Alaska Superior Court Rules That Majors Did Not Get a Fair Hearing on Point Thomson Unit

摘要

The Alaska Superior Court on 1/12/10 handed down a decision on remand in Anchorage involving termination of the Point Thomson Unit (PTU) on the North Slope. Judge Sharon Gleason ruled that the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) violated the procedural due process rights of ExxonMobil and partners BP, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips (the Appellants) by terminating the PTU without an adversarial hearing on the latest Plan of Development (POD). Notably, in her earlier decision, Judge Gleason had affirmed DNR's right to accept or reject PODs under the Point Thomson Unit Agreement (PTUA) between the parties, and also to terminate PTU units.