A Superior Court judge in Alaska has ruled that the state erred when it terminated the North Slope Point Thomson unit of ExxonMobil Corp., BP plc, Chevron Corp. and ConocoPhillips. The move was said to violate the companies’ constitutional right to due process. Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Commis-sioner Tom Irwin canceled almost all of the disputed leases for the Point Thomson unit in a decision issued in summer 2008 (see NGI, Aug. 11, 2008). The unit was created in 1977 as a means to more efficient production of oil and gas from leases held by more than one company. However, as years passed the state grew impatient as producers failed to advance development activity. Multiple development plans for Point Thomson were considered by DNR.
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