Palin appointed to Oil and Gas Commission

MAT-SU -- Wasilla's former mayor, Sarah Palin, has just become one of the Valley's newest commuters. Palin, last week, was appointed to one of a select few quasi-judicial state commissions -- the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

Palin, along with Alaska Republican Party chairman Randy Ruedrich and previously appointed member Dan Seamount, are responsible for several areas of oversight related to Alaska's oil and gas resources. Palin described the commission as an independent body set up before statehood with a goal of maximizing the recovery of oil and gas in Alaska, for the benefit of Alaskans. With a staff of about 30 engineers, geologists, petroleum inspectors and administrative staff, the commission has a range of duties. It is tasked with protecting the rights of mineral interest owners; maximizing oil and gas recovery; protecting freshwater streams from contamination during drilling, production and abandonment operations; inspecting oil field drilling, production, metering and abandonment activities; evaluating, modifying and approving drilling and workover operations and oil pool development rules; adjudicating disputes between owners; and maintaining state production records and well history files and records.

Palin said her experience as Wasilla's mayor and as a council member gives her skills she feels will be important assets to the commission as it's lone member from the public.

"The need, obviously, is for objectivity and fairness and for being able to absorb a lot of information and be able to maneuver yourself through that information," Palin said. She added that each of the three commissioners will be responsible for taking on several duties to help the whole commission. Although they're still discussing how to divide the duties, Palin said her former duties as Wasilla's mayor may mean she will be in charge of things like office administration and outreach to the public and to oil companies.

It's likely the commission will demand as much attention of Palin as her mayoral position did. She said she's expecting to be in Anchorage five days a week, at least until the new commissioners get up to speed.

"There is so much information here, and it's all very technical," Palin said. "And all these things make for a pretty sharp learning curve."

Palin said she's looking forward to it. She said she believes the state is positioned for rapid movement in the field and she'd like to lend a hand.

"What's most intriguing about it is that oil and gas issues are so significant in our state right now," Palin said.

The change in state administration, she added, means several departments and commissions are being reviewed, and the AOGCC is no different. Palin said the commission recently received a request from the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. to increase investigations of oil companies' practices and pricing.

"Anything that would have an impact on the amount of oil being developed from state leases," Palin said. "Their bottom line is, for more money to be put in the permanent fund, it is going to take more money coming in."

One way to make sure more money is coming in, Palin said, is to hold oil developers to their leases.

"Make sure the oil companies are taking all the oil out of the ground," Palin said. "And make sure they're not just sitting on [their leases]."

The position has a salary of significantly more than the $68,000 Palin brought in as an administrative mayor. Palin said commissioners earn $110,000 a year, with slightly more going to the commissioner appointed to chair the group. To date, no chair has been appointed.

It's a hefty sum -- more than most state commissioners make -- but Palin said it doesn't come from general funds. Much of the funding, she said, comes from fees paid by the oil companies.

Palin's husband, Todd, works on the North Slope as a production operator for British Petroleum. Palin said she checked with the governor's office and other state offices to see if there was a potential conflict of interest, but was told her husband's job was not likely to have a bearing on her decisions on the board. But, she joked, her service on the board may make conversations at home more clear.

"Maybe by the time this is all through, I can have an intelligent conversation with my husband about work," Palin said.