Judge sides with ConocoPhillips Alaska in well data dispute

By BECKY BOHRER
Associated Press

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A judge has ruled that data from wells drilled by ConocoPhillips Alaska on federal lands on Alaska’s North Slope can remain confidential for now. That includes data from wells on federal leases that are part of a major oil project the company is pursuing called Willow. This week’s decision by U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason comes as the Biden administration weighs whether to approve the project in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. Gleason said the case boiled down to whether federal law pre-empted state law regarding public release of the data. She ruled that state disclosure laws that would allow for public disclosure sooner than authorized by federal law were pre-empted.