Alaska has the most petroleum of any state in the union, which may be one reason why natural resources are a special concern of the Institute of the North, the state’s member organization in the State Policy Network. The institute was founded by that state’s former governor, Walter J. Hickel.
Federal laws governing land use and mineral production, are of particular importance to Alaska. The Institute offers links to five federal laws that “govern the ownership of Alaska's commons.”
In various op-eds (all in PDF), Governor Hickel strongly advocates the interests of Alaskans against those of oil companies. “The Alaskan people struck a deal in 1958,” he writes. “Our Statehood Compact granted us 103 million acres and subsurface resources beneath those lands. In return, we pledged to use resources to pay for the governmental services the federal government had been providing.”
In Alaskans, Not Exxon, own the resources, Hickel says that the state has “an ocean of oil.” He chides Exxon, saying that it has not fulfilled the terms of its lease with the state.
In another op-ed, he calls for an all-Alaska pipeline as the best way to “maximize the benefits from the natural gas resources at the North Slope owned in common by all Alaskans.” Further, he asks for Alaskans to “stay in control” of those resources.
We don’t pretend to know the constitutional law of Alaska, but we would like to see more exploration and production if that’s economically feasible.