BP Pipelines (Alaska) Inc. v. State, Department of Revenue

I. OVERVIEW

Today the court implicitly decides a longstanding dispute between the State of Alaska, Department of Natural Resources, and the companies controlling North Slope oil production and distribution through their related companies' Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) and oil tankers. This dispute is: Why has North Slope oil production and TAPS input declined so that TAPS has excess capacity? Is it because the oil companies are warehousing proven reserves for their own internal business reasons, notwithstanding that the reserves are technically and economically available for production,1…