Oil companies sue Alaska over idle land

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, May 14 (UPI) -- Four major oil companies have sued Alaska, claiming the state illegally repossessed the companies' idle land leases near the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

ExxonMobil Corp., BP PLC, Chevron Corp. and Conoco Phillips Co. argue the state violated its own regulations by rescinding Point Thomson leases the oil companies bought decades ago but have not fully developed, the Anchorage (Alaska) Daily News reported Monday.

Exxon and the other oil companies said Point Thomson is a remote and technically difficult field that is not economically feasible to develop, the newspaper said.

Alaska said in November it would therefore take back the state land and lease it to companies more eager to develop it.

The oil companies argued in state Superior Court in Anchorage the state long ago certified seven Point Thomson wells as "capable of producing oil or gas in paying quantities," the Daily News said

The state counters the oil companies plugged and abandoned those wells long ago, so they cannot be considered capable of producing oil and gas.

But just because a well is abandoned does not mean it cannot be certified, said Ken Boyd, a former state oil and gas director now working on BP's behalf.

The newspaper report stated that Judge Sharon Gleason is expected to have further hearings on the matter later this month.