The Superior Court for the State of Alaska has ordered the Alaska Department of Natural Resources to release the well logs relating to the Alaska State G-2 well, North Staines River #1 well, Sourdough #1 well, Sourdough #3 well, and the Staines River State #3 well. The order was signed by Superior Court Judge Jack R. McKenna Nov. 9 in Anchorage.
The case, Donkel et. al. v. SOA Department of Natural Resources, is an administrative appeal challenging the DNR commissioner's decision to deny a June 2022 request by Daniel K. Donkel and Samuel H. Cade for the log data from the wells, which are all located on state land in the Point Thomson Unit.
The five wells border the federally owned ANWR, and because the ANWR lands were unleased, DNR subjected the well data to extended confidentiality between 1981 and 1998, to be released once the ANWR lands were disposed.
The court said Alaska law provides that if the data contains significant information relating to the valuation of unleased land within the vicinity of the well DNR may keep the well log data confidential for a reasonable time.
The law "provides that the reasonable time should not exceed 90 days after the disposal of all lease land within a three-mile radius of the well," the court said. "It clearly states that land is disposed when an oil and gas lease is either granted or issued."
In January 2021, the federal government leased 437,804 acres of ANWR land to nine leaseholders in competitive oil and gas lease sales. All the leases in the sale were sold to the highest bidders and the leases were finalized on June 20, 2021.
However, two weeks after the federal government auctioned and finalized the leases President Joe Biden issued Executive Order 13990 requiring the Secretary of the Interior to place a moratorium of all activities of the federal government relating to implementation of the ANWR oil and gas leasing program.
DNR argued that Donkel and Cade's claim is moot because there is again unleased land within a three-mile radius of the wells, and further argued that the DNR commissioner could consider the federal government's actions after the end of lease sales in determining that the PTU well logs remain subject to extended confidentiality.
The court disagreed with DNR's arguments because an appeal "must prevent a live controversy for which the court can provide specific relief. A claim is moot when the party bringing the action would not be entitled to any relief even if it prevails."
As to the question whether the DNR commissioner may determine that uncertainty regarding the validity of oil and gas leases to provides the commissioner with the legitimate reason to find that land has not been disposed, the court found that the statutes do not provide the commissioner with the ability to make that determination.
"The statutes are clear when oil and gas leases are issued on a piece of land, that land has been disposed and the corresponding data loses its confidentiality" because these lands were leased, they were also disposed within the meaning of the state law therefore the log data should have been made publicly available within 90 days," the court said.
"The DNR commissioner's decision to deny appellant's request for access to the PTU well logs had no reasonable basis in law," the court said. "There was an abuse of discretion, therefore the court orders to release the well log data."
--STEVE SUTHERLIN
See full story in Nov. 19 issue of Petroleum News, available Thursday, Nov. 16 at www.PetroleumNews.com
