Scott Ogan leaves Evergreen Resources, named chair of The Energy Council

Alaska state Sen. Scott Ogan, R-Palmer, resigned from his position as a consultant for Evergreen Resources at the end of September, saying in a statement that he had “an irreconcilable conflict,” and that his oath to serve his constituents “must always come first.”

“I regret ending my relationship with Evergreen because I love good resource development,” he said.

“I hope my stepping down will allow people to focus on the issue of shallow gas, rather than the perception of my conflict.”

Evergreen, a Colorado-based coalbed methane producer, has a large shallow-gas acreage position in the Matanuska-Susitna area north of Anchorage, and is testing wells to see if coalbed methane production is commercial in the area.

Ogan, a cabinetmaker by trade, was elected to the Alaska Senate in 2002 and is the chair of the Alaska Senate’s Resources Committee. He served in the Alaska House of Representatives from 1995 to 2000, where he was chair of the House Special Committee on Oil & Gas in 2001-2002.

He is also the newly elected chair of The Energy Council, an international organization of elected legislators from 10 states, three Canadian provinces and Venezuela. Ogan has represented Alaska at the Energy Council since 1997.

He prepared the council’s 2003-04 strategic plan, will host the Energy Council’s next annual meeting in Anchorage in September 2004 and will also preside over an energy forum held jointly with the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region in July 2004 in Victoria, British Columbia.