ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has established an eight-member oversight committee to monitor the sale of BP Plc assets in Alaska, officials said.
The Republican governor said the panel will oversee the $5.6 billion sale to Hilcorp Energy Co., Alaska’s Energy Desk reported Monday.
“The purpose is to make sure the state of Alaska and its people are represented as this transaction moves forward,” Dunleavy said in a statement Friday.
Texas-based Hilcorp announced plans to buy BP’s Alaska assets in August. The companies expect to finalize the deal next year, giving Hilcorp a major stake in the Prudhoe Bay field and the trans-Alaska pipeline, two major projects in Alaska’s oil industry.
Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Corri Feige will chair the committee that also will include Dunleavy senior policy adviser Brett Huber, according to gubernatorial spokesman Jeff Turner.
Six other seats are expected to be filled by five state commissioners and Attorney General Kevin Clarkson or their representatives.
The committee will provide Dunleavy with updates as the sale moves forward, including advising him on whether the purchase meets regulatory requirements, the governor’s office said.
More information on the committee and its schedule will be announced soon, Dunleavy’s office said.
In a letter to the state labor department earlier this month, BP said 806 of its 1,567 employees affected by the purchase had received job offers from Hilcorp, with 749 acceptances. An additional 342 employees volunteered for severance, 153 had jobs planned with BP elsewhere and 29 resigned.
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