Donkel vows to take dispute to high court

Alan Bailey

Just as it appeared that the 10-year legal dispute between Monte Allen and others and the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and ConocoPhillips had finally come to an end, the long-standing saga has taken another twist. The case relates to two state oil and gas leases on the northern margin of the North Cook Inlet unit, in the waters of Cook Inlet west of the northern Kenai Peninsula.

Allen and others claim that they are entitled to a portion of the royalties from the ConocoPhillips North Cook Inlet gas field because the field extends into the disputed leases, a claim strongly disputed by both AOGCC and ConocoPhillips.

In July the Alaska Supreme Court dismissed the Allen case, saying that the preponderance of technical evidence supports AOGCC and ConocoPhillips and that, under state statutes, the petitioners are not entitled to a new trial of the case (see “AOGCC, ConocoPhillips win in court” in the July 30 edition of Petroleum News).

But Dan Donkel, president of one of the companies challenging AOGCC and ConocoPhillips, is filing a petition for a rehearing by the Alaska Supreme Court. And if the Alaska court dismisses the case again, Donkel says that he will take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“I’m a small guy so I have to stand and fight,” said Donkel, who is not shy about turning to the courts to settle disputes. The Alaska Supreme Court said that a statute giving the Superior Court discretion over when to grant a new trial challenging an administrative action repealed earlier conflicting legislation granting the right to a new trial in an appeal to an AOGCC order. Donkel says that he has established that the Legislature did not intend to repeal the earlier statute, that the Superior Court procedures do not trump the AOGCC statutes and that the Supreme Court does not have the authority to, in effect, repeal state statutes.