A statement from the governor’s office late this afternoon said he has accepted Palin’s resignation from the position she has held since Feb. 19, 2003. Palin held the public seat on the three-member commission, and was its chair.

“It is with regret that I accept Sarah’s resignation,” Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski said in a statement. “She has done a fine job and made a good contribution to the operations of the AOGCC.”

Palin told Petroleum News “it is time for me to move on.” She said “a contributing factor,” although not the sole reason, “to my deliberations as to when it was time to move on was the controversy surrounding the former commissioner,” referring to Randy Ruedrich, who resigned in November from the petroleum engineer seat amidst controversy over his role as chair of the Republican Party in Alaska and has yet to be replaced.

Palin said she had no immediate plans, but said she has “a huge passion to serve Alaska and Alaskans,” especially in a resource development capacity.

She said that Dan Seamount, the remaining commissioner, “has been doing double duty … and will have to do that for some time.”