [slide 2], was initially
built outside the [Kuparuk River Unit] and holds a non-exclusive
1982 permit, allowing for other uses during construction. The
state's stance is that Conoco's leases within the unit only
grant exclusive rights for oil and gas extraction, not for other
purposes, reflecting the varying governing documents and plans
of operations across different areas.
4:05:34 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR asserted that it is not in question that the
state owns the land. He expressed hope that the current
litigation will be resolved in a manner that allows the Pikka
project to move forward in a timely manner. He asked if there
are efforts underway to craft language that will allow companies
to build roads on state lands and specify that, in the future,
the company may be required to share the road. He sought to
discover a means to avoid future misunderstandings.
4:06:42 PM
MR. CROWTHER affirmed the importance of the question and said
the state maintains its stance that the current reservations in
leases are sufficient for past actions. He acknowledged the need
for clarity in future unit agreements and authorizations
regarding the scope of reservations, particularly as they apply
to specific issues like road access. He said the state was
looking to provide more precise definitions in future documents
to avoid ambiguity, while the current discussions are based on
the existing language and documents.
4:07:33 PM
SENATOR KAWASAKI asked if there was a chance that, under
agreements currently in place, some of the existing roads would
be accessible and others not.
4:07:57 PM
MR. CROWTHER said the state believes the reservations in leases
apply to all roads, regardless of the lease period. He
acknowledged that additional authorizations might provide more
clarity for certain roads regarding the department's authority
to allow multiple uses. However, he cautioned that the matter
was under appeal and chose not to comment further.
4:08:46 PM
SENATOR MYERS noted that Oliktok Point was on the [purple road
depicted on slide 2] and asked whether it was known what the
agreement between Conoco and [Italian oil company] Eni was for
the use of the road.
4:09:04 PM
MR. CROWTHER said he did not believe the terms of commercial
agreements between those parties was public, but that a private
agreement allowing that operator to have access to that road
network did exist.
4:09:55 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR said it was his understanding the ConocoPhillips
position was not to deny access, but to receive compensation for
access. He asked whether it was known how far apart Santos and
ConocoPhillips were in determining fair compensation for use of
the disputed roads. He asked whether DNR knew the specific
dollar amounts of the negotiations.
4:10:39 PM
MR. CROWTHER said the record does involve discussion of past
negotiations between the companies but chose not to comment
specifically. He noted that the negotiations were private and
there were likely elements that the state was unaware of. He
said the record showed there had been ability to manage access
and agreement that the operational costs associated with access
need to be shared. He said there was dispute over what might be
called a capital access fee, the value associated with having
access to the roads.
4:11:38 PM
SENATOR DUNBAR acknowledged that DNR could not share exact
dollar amounts or the current position of the entities in
litigation, however, he asked whether the amount was more likely
to be hundreds of thousands of dollars, millions of dollars, or
tens of millions.
4:11:55 PM
MR. CROWTHER said there were specific numbers in the public
record, and he was cautious about quoting them to avoid
misstatements. He expressed the state's opposition to an
unrestrained right to exclude, which he asserted would grant
unlimited authority to set access terms, including commercial
ones, contradicting the state's reservations and lease
agreements. He suggested that these terms were not aligned with
the state's interests.
4:12:38 PM
SENATOR HUGHES asked whether ConocoPhillips was maintaining the
road and bearing the costs to maintain it.
4:12:49 PM
MR. CROWTHER affirmed that ConocoPhillips was maintaining the
road and he acknowledged the significant cost.
4:12:58 PM
SENATOR HUGHES asked whether there had been similar disputes on
the North Slope or if the current dispute was precedent-setting.
4:13:10 PM
MR. CROWTHER said the North Slope experienced stepped-out
development, beginning with Prudhoe Bay followed by the Kuparuk
River Unit and then the other fields accessible by a year-round
permanent road. He said the state was not aware of insoluble
disputes between parties to access the road network to date on
those fields. For the other fields, the agreements for access
were relatively perfunctory and some involved broader commercial
agreements for other facilities, services and commercial
cooperation. He said DNR was not aware of a commercial dispute
about road access that included significant commercial terms for
access fees, or that had not been able to reach a private
agreement.
4:13:37 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI joined the meeting.
4:14:21 PM
SENATOR HUGHES suggested that there had been past arrangements
that included fees for the use of roads that were built by one
company on state land and paid by another. She asked whether
that was true.
4:14:38 PM
MR. CROWTHER said he was not aware of an agreement solely [for
the use of the road]. He said he was aware of fees paid from one
company to another for a suite of services that included road
access, but not exclusively for road access. He said the Prudhoe
Bay roads have involved liability and registration and use
scheduling terms but have not included significant commercial
terms.
