Request Deadline for AOGCC Public Hearing (Docket OTH-26-031)

ConocoPhillips Alaska, Inc. (CPAI) has filed a request with the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (AOGCC) for a waiver of 20 AAC 25.112(c). The regulation requires that plugging of cased wellbores must ensure hydrocarbons and freshwater are confined to their indigenous strata. CPAI states that shallow formation subsidence has caused casing collapse between 138 and 400 feet, obstructing access and making standard rig-based intervention technically and operationally infeasible. A public hearing is tentatively scheduled for December 3, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at the AOGCC offices in Anchorage. To ensure the hearing takes place, a written request must be filed with the commission by 4:30 p.m. on November 6, 2026. If no request is filed, the commission may issue an order without a hearing. Written comments on the application are due by 4:30 p.m. on November 25, 2026. If a hearing is held, the comment period extends until the conclusion of that hearing. The commission is led by Chair Thomas W. McKay and Commissioners Jessie L. Chmielowski and Gregory C. Wilson.