City of Kenai, Appellant v. Cook Inlet Natural Gas Storage Alaska, LLC; State of Alaska, Department of Natural…

Summary

The court affirmed summary judgment determining that the State and CIRI, as holders of the reserved mineral estate, owned the pore space and related natural-gas storage rights beneath the City's surface estate. It held that the statutory reservation controlled the ownership question and that the reservation's language encompassed pore space and storage rights for non-native gas. The court also affirmed an attorney-fee award to CIRI because CIRI prevailed on the principal ownership dispute and was actually adverse to the City.