4:15:12 PM
SENATOR CLAMAN appreciated the challenge of testifying to a
committee on a matter in litigation and noted that it probably
wouldn't require litigation if there weren't significant dollar
amounts involved. He suggested that the Supreme Court's decision
on the matter could influence future investments on the North
Slope, indicating the broader impact on corporate expenses and
strategic decisions on the North Slope.
4:16:23 PM
MR. CROWTHER affirmed the characterization of the current
litigation. He took the opportunity to discuss DNR's perspective
on assessing and protecting the state's interests, including
protecting state rights, maximizing development, and ensuring
investment. He highlighted the importance of slope-wide access
and the impact of access terms on resource value and
development. He discussed the environmental footprint, focusing
on reducing duplicative road networks and surface development.
He said the attractiveness of exploration activity was crucial
for high lease bonus bids, which impact state revenue. He
emphasized that commercial feasibility and the predictability of
access terms are important for investor confidence and project
economics. He noted the importance of fair, transparent, and
consistent terms in commercial agreements and the state's role
to ensure long-time operators and new leaseholders can access
resources with confidence. He reiterated DNR's preference that
disputes be resolved through private commercial agreements.
4:21:01 PM
SENATOR CLAMAN noted that the state's interest would likely be
to have the least number of roads with the least amount of
environmental activity and the most possible access to resources
possible. He observed that the perspective of a company holding
a lease who incurs the expense of building a road to access
resources would be disadvantaged if subsequent leaseholders are
able to use the road the first company built. He noted the
difficulty of the state's position to ensure fairness among the
leaseholders and the burden of creating access while minimizing
the number of roads.
4:22:28 PM
MR. CROWTHER concurred that DNR had a complex, important and
sensitive role to consider all these factors. He noted that the
companies involved were making investments based on expectations
about the returns for their activity. He said it was important
that the state maintain a reputation for having predictable,
enforceable and foreseeable terms. He said the state viewed its
administrative decisions to date as fully consistent with the
reality that ConocoPhillips maintains the primary and exclusive
purpose of recovering oil and gas on the Kuparuk River Unit with
their road network. He said other uses of the roads could lead
to unreasonable interference [of ConocoPhillips' production],
and it would be appropriate, whether through a permit or
commercial agreement, to avoid that interference. He also said
the state needed to do everything possible to have a balanced
environment that promotes activity and return on investment for
all operators, whether they're a new entrant or a current
operator.
4:23:55 PM
CHAIR GIESSEL expressed her concern about the possibility that
these disputes could set precedent and erode Department of
Natural Resources (DNR)'s authority and oversight of the state's
resources. She referred to a superior court finding in November
2024 that said, "DNR has no legal basis or authority to grant a
third party the right to use ConocoPhillips' leasehold
improvements by permit or other means, even though they are
built on state land. Granting Oil Search Alaska (OSA) the right
to use ConocoPhillips leasehold improvements also constitutes an
impermissible taking under the US and Alaska constitutions." She
characterized the court finding as dramatic in terms of the
authority of DNR and what the leases actually grant to the
companies. She said the finding was the reason for this hearing.
4:25:08 PM
SENATOR KAWASAKI shared his concern that even lower amounts
[fees companies would be required to pay for road or other
facilities] could be impactful for providing fair access to
commercial interests. He asked how to ensure fairness for newer
entrants to the market. He further asked whether, in the future,
the state would still consider fair access to facilities [for
producers] to be the main goal.
4:27:13 PM
MR. CROWTHER emphasized DNRs constitutional obligation to
maximize their authorities for the development of the state's
resources. He said that applied to all producers and noted the
significance of new entrants such as the Santos and Repsol
partnership in bringing new volumes online. He said the economic
activity and throughput generated by these projects are directly
beneficial to the state.
4:28:29 PM
MR. CROWTHER acknowledged the concern about broader facility
access and noted that the dispute at hand was about surface
roads, and the analysis and arguments presented today were
centered on this specific issue. He addressed the unique nature
of surface roads compared with other facilities. He expressed
confidence that the statutes governing access to pipelines, AS
38.35, and the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA) oversight
were comprehensive and a source of comfort.
4:30:02 PM
SENATOR MYERS noted that ConocoPhillips testified in court that
their costs to maintain the road were $10-20 million per year.
He said they also mentioned property taxes on the road, but did
not provide a dollar amount. He asked whether DNR could provide
that figure.
4:30:36 PM
MR. CROWTHER said he was not qualified to comment on property
tax status of the facilities. He said DNR viewed the authorities
in dispute and under litigation as stemming from the leases
issued from DNR and not related to property taxes. He suggested
that Department of Revenue (DOR) could answer that question.
