Palin to chair oil commission

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has been named to chair the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission for 2007-08.

The commission said Palin is the only chairman in its history to have served as a past official representative to the organization. She was chairman of Alaska’s Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

Palin, the 11th governor of Alaska and the first woman, took office Dec. 4, 2006.

When making the announcement the IOGCC noted that Palin’s administration had worked to overhaul Alaska’s ethics laws and craft the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act to jumpstart work on a natural gas pipeline from the North Slope to outside markets.

Alaska has been a member of the IOGCC since 1957. Several Alaska governors have chaired the organization, including Steve Cowper, Tony Knowles and Frank Murkowski.

The IOGCC, established by the governors of charter member states in 1935, represents the governors of 30 member and seven associate states, promoting the conservation and efficient recovery of the nation’s oil and natural gas resources while protecting health, safety, and the environment.

Palin succeeds North Dakota Governor John Hoeven.

The IOGCC made the announcement at its annual meeting in New Orleans.

—Petroleum News