Royalty board meeting on gas contracts postponed

Petroleum News Alaska Staff

The Department of Natural Resources said April 10 that the Alaska Royalty Oil and Gas Development Advisory Board meeting scheduled for April 17 has been postponed to May 21.

The May 21 meeting — scheduled for 8:30 a.m. in room 240 of the Atwood Building in Anchorage — will be a public hearing to discuss whether the state’s proposed royalty gas sale to Anadarko Petroleum Corp., AEC Marketing Inc. and AEC Oil & Gas Inc., meets criteria established in Alaska statutes.

The April 29 deadline for public comments on the department’s preliminary best interest finding, released March 30, remains unchanged.

DNR Commissioner Pat Pourchot said April 4 that the department will not be submitting the royalty-in-kind contracts to the Legislature this session for approval.

“I think there’s just too little time left in this legislative session,” Pourchot said.

Pourchot also said he has received written commitments from two of the three North Slope gas producers, “for a 180-day notice prior to the commencement of any future open season over the next couple of years.”

And, he said, the state also wants to look at the royalty gas issue “in light of emerging federal legislation, which does provide for some access and expansion language.”

Pourchot noted that these contracts are good through the end of the next legislative session.