4:31:39 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked whether the state intended to pursue
a Supreme Court decision if the commercial parties independently
resolved their dispute.
4:32:00 PM
MR. CROWTHER said the permit specifies that if a commercial
agreement is met between the parties, the permit terminates. He
noted that the attorney general is not controlled or contained
from pursuing litigation he deems appropriate.
4:32:36 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI encouraged pursuit of the case to provide
certainty going forward.
4:32:58 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked whether future lease terms had been
modified to prevent similar disputes in the future and he asked
whether the legislature should seek to pass legislation to
prevent that end.
4:33:17 PM
MR. CROWTHER said Department of Natural Resources (DNR) was
seeking to clarify language in leases or in unit agreements to
limit ambiguity in the future. He noted that DNR maintained
there was not ambiguity in the relations and the permit issued
and in place was sufficient. He said DNR believed they did have
the authority to address this issue in the future and is not
necessary for a new or discreet authority of the department o
exercise the reservations or clarify them.
4:34:14 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI noted that there was a court decision
saying otherwise and that it would be prudent to be proactive
and pass some legislation. He asked whether DNR would work with
legislators to craft some language and possibly make it retro-
active.
4:34:29 PM
MR. CROWTHER noted the leases at issue were long-standing leases
and the unit agreements had been in place a long time. He said
the scope and process of retroactive action might include
significant legal constraints. He said, moving forward, even if
the judge's opinion stands, DNR believed they had broad
authority to issues leases with clear language that includes
this reservation. He said the interpretation questions that
appeared to be the foundation of the judge's decision originated
from lease language that DNR has the authority to expand with
existing statutory authority.
4:35:30 PM
SENATOR MYERS asked whether the decision as written gave
ConocoPhillips the authority to deny use of the roads for
traffic headed to Pikka.
4:35:56 PM
MR. CROWTHER said the decision says the state does not currently
have the ability to authorize access to those roads and thus,
its is theoretically possible the roads could be entirely
blocked.
4:36:21 PM
MS. GRAMLING added that the superior court decision vacated the
permit that allowed that access and vacated the commissioner's
decision denying the appeal, and so, in that context, any other
agreements the parties may have are independent of that.
4:36:48 PM
SENATOR MYERS confirmed that ConocoPhillips can deny use of the
roads to access Pikka. He asked whether Santos could get permits
to build another road.
4:37:27 PM
MR. CROWTHER said DNR could authorize surface use and could
issue permits for other roads. He said the most significant
thing would be the operational expense and time associated with
[building a new road]. He reiterated that it was a critical core
state interest that this construction season is not delayed in
any way. He said there were commitments by all involved parties
that there would be no action leading to delays.
4:38:13 PM
SENATOR CLAMAN asked, if ConocoPhillips and Santos were to reach
agreement and render the pending lawsuit moot, would the state
asking the court to proceed be considered an exception to the
mootness doctrine.
4:39:06 PM
MS. GRAMLING said it was premature to comment. She noted the
outstanding attorneys' fees issue and the various mootness
factors. She said that it would be for the attorney general to
decide.
4:39:28 PM
SENATOR CLAMAN noted that when pipelines are at issue, the
original builder would be compensated for other users to have
access as regulated by the Regulatory Commission of Alaska
(RCA). He asked whether a similar mechanism could be developed
for the use of roads on the North Slope.
4:40:47 PM
MR. CROWTHER said DNR does not have direct authority for surface
use as it does for pipeline. He said DNR views its leasing
authorities as being for the exclusive and comprehensive
recovery of oil and gas. The capital recovery for surface rights
that are ancillary to that is done through the full development
and production of oil and gas and the [financial] return from
that.
4:42:15 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked whether ConocoPhillips was asking the
state to pay their attorneys' fees.
4:42:24 PM
MS. GRAMLING said that, at the superior court, ConocoPhillips
did move for the attorney's fees under the appellate rules,
which is twenty percent. She said they asked the state to pay
approximately $169,000. The state, due to its appeal before the
Alaska supreme court, has requested that the attorney's briefing
be stayed.
4:43:00 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked how much the state might be at risk
to pay for attorneys' fees if the case goes to the supreme
court.
4:43:16 PM
MS. GRAMLING said the Alaska supreme court typically does not
have attorneys' fees for this sort of case. She said the Alaska
supreme court sometimes allowed limited costs under the
appellate rules, but the main [attorneys'] fees would be from
the superior court litigation if [ConocoPhillips] prevails.
4:44:28 PM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Giessel adjourned the Senate Resources Standing Committee
meeting at 4:44 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| 01.31.2025 SRES DNR-Law Leasing Issues Update.pdf |
SRES 1/31/2025 3:30:00 PM |