Commission asks for information for investigation, plans work meeting

Petroleum News Anchorage staff

The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has asked state agencies for information in an investigation it is beginning at the request of the board of trustees of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp.

In February the fund trustees asked the commission to conduct “an investigation of all maintenance and operational practices, including tariff and facility pricing that may have an impact (limiting) the amount of oil developed from state leases” and report to the fund board of trustees “the results of the investigation and any steps that the AOGCC is prepared to take to increase production from state leases.”

In March the commission told the fund trustees that it would conduct an investigation and said “authority to maximize ultimate recovery of oil and gas clearly places the general scope of the resolution with the commission.”

But, the commission said, some issues would be under the jurisdiction of the Department of Natural Resources, Department of Revenue, Regulatory Commission of Alaska, Department of Environmental Conservation and Department of Law.

The commission asked those agencies for information in March and in April it followed up, asking departments to list issues in such an investigation that would be under their jurisdiction.

The commission also asked the departments to designate a contact person and said it would like to hold an agency work meeting in mid-April.