Alaskan Crude Corporation and James W. White v. State of Alaska, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Oil…

Summary

The Alaska Supreme Court affirmed the superior court’s decision upholding the DNR Commissioner’s determination that Alaskan Crude’s pending appeal concerning the well’s regulatory status did not constitute force majeure. The court held that the relevant force majeure provision was the one in the unit agreement, incorporating DNR’s regulatory definition, and that the asserted events were foreseeable when Alaskan Crude accepted the applicable deadlines. The court also held that the Commissioner’s proposed cure deadlines complied with the unit agreement’s default procedures and therefore did not unilaterally amend it.