Charter for Development of the Alaskan North Slope (Charter) updated: 7/31/09
Charter Agreement Coordinator: Dianne Munson (907) 269-3080
The Charter signed on December 2, 1999 is an agreement between the State of Alaska, BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc., and ARCO, which led to State of Alaska support of a merger between BP and ARCO. As set forth in the Charter, ARCO and BP agreed to sell a pre-determined percentage of their Alaska interest to a third “qualified company” prior to their merger in order to ensure continued competition. Phillips Petroleum Company (now ConocoPhillips) purchased the stock of ARCO Alaska, Inc. and, with BP, assumed responsibility for fulfilling the Charter obligations.
The Charter is the first antitrust agreement in the U.S. to include environmental provisions. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is charged with managing and overseeing the environmental provisions described under sections II.A and II.B of the Charter agreement. These environmental provisions include Arctic spill response research and development; state oversight of industry's pipeline corrosion monitoring and structural integrity program on the North Slope; clean-up of North Slope contaminated sites including "orphan sites" (sites abandoned by unknown parties); and a renewed commitment to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, which includes the replacement of crude oil tankers with new state of art double hulled tankers.
For more information contact:
Dianne Munson, North Slope Charter Coordinator Industry Preparedness Program ADEC Division of Spill Prevention and Response 555 Cordova St. Anchorage, AK 99516-2617 Telephone: (907) 269-3080 Fax Number: (907) 269-7687 Email Address: dianne.munson@alaska.gov