ELR Citation: 56 ELR 20072
No(s). 23-35512 (9th Cir. May 27, 2026)

The Ninth Circuit reversed summary judgment for an oil and gas company that sought to prevent Alaska's Oil and Gas Conservation Commission from disclosing well data the company sought to keep confidential. The company argued the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act (Production Act) preempted Alaska's confidentiality laws and that the Commission could not disclose the company's well data without the company's consent. A district court held that the Production Act did not expressly preempt Alaska law, but that federal law impliedly preempted Alaska's disclosure provisions. The appellate court held the Production Act did not expressly preempt the Alaska statute because it neither contains nor references any clear statement of preemption, that DOI regulations did not expressly preempt the state statute, and that the Production Act did not impliedly preempt the statute's disclosure provisions because it does not evince a congressional purpose that would be obstructed by the statute. It reversed summary judgment for the company.