Judge approves stay of BP Alaska case - January 22, 2012

Providing coverage of Alaska and northern Canada's oil and gas industryJanuary 2012

Vol. 17, No. 4

Week of January 22, 2012

Judge approves stay of BP Alaska case

An Alaska judge has approved a stay of a civil case pitting the state against BP so a key aspect of the dispute can go to binding arbitration.

The order granting the stay was entered on Jan. 12 in state Superior Court in Anchorage.

The state sued BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. in March of 2009. The lawsuit claimed a range of damages in connection with two oil spills from corroded pipelines in the BP-operated Prudhoe Bay oil field in 2006.

Among the claims, the state wants royalty payments on oil that was not produced due to field shut-ins related to the spills and pipeline replacement work.

The suit said production shortfalls might have exceeded 35 million barrels, meaning the royalty claim potentially could amount to hundreds of millions of dollars.

The state and BP have decided to let a three-member panel of arbitrators decide the royalty issue. A BP spokesman has said the arbitration is expected to occur by the end of May.

—Wesley Loy

Petroleum News - Phone: 1-907 522-9469 - Fax: 1-907 522-9583
[email protected] --- http://www.petroleumnews.com ---
S U B S C R I B E

Copyright Petroleum Newspapers of Alaska, LLC (Petroleum News)(PNA)©2013 All rights reserved. The content of this article and web site may not be copied, replaced, distributed, published, displayed or transferred in any form or by any means except with the prior written permission of Petroleum Newspapers of Alaska, LLC (Petroleum News)(PNA). Copyright infringement is a violation of federal law subject to criminal and civil penalties.